America the Squishy
A hard line on our softness
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear the
mainstream media are getting kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies
who make anti-depressants. Turn on a TV, read a newspaper, or
log onto the computer and you’ll find stories about how
everything is getting more expensive. If you believe the media’s
characterization of the economy right now, we’re heading
into another Great Depression. Which, in turn, supports my hypothesis
that the media are getting kickbacks from anti-depressant manufacturers.
A common theme to the news reports we’re seeing today is
how people have to sacrifice so much to make ends meet in these
dark economic times. When you really think about it, though, do
we really understand what it means to sacrifice something? America
has become a spoiled little brat of a country in the past couple
of decades. We want what we want, we want it now, and we don’t
want to do anything to get it. In other words, people are becoming
like Congressmen.
Take a look at all the over the counter drugs we can get today
that can cure just about every minor ill. Yet, some of the stuff
we’re using for everything from heartburn to unusually bushy
eyebrows can have some pretty nasty side effects. I was in the
store and read the following warning on the side of a box:
Warning: Side effects may include loss of appetite,
nosebleeds, muscle cramps, unexplained flatulence, diarrhea, seizures,
occasional leprosy, blindness, deafness, a strange attraction
to a shirtless Michael Moore, and temporary death.
Needless to say, I didn’t buy that brand of toothpaste.
This country was founded by men and women who didn’t have
Starbucks coffee or drive-thru dry cleaners. They worked hard
to build a life here and secure it so future generations could
do the same. They were men and women who said something and stuck
by it, even to the point of violence.
Today, we lionize moderates as the ideal while demonizing people
who have definite opinions. We get upset over the slightest of
slights. Heck, we even let Jimmy Carter and Nancy Pelosi violate
the law by defying the President, going over to talk to known
terrorists, and come back without so much as a raised eyebrow.
Then again, having been through security at Reagan International
Airport since 9/11, that might have been considered punishment
enough. But on the plus side, airport security did find Carter’s
head when they did the pre-flight body cavity search…
Nowhere can we see how soft we’ve become than by observing
the different facets of the war on terrorism. Our elected officials
hamstring our soldiers in the field by making them jump through
politically-correct hoops as to not offend Muslims around the
world and turn them against our cause. After all, we don’t
want to offend those Muslims who want us dead because they might
write a letter to the ACLU! And as far as the home front of the
war on terror is concerned, we’re so afraid to offend Muslims
that we’re willing to drag our fellow Americans through
the mud if we even so much as complain about how suspiciously
some Muslims acted on a plane in Minnesota! And guess what, boys
and girls? The “Flying Imans” were acting
suspiciously!
But because we’ve gotten soft, we’ll allow those with
no respect for our freedoms use those freedoms against us.
As we’ve gotten softer in our lives, our bodies have also
gotten softer. Advertisers are barraging us with messages about
a new workout machine or program, a new diet where you can “eat
whatever you want and still lose weight,” or a new pill
that “kick-starts your metabolism.” At the core of
each of these ads is the same message: you shouldn’t have
to sacrifice to get what you want.
And that’s exactly the wrong message, whether it’s
losing weight, fighting terrorism, or buying groceries. Sacrifice
is not always a bad thing if it leads to something better. If
you’re a smoker who is diagnosed with lung cancer, you have
to give up smoking if you want to live. If you’re an alcoholic,
you have to give up liquor if you want to recover. If you’re
addicted to “Countdown With Keith Olbermann,” there’s
no hope for you.
It’s time for us to come to grips with reality: we can’t
have it all. For one, we don’t have anywhere to put it all.
But more importantly, there will be times when we will have to
give up something to get something in return. Anyone who says
differently is either selling something or is running for President.
And that’s the Bottom Line.
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