Jay Leno’s Words of Wisdom

Jay Leno wrote this and I know it’s been circulated before, but I think it bears re-printing as he has many good points. Not everyone will agree of course but it’s good when high profile people like Jay Leno speak up to defend our freedom. (That’s a collective ‘our’, coming from this Canadian). Sorry, I don’t know the dates of the Newsweek article or this piece.

“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 2/3s of the citizenry just ain’t happy
and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ”What
we are 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, tornadoes, 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

PPP