Is Jay Leno Right About We The People?

Anderson, Indiana
May 18, 2008 6:12pm CST
I want to share something with you that came in my e-mail a few minutes ago--it was written by Jay Leno, showing us a more serious side of him. What do you think? Do you think that he's hit the nail on the head or is way-off-base? Please read what he has written and share it with others--and please join a discussion about what he's said here. While there might be a little thing here and a little thing there that I might not agree with, I personally think that he's hit the nail right on thehead! Scroll down to read it--and don't forget to both share with others and to discuss it here... ********************************************** PLEASE READ AND KEEP IT GOING.......... Very interesting perspective by Jay Leno... I hope you will all read to the end. Jay Leno puts it into perspective and makes us think about the pathetic negativity. That's right, Jay Leno!! Jay Leno wrote this; it's the Jay Leno we don't often see.... 'The other day I was rea ding 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, 2/3's of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. 'So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we 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 these 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 unfortuna te ca se 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 o f 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 ar e 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. 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 Pres ident 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 pe rso nal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind eve r y 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 bloo d an d 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 people 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 thunderstorms 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 2007 Please keep this in circulation. There are so many people that need to read this and grasp the truth of it all.
4 responses
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
19 May 08
I am afraid that Jay Leno talks as much crap as the media does. Sure... Jay Leno with his millions don't have a problem going to the shop and buy all of what his little heart desire. But don't you read about the suffering of the people on myLot. All those who cannot afford to pay their electrecity bill and put gas in their car. Yes America has everything... but 40 per cent of its population lives on the poverty line and cannot afford to buy any of those things. The President who cut taxes to take you out of the recession that he created. The people going bankrupt and losing their home. Think of what the President could have done for America with the trillion dollars he spent in Irak. You did not need to go in Afganisthan and Irak to prevent terrorism in America. You went there to seek revenge... very little else. Not all soldiers are volonteers. Many of those so called volonteers were called in after making the mistake of signing in the army in exchange for free education. Some have paid the ultimate price for that education. I think Jay Leno has lost touch with reality and is using his fame to promote the government which is facing an election. I wonder how many millions George Bush has paid Jay Leno for saying this.
2 people like this
• Anderson, Indiana
20 May 08
Some people without a roof over their head can access a computer via a library and/or homeless shelter, so that wouldn't necessarily have to be true--though I doubt if there are many actual homeless people here. However, who knows just how many of them are a paycheck away from being homeless? Still, even the worst of us are far better off than the people of the Third World. One good sign that the USA isn't a horrible place to live is the number of people who choose it to escape to--or even to live in when they aren't in any sort of danger or being oppressed but just want to live in a country with more opportunities than their old one offered.
1 person likes this
• Anderson, Indiana
20 May 08
Sadly, when it comes to Africa, it wasn't the common man who kicked us out when we tried to help. It was the government. The people would have been glad to have kept developing. A healthy economy was, obviously, seen as a threat by their government. If I really wanted to live in New York, I would probably take part of that $10,000 and invest it somehow to see if it would be possible to make it grow so I would realize my dream. However, I would probably use a great deal of it to get out of there and live somewhere cheaper until I saved up enough to live in NYC and would be sure of continuing to have enough. That's one thing nice about this country. There's always somewhere else to live if you don't get stuck somewhere. It's easy to find a place where $10,000 would go a lot more slowly and grow. In the Third World, that much money is much harder to come by in the first place. What we need to do here before moving into an area is to study it and make sure that we can afford to live there and only move there once we've done our homework. The United States gives people the opportunity to do this where it isn't even a possibility in the Third World. Yes, Saddam used scuds back in 1991, but I never thought that he would be using scuds to aim at us way over here. I was thinking more along the lines of mushroom clouds--and I think that he had the capabilities to carry something like this out and just had them well hidden.
1 person likes this
• Australia
20 May 08
I don't understand why people keep comparing poverty in the Western World with poverty in Africa. Poverty is base on the living standard of each individual country. If you were to retire in New York with $10.000... you would be homeless and broke within six months. If you retired in Africa with $10.000... you would be regarded as a millionaire. The Western World has fought wars for the last two centuries to get its freedom from oppression. We worked hard and invested heavily into development and innovations. That is why we are wealthy. It did not fall from the sky into our lap. In the meantime... what did Africa do? We went there to help them develop their country. But they objected to us making a profit out of it... so they kicked us out from all the colonies. As a result... they have fallen back into the dark ages. They only have themselve to blame for it. If they had kept the colonies... Africa would be developed by now. Better to be safe than sorry when he was concerned after seeing the way that he could hurl those scud missiles. Imagine what he wouldn't be hesitant to do with something more powerful and capable of reaching our soil! We do have anti-ballistic missiles to intercept those scuds you know. Israel was given quite a few of them by America to protect itself from Irak. And those scuds only had the capability to go as far as Israel. America is a long way away from there.
2 people like this
• United States
22 May 08
Boy, is he right!! He hit the nail on the head. We are spoiled little brats. Look at all we have to be thankful for. Are we thankful no we gripe and conplain daily, oh some are grateful, don't get me wrong. I'm grateful, but I to gripe, I have the luxery of going fishing and enjoying the sunshine, but what do I do complain I didn't catch a fish. I gripe I'm fat but in reality I should be thankful I have all my body part and should be very thankful I have food unlike all the starving homeless children of this world, that not many people even care about. I tell you I am going to take a closer look at my life and begin to scrutinise how I think. Thank you so much AJ and thank you Jay leno. Aj than you so much for posting this. Wow I sure hope it helps other people see how blessed they are to and they also will start being more thankful and grateful for their lives also.
• Anderson, Indiana
23 May 08
Yes, we do have a lot to gripe about--and it's okay to gripe, because constructive griping changes things--but we also have so much to be thankful for that we shouldn't let our blessings get lost in all of the griping! Russell's certainly blessed at this time, and I'm so excited about that. He is, too--even though he's not sure yet just what to do with all of that money! Hope this is a wonderful day for you! You deserve it!
1 person likes this
• United States
25 May 08
Thank you AJ! Yes! I am thankful for all the blessings I have, very thankful! I'm so happy for Russell! So very happy! He deserves this more than anyone. Now he can help the children more and get his life situated. Take care angel.
2 people like this
• Anderson, Indiana
30 May 08
You're doing a lot, too, Yvonne! If anybody is in Cadiz, Kentucky, they should stop by the supermarket there if it's a Wednesday and buy some of the handcrafts you're selling to raise money for IYN!
1 person likes this
@jtr115 (722)
• United States
2 Jun 08
While I agree with most of Leno's statement, I take issue with his blaming of the media, especially when he is part of it. Leno praises the president here, but how many times has he and the other talk show hosts relied on "Bush is dumb" jokes and other put downs to get a cheap laugh or round of applause? His statement about the "if it bleeds, it leads" media certainly rings true. Again, how many times has Leno interviewed the star of a violent movie and shown a clip? How many kids selling lemonade has he interviewed? Also, the media did not "try to allow" O.J. Simpson to write his book. He did that on his own, which (as an American) he has the right to do, and the rest of us had the right to buy or not buy the book. I will take Leno's advice to be more grateful for what I have, but he needs to remember that he was once a struggling comic who didn't have all the luxuries he has today. I'm sure he did his fair share of complaining back then.
1 person likes this
• Anderson, Indiana
2 Jun 08
I think that Jay Leno probably thinks of his dumb Bush jokes as just jokes. They're told as jokes. The media influence to which he was referring is probably those who intentionally put a slant on us that makes us seem to be more discontent than the average kind of discontent that people have just from having not. The average kind of discontent is the kind of discontent that says that things aren't perfect now but they have the potential to change. Some of the media (as well as politicians and other sources) have a tendency to put a kind of slant on things that will inspire apathy more than it will inspire change. The only kind of change being promoted in this case would be the kind that says that we need big government to step in and take care of us because we're totally-helpless. You're right about that book by O.J. Simpson. The fact that he could write it is part of what makes America great--freedom of speech and freedom of the press. People also have the right to buy it--or not. Those kinds of freedoms are very important to us, and we need to be alert to when there might be danger of their being taken from us--as seems to be attempted here (freedom to buy and sell)... http://www.epinions.com/content_5202878596
1 person likes this
@Adelida2233 (1005)
• United States
19 May 08
This is a great article. I applaud Jay Leno for showing how it truly is...as usual.
• Anderson, Indiana
19 May 08
I very much agree! What a creative piece reminding us to count our blessings and realize how really great that we have it--which isn't to say that everything is perfect, and there are issues needing to be address, such as those of homeless and/or otherwise at-risk youth... http://invisibleyouthnetwork.org/ ...along with cyberbullying, real-life bullying, poverty, corruption in high places, etc. But being reminded of our blessings and being thankful for what we have isn't the same as putting on blinders and ignoring our blemishes.
1 person likes this