When did we become this entitled and whiny as a nation? This has been weighing on my mind for a couple of years now. Every time I see a story about obesity in America or inappropriate television for children I go into a minor fit of rage.
What do we expect? We live in one of the most privileged nations in the world. We have running water. We have a strong military to protect us from foreign invaders. Police officers, however my disposition toward them, arrive on scenes as fast as possible to take care of bad situations. And maybe most importantly, most of us are employed for crying out loud.
What more do you want? We could try another civil war if you wanted. Or maybe we could give social unrest a chance. How about a hearty helping of communism? Sounds like smooth sailing to me!
Be thankful for what you have. Do you want to live in Libya? Yeah, I don’t either. I think the United States needs to put on a PR campaign spotlighting just how good we have it. Run mandatory PSAs on all the major broadcast channels. We could do a compare and contrast thing like “Remember the dust bowl? No? Ask your grandma – she’ll tell you to shut up and be happy!” We could have Sean Connery and Rosie O’Donnell do it together so everyone gets the message of unity and prosperity.
Okay maybe we can skip the Sean and Rosie part.
Visiting any forum or product/service review website on the internet inevitably leads to what I hate the most – people complaining about things so miniscule that it actually makes me look at the product or topic and say “Gee, this must be worth buying/reading if that’s all people can find to complain about.”
I’m going to tell a short story to get my point across. A couple of months ago I was in the market for a new cooling pad for a laptop. I stumbled across a fairly inexpensive (and mostly highly reviewed) product that I eventually settled on. But somewhere under the reviews, there was someone complaining that the cooling pad had arrived for them and their child used it to hit their pet dog with, leaving a knot on the dog’s head. I’m not entirely sure why this person was angry at the people at Tarsus, but they down-rated the cooling pad (1 star out of 5) because it was made of material that could injure someone if the pad was used as a weapon, especially if the child hit itself in the head with it.
Wow.
Hold on, I’m not done being shocked yet…wow. Okay, I’m better. I can’t find the review now, so either it was a joke or it was removed by the moderator because it was ridiculous. I don’t know which. But…
This is going to sound harsh, and that’s okay because I mean for it to. If the child hits itself in the head with a cooling pad, I think that might be natural selection at work. All I’m saying is the Dodo is extinct because it was a sucky animal.
You know what kids a couple generations ago played with when they were that age? Wood burning kits. In the house. Next to the curtains.
So I’ll ask again, when did we turn into a nation of sniveling crybabies? This article is talking about a new measure we’re taking in the fight against obesity in this country. People are voting for a law to make restaurants put calorie content on their menus. Some already have this, but it’s always the restaurant’s “low-calorie” options.
We don’t need to see calorie intake to make us skinny. We need to eat healthy and exercise. I’ve gained 30 pounds since I graduated high school, so I’m at the root of the problem. But do I think ensuring calorie counts are visible is going to help me?
Hell no. I eat what I want when I want it because I’m an American with no regard for being a fatty-fatty two-by-four. The only way to fight obesity is to outlaw the things that make us fat – not show us how many calories that extra slice of bacon has in it.
Obesity (and having stupid children) is our fault. Ours. It shouldn’t be up to the rest of the world to ensure our safety or well-being. The concern is ours. Stop complaining and do something about it instead of making others do it for you.
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