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View Full Version : Why are Americans so unhappy???


Conrad
02-10-2008, 10:47 AM
Dont know if all the statistics are true... or if Jay Leno even wrote it. But it certainly rings true.


Very interesting perspective by Jay Leno...


I hope you will all read to the end. Jay Leno puts it into perspective and makes us think about the pathetic negativity. That's right, Jay Leno !!

Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see....

'The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true, given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed, and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence, 2/3's of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What are we so unhappy about?'' Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?

Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough.

Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all, and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.

Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs , a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The President who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same President who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The President that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?

The Commander-In Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?

Think about it...are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go.

They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general''
discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds, it leads; and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about 'how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way'...Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

We are among the most blessed people on Earth, and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.

'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

Jay Leno

2007

Conrad
02-10-2008, 10:50 AM
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/hitnail.asp

Evil_SpeedRacer
02-10-2008, 10:51 AM
I think he did write it. Its good stuff either way, we do take things for granted for the most part in this country. Now tell me this, doesn't the American dream represent what we are doing right now? To always be searching for better to some extent?

EDIT: eh, so it was someone else....still made me think!

Kwando
02-10-2008, 11:06 AM
Americans care too damn much about what others think and view us...

yapann
02-10-2008, 11:13 AM
it's not only Americans
Then start being gratefulpeople will never be grateful.
I don't like people.

john
02-10-2008, 01:48 PM
I am not unhappy.

M@
02-10-2008, 02:41 PM
I don't care who wrote it - it's absolutely true and I agree with it 100%.

Deceptakhan
02-10-2008, 02:41 PM
I'm happy and grateful. Maybe a reason why americans are so unhappy is debt? I also 100% agree with Yappann.

Brandon
02-10-2008, 02:48 PM
I'm pissed. Always have been.

Conrad
02-10-2008, 02:50 PM
Anyone as short as you would be disgruntled for life.

Brandon
02-10-2008, 02:53 PM
Fuck off

Conrad
02-10-2008, 02:54 PM
He shoots, he scores.... CASE CLOSED!

Loud_Scott
02-10-2008, 04:06 PM
...damn 'enter' button

Loud_Scott
02-10-2008, 04:27 PM
Dont know if all the statistics are true... or if Jay Leno even wrote it. But it certainly rings true.

Very interesting perspective by Jay Leno...


I hope you will all read to the end. Jay Leno puts it into perspective and makes us think about the pathetic negativity. That's right, Jay Leno !!

Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see....

'The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true, given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed, and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence, 2/3's of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What are we so unhappy about?'' Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?


Unless you were in N.O. after the hurricane....


Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

How about the fact that the price to run the heating/air conditioning continues to rise seemingly monthly, yet wages do not.


Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?


What percentage of those jobs are jobs that you would work, Jay?


Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?


Boohoo! We have too many ppl on the planet as it is... nuke 'em if they wanna bitch


Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?


Maybe it's the $5500+ gas bill you would run up on this drive?


Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all, and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.


Or maybe it's the fact that you wrecked your car and now insurance is going to fuck you in the ass....


Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.


Or maybe you're one of thousands that got duped into a ARM that is currently ballooning up because the government can't regulate loans?


Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs , a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.


If they did their job right, the burglar wouldn't have a chance to break into my house...and I don't have a flat screen tv


This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.


Instead we have drive by shootings, drug dealers on corners and hookers. Yay, America!


How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Look at the last sentence of this post.... which is it? Are we free or must we use the term "God" to show allegiance to our country?? I'm confused.



Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.


They hate us because we're rude as hell when we visit places. Most blessed? Canada has free health care... that would be pretty "blessed."


I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The President who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same President who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The President that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?


Yea! Good job protecting us on 9/11 Georgey! Man...that could have been baaaaaaaaaad


The Commander-In Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?


No... I hear him talk and know he is bad. Good job on that all Volunteer army thing and how it's going. Those guys from years ago who sent a bunch of kids into Vietnam worked out well too.... huh?


Think about it...are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.


No, I'm upset becausee the man is an idiot; and Hollywood Blowhards like you get off telling people they are wrong and they should be living their life differently. When was the last time you struggled from paycheck to paycheck, Jay? How many of your cars did you actually have to buy on credit? Switch positions with me... you come live like a normie for a year and I'll live hip and rich in LA and we'll see how positive you are come February 10, 2009!


Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go.


Yes they did.. when you join you must do what you are told. That's the way military works. Also recruiting for our military is shady and almost as bad as the mortgage people. When most of these kids being used for target practice joined there was no war on. They thought they were going to serve in North Carolina for a few years then get their GI bill and have college paid for, not come back and need a new house because they can't go up and down the stairs in their new fancy wheel chair.

Not that it isn't somewhat, most, their fault for not taking into consideration what COULD happen; but the recruiters that talk about "a 2 year vacation from Mom and Dad, and all the hotties you get off the base" aren't helping anything.


So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds, it leads; and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about 'how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way'...Insane!


That's capitalism, Jay. You want us to be the new Communist China?


Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.


See the above deal where we switch lives for a year....


We are among the most blessed people on Earth, and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.


Huh? I thought I had the freedom to NOT thank God??


'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'


Again with God?? For me having so much freedom you sure are cramming him down my throat an awful lot....

V13T
02-10-2008, 04:47 PM
Yea! Good job protecting us on 9/11 Georgey! Man...that could have been baaaaaaaaaad

You do make good points, but some like that are just dumb IMO. That's like telling someone who has taken every self defence class to protect themselves, and someone decides to blindside them and shoot them; and then saying, hey good job man you didn't take enough training to prevent that.

john
02-10-2008, 05:06 PM
Ok. I retract my "I am not unhappy" statement above. We are working on our 2006 taxes today. For the first time in my life it looks as though I need to pay. A lot. :-(

HondasTrail
02-10-2008, 05:45 PM
I agree with Scott for the most part.

nxbrennan
02-11-2008, 03:17 PM
You do make good points, but some like that are just dumb IMO. That's like telling someone who has taken every self defence class to protect themselves, and someone decides to blindside them and shoot them; and then saying, hey good job man you didn't take enough training to prevent that.

Except, of course, for the fact that he was warned repeatedly by his staff as early as Summer '01 of a likely attack and ignored it all.

doogie06
02-11-2008, 04:58 PM
I thought it was a very interesting article and Jay does hit some pretty good points. Yes, as a nation we are quite negative and somewhat ungrateful; however, as people we always strive for perfection, we are taught this when we are young and continue it throughout life, if something is broke, we fix it. So, of course there is going to be some things that we are very negative about.

Me individually, I’m only negative on a few things really. Our policy on illegal immigration needs to change, I have no problem with people coming to this country, but you better go through the same process that all of our ancestors had to and you better be a tax paying citizen just like everybody else. Unemployment, if you can’t get a job in less than a year, guess what, you now work for the city, prepare to dig some ditches and do shit work for the remainder of your life, teach you to be ‘picky’ with your career moves. In no way should anybody collect unemployment that long, excluding medical reasons of course. Basically, we’ve become a little weak towards certain groups and would rather coddle them instead of lay down the hammer for the good of the hard working citizens that make this place tick.

Scott brought up oil and he has a damn good reason to. Did you know that oil company’s profits are at an all time high? Wait a minute…I thought we were having problems because our reserves were low and the cost of oil went up, doesn’t that mean you should be right where you were last year?? But, that isn’t the truth now is it; you just wanted to raise oil to make more money. There needs to be better regulation on these companies that jack the American public.

stu
02-11-2008, 05:02 PM
Who the hell is Jay Leno?

hatchbackgirl
02-11-2008, 10:16 PM
Ok. I am not unhappy any longer. We are working on our 2006 taxes today. For the first time in my life it looks as though I need to pay more. A lot more. :-(

We're getting some back this year... which is also thanks to some large medical bills this year. Which, we're not really getting anything back because the refund will go towards paying the medical bill... :frown: oh well, at least we don't have to pay taxes AND the medical bills. I'll look on the bright side.

Brandon
02-11-2008, 10:40 PM
There needs to be better regulation on these companies that jack the American public.

I disagree, it's supply and demand and how our economy works. I say if people will pay $3/gallon, more power to them [oil companies]! People pay $6 for a bucket of popcorn that costs 7 cents to make, should the government regulate that too?

wild.irish
02-11-2008, 11:13 PM
Yes, as a nation we are quite negative and somewhat ungrateful; however, as people we always strive for perfection, we are taught this when we are young and continue it throughout life, if something is broke, we fix it.

please! you maybe able to fix it, I will fix it, those "the chosen few" with their callous hands and greasy ball caps - they will fix it. 90% of population will call a (FREE) 1-800-CRY4HELP number and say "omg omg this doesn't work, come help fix it!" fucking retards. oh yeah, they will also press numero duo for spanish! how's that for ungrateful?

and yeah, i love this country and appreciate every day that i live here! and i never miss a chance to remind my friends who came here before me and start to take this country for granted - this place didn't just appear to be good, it was made good by previous generations. We have to appreciate it, and keep making it better by working hard! then everyone will be happy.

just my $0.02

Conrad
02-12-2008, 09:40 AM
I disagree, it's supply and demand and how our economy works. I say if people will pay $3/gallon, more power to them [oil companies]! People pay $6 for a bucket of popcorn that costs 7 cents to make, should the government regulate that too?

Bottled water is still more expensive than gas...

doogie06
02-12-2008, 10:15 AM
I disagree, it's supply and demand and how our economy works. I say if people will pay $3/gallon, more power to them [oil companies]! People pay $6 for a bucket of popcorn that costs 7 cents to make, should the government regulate that too?

Well, kind of a bad comparison there. You have the choice to not buy that popcorn at the theater. For a majority of the public oil/gas is the only option, yes we have the option of buying a mix-fuel car or whatever, but I'm not getting paid enough to go buy a brand new $40,000 mixed fuel car. I'm also not prepared for hunting down the closest E85 station and having to go there every single time. So, while I see your point, they need to be regulated just like every other big corporation. It's like Insurance for instance, we're regulated by the state, every rate for each company is filed with the state so they can say yes or no. If Insurance companies weren't regulated, could you imagine? You'd have to pay $300 a month for basic liability and it would go up every month because they felt like it. And it would still be required by the state, so they'd stick you good....just like the oil companies are doing.

Brandon
02-12-2008, 10:18 AM
Well like you said, insurance is req'd by the state. Oil is not. If the state required that you buy 50 gallons/month of fuel then I would agree it would need to be regulated.

doogie06
02-12-2008, 10:23 AM
Well like you said, insurance is req'd by the state. Oil is not. If the state required that you buy 50 gallons/month of fuel then I would agree it would need to be regulated.

:mad:Touche:mad:

Conrad
02-12-2008, 10:33 AM
rofl...

Dave_L
02-12-2008, 11:06 AM
B, you should be most concerned with gas prices. When it gets too expensive, you're gonna have to take 8 times as many steps as us non-midget people. :rofl:

stu
02-12-2008, 11:15 AM
I just now read this article and thought it was stupid.

Conrad
02-12-2008, 11:16 AM
I just now read this article and thought it was stupid.

stfu hippy!

stu
02-12-2008, 11:20 AM
I also didn't think that Jay Leno wrote it, you could tell just by reading it. I was glad to see that he didn't write it. Then I was disappointed that no one else seemed to look at the very second post in the thread.

Moe
02-12-2008, 06:26 PM
Jay Leno for president!!!