So, this post doesn't have much to do with what we were talking about, but I saw the cartoon posted by Matt and it got me thinking about how ungrateful we are in this country for everything that we have.
First of all, almost anything that you hear about George Bush anymore is how little people approve of him... I think it's like 30% or somewhere around there. Anyway, is it because the other 70% of people actually don't like him? Or could it be the other few people that keep talking bad about him and they just keep reporting it on the news? But what else is it that everyone is so unappreciative about? I mean we have the whole freedom of religion... granted, there may be some problems with it, and it may be imperfect, but its one of the best things we got. Why do you think so many want to move to america, yet it seems that a lot of people really don't like us! So they like our country but not us... we're just whiny little brats that have no appreciation for what we have. So Georgie hasn't been perfect... whoopty doo!! what other president has been perfect? If I remember right, Clinton had a higher rating even after the whole monica scandal. Something seems wrong with that picture but if that's what americans want...
Another thing, many people are mad about the whole iraq thing going "awry" or not going according to plan. Whatever it reason is why we're still there, quit complaining about it! You're not in the army, you're not fighting the war. Bush had the best of intentions by doing that. Maybe he got oil out of it, but hey, it helped us! And it got rid of another dictator to replace with a democracy! What's wrong with that? So they didn't come back early enough, but a lot of problems were solved. Besides there are a few other worse things that could happen to the country than a president that just happens to resemble a monkey... such as hurricanes? tornadoes? floods? earthquakes? so stop complaining so much and start appreciating what you have and maybe you'll see that you've got it pretty good...
6 comments:
I agree with you on the idea that not enough people appreciate how good we really do have it. And I think the reason for this is simply the fact that many people are ignorant of many aspects of our country. How our government or economy runs compared to other countries, for example. Yet when you said that "we're just whiny little brats that have no appreciation fo what we have" I think this was a bit extreme. I think that many people do realize what we have, but there are still enough that don't that leave a tainted image of a general population. But, I think that this is one of the greatest characteristics of our country--that we can complain and disapprove of the president and protest. The fact that we could all be completely ignorant of what we speak, but we are still allowed to speak it. I'm not condoning ignorant complaints or remarks, but I really appreciate that it can still happen. If it were up to me everyone would be required to know what they are talking about before they spout off and complain, but I love the fact that we have the right and ability to speak ignorantly. Does this make sense?
On another note, I don't know agree on your opinion of the Iraq war, and I think that many generalizations were made in the rest of the blog, but I am happy to see such an opinionated blog. I think that strong opinions spark more thought than a neutral stance. I know it was easier for me to respond to...haha. So thank you for that.
First of all, I did not mean to cause such an uproar over my previous post, but there are certainly problems in America that need to be dealt with...whatever happened to the Freedom of Speech?
As to your "Georgie hasn't been perfect" comment...Bush had a 90% approval rating after a 9/11...and it wasn't the media that caused his downfall. Bush has been his own worst enemy, Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, our troops are stuck in a Civil War and are so over stretched, that troops meant for deployment in 2009, will now be deployed later this year.
Secondly, people who are "complaining" about the current state of affairs recognize how great this country is and care enough to voice their concerns. Perhaps, if one is uncomfortable with people sharing opposite opinions of the President, we might as well live under a dictatorship.
Way to start a brouhaha, Matt. Good going. Don't you know that you are supposed to watch what you say in this country? Big Brother is watching and you could end up in jail.
On a serious note, I do not think it is wise to tell people to stop complaining about the war on Iraq. Maybe I haven't served myself but that doesn't mean that I don't have any brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, uncles, or close friends who have served. Also, I think it is fair to criticize a President for a war if the outcome is completely different from the original promises. Remember, this war was supposed to cost $0 (Iraqi oil was going to offset costs). Instead its around $400 billion and climbing. And by April 2007 we were supposed to have less than 50,000 troops in the country. Instead there are around 160,000 after the recent "surge."
As for the American economy, what is there to argue? Take an econ class here at BG and find out for yourself. The American dream is a joke, unless you're born rich. And the income gap gets worse and worse every year. The upper one percent now "earns" as much as the bottom 100 million combined. So take a look around our once great country and think about what it means that 46 million of us don't have health insurance while others have psychologists for their pets.
But don't forget this, there is nothing wrong with America that can't be fixed by what is right with America, it's just gonna take some time. Oh, by the way, that's a Bill Clinton quote. I thought you might like to know that.
I think that to simply say we replaced a dictator with a democracy over simplifies a complex and difficult issue. Iraq has a democracy but is it really the best form of government for the country? The main reason Iraq has a democracy is because the American people would not stand for the United States to invade a put a dictator or monarchy in power. I do not think that the history of the people was taken into consideration when the government was chosen. Saddam was a repressive leader, resorting to the use of chemical and biological weapons against his own people to keep his power. He also put a minority of the population into the powerful roles in the government. He himself was a Sunni, so he put them in charge. When the new government was elected, they boycotted the election because they knew they would lose their power. It that a true democracy, when a third of the Arab population refuses to participate? I do not agree with their choice not to vote because they went from having the opportunity to have a little power to none at all. The current government is not reflective of the population’s proportions and this is increasing ethnic violence. In addition, the Iraqi democracy is different than ours is. They vote for a local representative, on party lines, who votes for a president. Then the president nominates a prime minister who the representatives vote on. The prime minister is also the one who hold more of the power not the president. When people hear democracy, they automatically think of our version.
As for the American dream being a joke, I disagree. The American dream is not going from being poor to super rich over night. I think that it takes hard work and can be done. It is about owning a home and living a comfortable life, not an extravagant one. Nothing is free, and the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor has to do with the distribution of wealth. The American dream is also a very subjective term. If one comes from a more humble background, his or her dream will be different from someone who has everything. The rich would have a harder time trying to move up the social economic ladder than the poor would because after a while more money does not matter.
I just believe that the idea of upward economic mobility in this country is a false notion that has been imbedded into our heads by people who's interests dictate that we must believe it. Because if we do believe in "rags to riches" or even in a less dramatic version of it, then there is no moral imperative to act on the problem.
Here are some statistics from today's New York Times that may or may not help my argument:
The median wage adjusted for inflation is lower now than in 1980. The top 0.1% of earners today make about four times as much as in 1980. Chief executives of large American companies earn more than 10 times what they did in 1980.
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And I'm not just talking about people making millions of dollars. I agree that most people would be content with much less. But the opportunity just isn't there for many people. More than half of the population makes less than $40,000 per year. There's nothing wrong with that figure, it's a liveable wage earned by hardworking people. But when you live in a society that glorifies the top 1% and is fascinated with billionaires, it is easy to see how some people may become discouraged.
thanks for all the comments... sorry if this seemed really um... mean or rude, just kinda came out this way... and i was kinda playin devil's advocate here... ha ha! i tend to do that sometimes!
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