An article this week in U.S. News titled “Why You Might Be Better Off Than You Think,” gives us plenty to be grateful for. In many ways that are easy to assess, American Life is still improving despite that dark cloud of the recent Great Recession we now see in our rear-view mirror. Here are some of the keynotes:
- Life expectancy for a baby born today is 78.3 years.
- Median household net worth today is about $104,000.
- The homeownership rate today is about 67.8%.
- Today, each person occupies 996 square feet of home.
- Today 90% of new homes have central heat and air conditioning.
- Today, at least 95% of homes have a telephone.
- Today, 92% of households own a car.
- Fatal accidents are a rarity today.
- Today 29.5% of adults over age 25 have earned a college degree.
- The average workweek today is about 34.3 hours.
- Nearly every home in American has a color TV today.
- The average person spends about $2,300 per year on recreation.
Have we become a nation of whiners?
Yes, we Americans have plenty to be grateful for, and yet it seems we have become a nation of whiners.
Malcontent at everyone and everything rules the land. We find little good to say about anything. We are quick to point blame. We didn’t like the politicians we elected two years ago, so we replaced them with a bunch of new ones. The new politicians didn’t like the laws we passed two years ago so they’re trying to throw it all away. People complain about taxes, about the weather, about the food, about their friends and family, about how little they have and how uncomfortable they are. Whine whine whine. We say we want leaders and yet we dis anyone that hopes to take the reigns and lead us.
One commenter used hyperbole to describe this foul national disposition:
Better off? Are they kidding? Last year I had to sell the lake house so now I’m stuck in this 5,400 sq ft colonial on a measly 4 acres with only a 3 car garage. We couldn’t afford to fly first class to Rio for our crappy 6 week vacation, so we had to settle for business class. (Then wouldn’t you know it…the freekin’ hotel runs out of Dom so we’re drinkin’ some kinda crap for $79.00 a bottle). Our cars are rapidly aging…the Cedes is a 2009 and the Beamer’s a 2008. And the HumVee’s mileage is already up to 3000 miles! Yeah sure, things are just smurfy!
For everyone who thinks life here in America stinks, think again. In spite of an increasing disparity in this country between rich and poor, we are all — with few exceptions — better off than we were 10, 20, 30, or 40 years ago.
America, quit your whining. Count your blessings! Before you do anything else, take just a minute or so to think of how grateful you ought to be for all the goodness in your life. And then starting tomorrow morning, and every morning from now on as you arise, recall how great it is to be alive, and what a fantastic day this will be.
So you remain convinced we’re still in recession? (Even though our economy turned around and started heading in a positive direction in 2009.) Still complaining about high taxes? (Even though tax reductions starting in 2008 put more take-home in every worker’s paycheck.) Stop it. Just stop it. Let’s instead give more focus to what we are for than what we are against. And if you find that difficult, then pull-eeze take a few deep breaths, look around you, and find something that you can begin to be happy about.
Nobody likes a bunch of whiners. We as a nation better start finding the guts, the spirit, the moxy, to embrace the good in our lives, or we can expect nothing more than what we deserve: the incredulity and ridicule of all other nations on earth who see our blessings, and shake their heads in wonder that we could be so dang ungrateful.
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