Some People Hate the Movie, "It's a Wonderful Life" -- Not Me!

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Recently, I have read two op-ed pieces that slam Frank Capra's classic Christmas movie, "It's a Wonderful Life." One author writes the following: "...I find the story very depressing. To me, it's a horror flick." The writer believes that George Bailey should have followed his dreams to leave Bedford Falls. She quotes the following dialogue spoken by George Bailey: "I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet, and I'm gonna see the world. .........Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. Then, I'm comin' back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I'm gonna build things. I'm gonna build airfields. I'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I'm gonna build bridges a mile long." After the op-ed writer quotes the above dialogue from the movie, she goes on to say the following: "Except he doesn't. He stays. Mary makes a secret wish to keep him there, and it comes true, at the expense of his happiness. Kinda cruel, if you ask me. .....Poor old George takes the tedious job in the shabby loan office, lives in the abandoned old house at 320 Sycamore Street that he always hated, and watches life pass him by. Meanwhile, his younger brother, Harry, and his pal, Sam Wainwright, go off and enjoy the adventures he yearned for. When George winds up suicidal, Clarence the angel is dispatched to remind him of the value of his personal sacrifice. ....As the town rallies around the long suffering George to rescue him from financial ruin, he finally realizes that what really counts in life is family and friends. I'll buy that. But Harry and Sam -- those two guys who left town and became a war hero and entrepreneur -- also seem to have found family and friends. Why must we choose between the two? Why can't we find love and also pursue our passions?" I think it's presumptuous of the writer to assume that George did NOT find his passion. In my view, George did find his passion -- and it was to serve his family and his town. Why does one have to travel the world and have an exciting, affluent life to feel passionate? Why can't they find it in their own backyard? That's my rebuttal. How about you? Do you love or hate "It's a Wonderful Life"? Please share your thoughts. Feel free to disagree. I won't get mad atcha!