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originally posted in http://thehc.iblogs.com/
The English language has no good word for the people I'm going to talk about. To get a good descriptive word, I had to turn to the Jewish language, Yiddish. The word is "kvetch". It means someone who can always find something wrong with any given situation. Beyond just a complainer, more committed than the bitcher, a kvetch simply can not be pleased.
America is, unfortunately, polluted with kvetches. They're in the media, in the classroom, on the web, and in the bar down the road. They worship Michael Moore and read the New York Times religiously. They know everything that America, white males, and Christianity has done wrong in the last 2000 years. Try to convince a kvetch that things aren't all that bad and you'll get a scorching diatribe filled with half-facts and conspiracy theories designed to convince you that the world will surely end any day now and you are the foolish one for not owning a generator and a months supply of food. The only thing that might save us, they'll say, is if the whole world could just abandon guns, war, government, capitalism, and Fox news. But, since that can't happen because of all the aformentioned conspiracies, we're all doomed. I honestly don't know what keeps these people from killing themselves.
They replaced the kvetchs of the past, who reigned supreme during the Clinton administration. They worshiped Rush Limbaugh and read the Bible religiously. They know everything that Communism, Pot-Smokin' Hippy Liberals, Feminists, and the A.C.L.U. has done to destroy our beloved America over the past 50 years. They are certain that Clinton was the Anti-Christ and the Apocalyspe is just around the corner. Question them and risk having the Bible quoted for 20 minutes. They're equally depressed as the other kvetches, but their religion won't allow them to kill themselves.
Funny how the only thing they agree on is….we're all doomed.
Now, the only way to defend ourselves from these kvetches, and not become as depressed as they are, is for us to arm ourselves with more positive facts then they can stand. Optimism is like Kryptonite to kvetches. For this reason I've compiled a list of good things about America that most of us forget about.
To start off with, be grateful you were even born here. Your odds at birth stood at 1 in 20, Your best odds were to be born in India or China. Where you almost certainly would have lived in abject poverty. You, my friend, hit the lottery at birth.
The United States is an economic powerhouse. Even with the globalization of the world's economy, the U.S. still stands supreme. With a 12.3 trillion dollar G.D.P. that saw a 3.5% growth in 2005. America dwarfs every other country economically. Most of Europe saw less than 1% growth in that same year. The U.S. also has one of the lowest unemployment rates of the major industrialized nations. A quick comparison to some of them shows clearly how much better our economy is. While the U.S. is experiencing unemployment at 4.7%, Germany is sputtering along at 11.6%, France is not doing much better at 10%. In fact, since Sept. 2003, the U.S. has created 5.1 million jobs net. Workers in the U.S. average higher pay than their Europian counterparts too. The average household in the U.S. made approx. $44,000.00, while in France the average was $30,000.00, and in Germany it was 29,800.00. The end result of high wages, low taxes, (only two countries have lower, Iceland and Poland) and good growth, is Americans live better economically than people in most countries in the world. Just talk to someone from Europe, they'll wonder why we need so many T.V.'s, why each of us has a car, and why even our poorest citizens have their own cell phones. The truth is, we live so good, most people from other countries view us as pigs, extravagant over-consumers. For the most part they're right, we're spoiled to death.
America, however, is also very benevolent, we are the worlds' number 1 provider of food aid in disasters. In fact, without the U.S. aid, millions of people around the world would starve. In the 1990's the U.S. provided 55% of the world's food aid. The entire E.U. provided only 28% even though their combined G.D.P. was more than the U.S.. The U.S. spent 92 million in 2005 to prevent famine in the horn of Africa, and so far in 2006, we've committed 175 million.
But it's not just food we supply, we also lead the world in medical aid given to Africa and other developing countries. Over 5 years, the U.S gave 15 billion dollars to fight hiv/aids. Bill Gates, an American, gave over 1 billion dollars by himself. It should also be noted that most of the drugs used in these countries were discovered and produced in America. Without them, aids/hiv, malaria, tuberculosis, and other diseases would wipe out most of these countries.
The U.S. is also the world leader in disaster relief. After the tsunami that destroyed Sri Lanka and Indonesia, the U.S. pledged 350 million dollars to help them rebuild. In Feb. of 2005 we then upped the ante with an additional 701 million. It's not the first time America helped with a major disaster. In 1998 after hurricane Mitch destroyed Honduras and Central America, the U.S. came through with 308.4 million dollars in aid actually spent. It should be noted here that the U.S. is one of the few countries that come through on their pledges. Most countries make a big media event out of their pledges and then quietly send far less. We do all of this despite the fact that the very countries we help, bad mouth us at every opportunity. We even help Palestine, that regularly threatens us. Over the past 10 years we have averaged 90 million dollars a year for Palestine while it's Arab "friends" have averaged 35 million dollars combined.
Probably the greatest attribute America has is opportunity. America is full of stories of self made millionaires and billionaires. From Bill Gates to Oprah Winfrey to Paul Allen, America gives the chance for hard working, creative people to be all they can be. You may be able to find places where lazy people can fair better, but America is where you want to be if you want to get rich through hard work and your own talents.
Now, I know the U.S. has it's faults, I'll leave that to the kvetches to point out, but America has the unique ability to find it's own faults and correct them. From slavery to womens rights, America see her wrongs and rights them. After two world wars that saw the U.S. liberate country after country only to give them back to their people, to civil battles to reach a point where people of different religions, colors, and political opinions all live and work together, America has perservered. There is a prideful feeling that we all should have here in America, that even though we don't have the history of some of the older countries, we took the mutts of the world, in some cases people that others threw out, and created the stongest country on earth, built on the backs of people who shared only a common country. No where else on earth can you find such a mix of people. In the end, if you look at all the great things the U.S. has done, she really has been a country to be proud of.
Einstein was once asked what advice he gave to his own children? He replied, "I told them they could live in a positive world or a negative world, but it is their choice." I could not agree more. I fully expect that all you kvetches will pick every positive thing I said about America apart and assume her intentions were always for profit or power, that's fine. It's what you do best, but just once, try for a minute to live in a positive world, for all her faults, the U.S. is still the one place I would want to call home. H.C.
The English language has no good word for the people I'm going to talk about. To get a good descriptive word, I had to turn to the Jewish language, Yiddish. The word is "kvetch". It means someone who can always find something wrong with any given situation. Beyond just a complainer, more committed than the bitcher, a kvetch simply can not be pleased.
America is, unfortunately, polluted with kvetches. They're in the media, in the classroom, on the web, and in the bar down the road. They worship Michael Moore and read the New York Times religiously. They know everything that America, white males, and Christianity has done wrong in the last 2000 years. Try to convince a kvetch that things aren't all that bad and you'll get a scorching diatribe filled with half-facts and conspiracy theories designed to convince you that the world will surely end any day now and you are the foolish one for not owning a generator and a months supply of food. The only thing that might save us, they'll say, is if the whole world could just abandon guns, war, government, capitalism, and Fox news. But, since that can't happen because of all the aformentioned conspiracies, we're all doomed. I honestly don't know what keeps these people from killing themselves.
They replaced the kvetchs of the past, who reigned supreme during the Clinton administration. They worshiped Rush Limbaugh and read the Bible religiously. They know everything that Communism, Pot-Smokin' Hippy Liberals, Feminists, and the A.C.L.U. has done to destroy our beloved America over the past 50 years. They are certain that Clinton was the Anti-Christ and the Apocalyspe is just around the corner. Question them and risk having the Bible quoted for 20 minutes. They're equally depressed as the other kvetches, but their religion won't allow them to kill themselves.
Funny how the only thing they agree on is….we're all doomed.
Now, the only way to defend ourselves from these kvetches, and not become as depressed as they are, is for us to arm ourselves with more positive facts then they can stand. Optimism is like Kryptonite to kvetches. For this reason I've compiled a list of good things about America that most of us forget about.
To start off with, be grateful you were even born here. Your odds at birth stood at 1 in 20, Your best odds were to be born in India or China. Where you almost certainly would have lived in abject poverty. You, my friend, hit the lottery at birth.
The United States is an economic powerhouse. Even with the globalization of the world's economy, the U.S. still stands supreme. With a 12.3 trillion dollar G.D.P. that saw a 3.5% growth in 2005. America dwarfs every other country economically. Most of Europe saw less than 1% growth in that same year. The U.S. also has one of the lowest unemployment rates of the major industrialized nations. A quick comparison to some of them shows clearly how much better our economy is. While the U.S. is experiencing unemployment at 4.7%, Germany is sputtering along at 11.6%, France is not doing much better at 10%. In fact, since Sept. 2003, the U.S. has created 5.1 million jobs net. Workers in the U.S. average higher pay than their Europian counterparts too. The average household in the U.S. made approx. $44,000.00, while in France the average was $30,000.00, and in Germany it was 29,800.00. The end result of high wages, low taxes, (only two countries have lower, Iceland and Poland) and good growth, is Americans live better economically than people in most countries in the world. Just talk to someone from Europe, they'll wonder why we need so many T.V.'s, why each of us has a car, and why even our poorest citizens have their own cell phones. The truth is, we live so good, most people from other countries view us as pigs, extravagant over-consumers. For the most part they're right, we're spoiled to death.
America, however, is also very benevolent, we are the worlds' number 1 provider of food aid in disasters. In fact, without the U.S. aid, millions of people around the world would starve. In the 1990's the U.S. provided 55% of the world's food aid. The entire E.U. provided only 28% even though their combined G.D.P. was more than the U.S.. The U.S. spent 92 million in 2005 to prevent famine in the horn of Africa, and so far in 2006, we've committed 175 million.
But it's not just food we supply, we also lead the world in medical aid given to Africa and other developing countries. Over 5 years, the U.S gave 15 billion dollars to fight hiv/aids. Bill Gates, an American, gave over 1 billion dollars by himself. It should also be noted that most of the drugs used in these countries were discovered and produced in America. Without them, aids/hiv, malaria, tuberculosis, and other diseases would wipe out most of these countries.
The U.S. is also the world leader in disaster relief. After the tsunami that destroyed Sri Lanka and Indonesia, the U.S. pledged 350 million dollars to help them rebuild. In Feb. of 2005 we then upped the ante with an additional 701 million. It's not the first time America helped with a major disaster. In 1998 after hurricane Mitch destroyed Honduras and Central America, the U.S. came through with 308.4 million dollars in aid actually spent. It should be noted here that the U.S. is one of the few countries that come through on their pledges. Most countries make a big media event out of their pledges and then quietly send far less. We do all of this despite the fact that the very countries we help, bad mouth us at every opportunity. We even help Palestine, that regularly threatens us. Over the past 10 years we have averaged 90 million dollars a year for Palestine while it's Arab "friends" have averaged 35 million dollars combined.
Probably the greatest attribute America has is opportunity. America is full of stories of self made millionaires and billionaires. From Bill Gates to Oprah Winfrey to Paul Allen, America gives the chance for hard working, creative people to be all they can be. You may be able to find places where lazy people can fair better, but America is where you want to be if you want to get rich through hard work and your own talents.
Now, I know the U.S. has it's faults, I'll leave that to the kvetches to point out, but America has the unique ability to find it's own faults and correct them. From slavery to womens rights, America see her wrongs and rights them. After two world wars that saw the U.S. liberate country after country only to give them back to their people, to civil battles to reach a point where people of different religions, colors, and political opinions all live and work together, America has perservered. There is a prideful feeling that we all should have here in America, that even though we don't have the history of some of the older countries, we took the mutts of the world, in some cases people that others threw out, and created the stongest country on earth, built on the backs of people who shared only a common country. No where else on earth can you find such a mix of people. In the end, if you look at all the great things the U.S. has done, she really has been a country to be proud of.
Einstein was once asked what advice he gave to his own children? He replied, "I told them they could live in a positive world or a negative world, but it is their choice." I could not agree more. I fully expect that all you kvetches will pick every positive thing I said about America apart and assume her intentions were always for profit or power, that's fine. It's what you do best, but just once, try for a minute to live in a positive world, for all her faults, the U.S. is still the one place I would want to call home. H.C.
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