The economy is bad. Why? Well, because the grumblers say so --that's why. Schools are in bad shape. Why? Because the grumblers say so --that's why. I've got a question of my own. Why should the grumblers always get the press? Sure, something is always going wrong for somebody, someplace; but the truth is, it's going pretty darn well for the most of us, most of the time. Couldn't somebody point that out? I suspect that if these are bad times we'll have to wait for Heaven for better times.
It seems to me that politicians always base their platforms on some upheaval that might come. Something like, "You might lose your job." Well, you might. Still, with the unemployment rate hovering at 5%, you've got a real good chance of getting another one if you’re willing to work. Compare that to say, 1940 at 14.6% unemployment (and mostly, only one family income), or 1982 at 9.7% unemployment.
When Washington Post foreign correspondent Paul Taylor looked back across the sea, he saw "An America that had colonized the planet with democracy, language, currency, computers, music and fast food. An America whose inflation and unemployment were low and whose stock market was booming. An America that had slain communism just as it had earlier slain fascism. An America at peace. American society looked impossibly rich, breathtakingly dynamic --and pathologically whiny" (Readers Digest, Jan. 1996). Pathologically whiny? Yes, "pathologically whiny" --twenty years later and that part has not changed!
Progress in America hasn't been just economic. There have been giant strides in grand moral issues: workers are better protected, women have greater equality, laws have been enacted to protect children, slavery has been abolished, there is greater awareness of racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination, and you're less likely to be lynched by a vigilante group. Nobody's claiming this is Heaven; yet, when compared to the tumultuous history of the world, it may be the next best thing.
I suspect that what's wrong with America lies more with us than with the government. We just won't elect them if they refuse to pamper us with goodies! The inability or unwillingness to keep a family together lies more with us than with Washington. And say, if the kids get out of control, isn't that more in the parent's department? With parents relentlessly criticizing teachers, schools, and authority figures, why should we be so surprised that kids are a lot less respectful? "Bashing" becomes a new "way of life."
Every society has its sins --America is no exception. Yet, if there is one that stands out for America it is the inability to see the good. The Bible points out that the underlying condition leading to the collapse of Rome was a lack of gratitude, "and neither were they thankful" (Romans 1:21). Unthankful people are rowdy, complaining, peevish, and impossible to please. I say politicians should not be allowed to start their speeches with the assumption that "these are the worst of times." If these are bad times, I wonder what good times would be like?
To all the grumblers in America, I beg, "Could you stop the grumbling for just a minute, and give the rest of us a moment of silence in which to be thankful?" Couldn't we just head into this new Thanksgiving season with thankfulness?