The United States is in a great place, but we don’t seem to sufficiently appreciate it. The citizens of the USA are living in a wonderful, stable, peaceful time. There are currently no world wars, employment is available for those who want it, and food is plentiful. Compared to historical norms, negative world events affecting our affluent nation are not abnormally high.
There are spots of discontent and hunger, but they are mostly handled by government social agencies. Abuse of children, the mentally disabled, the elderly, and the mentally ill still exist, but protections are in place to safeguard our most vulnerable populations.
The USA is not perfect, but it is more than adequately meeting the basic needs of its people. However, too many Americans are unappreciative of what they have as individuals. The majority of citizens have all their life necessities met more than adequately when they take the initiative to do so.
We Americans have more material goods than most any nation in the world’s history. Although there is no great joy or celebration, there is a great tendency of US citizens asking, “Is this all there is?”
There is a strong impression that we all have lost our sense of appreciation for a life that people in most of the world could dream about. Could it be that the American dream has been so amazingly realized that citizens have forgotten about the hard times when they did not have the affluence they now possess? Too much of anything, including blessings, can weaken our appreciation of what we have gone through on our own.
Young people, just out of higher education or advanced technical programs, are under the impression that they should start out on the top of the employment ladder making top salaries and benefits. They may not realize they have to be successful through their own good works. They will only prove themselves through their diligence over time and perseverance.
The USA has not been actively involved in any war for more than a decade. Although crime is too high in some urban areas, crime is decreasing overall outside these high crime areas.
If our citizens get fixated by our media who highlights every dramatic tragedy, we will get a one-sided, negative picture of our nation. Adding to this distorted picture are all the nay-sayers who speculate that when something happens like a slowdown in particular sectors of the economy it will precipitate a major slowdown in the economy affecting us all.
The United States is far from perfect although it is still a great place to live. We should count our many blessings while trying to make our nation even better. Highlighting only imperfections distorts the great achievements of our wonderful nation. Yes, we are not perfect, but we may be the best nation overall at this time.
Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers and blogs, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. Dr. Maglio is an author of weekly newspaper articles, INVASION WITHIN and the latest book entitled, IN CHARGE PARENTING In a PC World. You can see many of Dr. Maglio’s articles at www.drmaglioblogspot.com.
