The "Jay Leno Letter"
Did He Or Didn't He - This was sent to me as the "Jay Leno Letter", you know the one that talks about how we should all be thanking our lucky stars because we live in the USA. I guess it's been floating around in Cyberland for a while but after doing some checking I don't think this can be attributed to Mr. Leno. He might share the sentiment but would have written it better technically and just might have been a bit nicer to his friends in the media. It's fun to think he did write this but, alas, I think it's just another one of those "Urban Myths" that pop up on the Internet from time to time. This may sound like an oxymoron but it reads to me more like it was written by an intelligent Marine! Personally I don't give a hoot about who wrote that letter, I would like to meet him or her so that I could tell them thanks for presenting me with some good skinny that I could pass along to my fellow Marines. I like to give credit where credit is due and I would thank them for sharing, what could have been, if it was real, a remarkable letter.
Because I don't believe that Mr. Leno had anything to do with writing it and because I would have no way of knowing who actually did, I felt free to mess around with it a little bit and put the pencil to it. I just tidied up the sentence structure to make it flow and added detail but I left the message intact. The tone did'nt change and the style of the individual that wrote it is still there. Simply, It accuses us Americans as being a little coddled and how we don't seem to appreciate what we have. We are people who have it all, yet demand more. We are a country populated by self-indulgent whiners who only think about themselves. And while all this may or may not be true it is written in a style that suggests the type of indignation you might see from frustrated military personel or a right winger of some kind. I just wish that the people of the US were less consumers than patriots. Who was it that said that you can't really appreciate something until you lose it? The only problem with that is - by the time that happens it's almost an impossible task to get it back. See if it sounds like anyone you know.
The Letter From Mr. Leno - "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 almost two-thirds of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the curious guy that 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 these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it's the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in one shop than the city of Baghdad 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 is it disturbing to think that there could possibly be thousands of clean and safe places we would find along the way that could provide warm food and a dry place to sleep without having to beg for it? I guess having uncounted numbers of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that we are unhappy when we have an accident in our vehicle, emergency workers show up and provide top-notch medical services to keep us alive until our professionally trained doctors can see us. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use state-of-the-art 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 home invasion should occur, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest, ready to risk his life for a complete stranger would come to the rescue of you and your family against this intrusion on your personal liberty. All of this within a neighborhood free of cafe bombs, snipers or armed militia in the streets. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of American teenagers own cell phones and are free to kill pedestrians with their BMW's on the way home from school because surely, they would'nt get distracted and if they want to text message their friends with aimless chatter, why shouldnt they?? This IS America isn't it?
What Price Freedom? - 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 and are angry that we don't seem to appreciate that we are the most blessed people in the world, free to do as we please without constantly looking over our shoulder. They look at us as people who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of giving thanks for what we have. The stupid Americans are getting what they deserve, an invasion of an unwanted horde. Meanwhile the drunks keep killing people and now it's not just the Harry Smith's of the world, its Muhammed Ghaniskhan or Pedro Mendez or some other person behind the wheel. Why just the other day a family of five was killed here as they got off the freeway. Rear ended by somebody who still thinks they're in Bahrain or somewhere in sandland. The media likes to get us all worked up to the fact that he still has'nt been charged. Forget profiling, they just can't seem to find where he violated the law. Just who is an American now? And who are the Americans of the future?
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. An other than honorable discharge may have been the kiss of death for your father's generation but not any more. My nephew told me the other day that he has never had anyone ever ask him about his miliary service when applying for a job. And he has had a few.
Blame It On The Media - 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 know that bad news sells, the badder, the better. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade on the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations (all except Time Warner). They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask yourself why a network like Fox would 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……Is this a great country or what?
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, and 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
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