So true...  I just had to repost this.  Interesting read.  The media does have a lot of influences on us.  But the decisions...  ME!  We have it pretty good here.  I can actually step out of the door knowing that my chances are way better than anywhere else in the world.  Really wasn't written by Jay Leno... 

Comments: Apart from uttering the words that inspired the final paragraph of this text, Tonight Show host Jay Leno had nothing whatsoever to do with its authorship. The original was written by columnist Craig R. Smith and published in November 2006 on WorldNetDaily.com under the title "Made in the U.S.A.: Spoiled Brats."

This is a comment by Jay Leno and if you aren't a fan of him it is worth
reading anyway. We don't often stop to think about what we have and more always

 think about what we don't have. 

"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 the
so 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. & nbsp;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 peoples on Earth and should thank

God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative."

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding,
severe thunders torms 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