Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Why Hate Your Own Country?

A colleague of mine just got off a discussion group from the Big Arts community center in Sanibel, FL. Lawyers, doctors, and professors attended the session. He commented how people kept complaining about the country. The discussions varied and jumped from topic to topic. They talked about education, the economy, the Iraq war, health care, and gas prices. I'm dumbfounded why some citizens born here hate this country so much.

Are we too spoiled?
I don't think those who complain about this country have lived any significant length of time in another country. Whether it's Europe, Asia, or other continents -- if they actually lived there as an average worker, they would know the difference quickly.

Most people that are naturalized (those that are foreign born and became US citizens) are happy with this country. They may disagree with policies and what not, but in general, they love this country for giving them a chance to live a better life. While in Asia, people seek their best to pay bills and are living on $200/month USD or less, we have people here that complain because their Social Security checks are only a few thousand a month.

Last year during the hurricane season, some people I knew were complaining about not getting ice from the government on time. While in Italy and other European countries that my family stopped by last year, they don't even serve ice in restaurants! Plus, they charge money if you use the rest rooms!

Come on now. Why are we so spoiled? We complain about gas prices but we drive big SUVs, trucks, luxury sport cars, etc. Don't complain about gas prices if your car burns 25 miles per gallon! Why do we have high gas prices? Because you keep burning the supply away. Duh.

Why do we complain about health care? We eat over 3 teaspoons of salt everyday and wonder why we have high blood pressure. We don't exercise as a nation and wonder why we have diabetes. We smoke tobacco and wonder why we get lung cancer. We get drunk every weekend and ask why we are getting complications as we grow old over some of our organs. Overzealous wine drinkers tout the benefits for the heart, but kill their liver. Great trade, try natural wine in the Bible (unfermented grapejuice - no alcohol) and benefit the heart and the liver!

Why do we complain about the economy? When we have the lowest unemployment compared to any of our neighbors and have one of the highest wages in this hemisphere. Why do we complain about unemployment when we have thousands of people just loitering the streets, taking unemployment / welfare checks?

I read a gripe complaint by an online eBay seller stating he was sad that his child would lose tuition grants from the government because he made too much money. He was looking to see if he could legally "fake" his income to show that it was lower. Hey buddy -- those tuition grants aren't free -- they come from me and every other person that works and pays taxes.

Why do we complain about people immigrating here when so many of the natural born citizens hate their own country? Care to trade places with someone in France when they are suffering 30% unemployment for their young adults? Wake up America. Be patriotic about the country you live in.

Be thankful about what you have. We are not in a perfect country, but we are better off than most. If you don't like the situation you're in now, do something about it: improve.

1 comment:

S. L. Ward said...

Interesting argument,but when people complain about the USA, I remember that we CAN complain without fear of retaliation. So I say let em complain- but ask them what are they doing about making our country better?