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It's high time to get unhappy about being unhappy
By Ken Byler, Up the Creek
It appears that America, the most hospitable nation on the planet, isn't as happy as it used to be. After arguing with my television set for several minutes and then abruptly turning it off, I got to thinking: Television is becoming the biggest irritant in my tranquil life. I'd probably be happier if I just didn't watch it any more. But then I'd be like Uncle Cletus who, after reading that drinking alcohol causes sclerosis of the liver, declared, "That's it, no more reading for me."
There's no doubt that most Americans are getting their news information in 3-minute television bites. And bad news is what network and cable television news shows thrive on.
America has never had safer workplaces or better medical facilities or more of them than it does today. Nor more folks on disability. Being fat is the biggest health problem for folks on the poverty rolls. People have plenty to eat and 500 TV channels. Americans ought to be happy, but it appears they're not.
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| Ken Byler |
It could be because thorny issues plague the nation, with the de-Christianizing of the country being the thorniest.
It could be because non-negotiable values of one group are incompatible with the agenda of another.
It could be because folks have forgotten that the Constitution - that wonderful founding instrument - never mentions Christianity. Nor do any of the other founding documents. The dollar bill has a Star of David and the Freemasons' all-seeing eye on it, but no cross.
The gap between rich and poor is widening, and more and more folks are falling on the poor side of the gap. The middle class has moved to gated communities in the hinterlands, and poor folks can't live in town without government assistance.
Down in the Dallas Arts District there's a lack of ... Yep! You guessed it: artists. The gazillionaire property owners don't want to lower the rent so that artists can afford to live there. They want taxpayers to subsidize it. So the Dallas City Council obliged and endorsed a tax credit for subsidized housing in million-dollar condo neighborhoods.
It could be because governmental control of human behavior and the environment is growing. The population is on camera nearly everywhere it congregates. There's an underlying hostility between men and women. The white male population is in passive fear of being called racists, homophobes or sexists.
The antagonism is between traditional Americanism and political correctness and runs along political party lines.
Few are looking for solutions and even fewer are speaking honestly. Reporters for the leading daily regional newspaper are suggesting the entire populace of Texas is responsible for the high teen-pregnancy rate. It's dishonest but politically correct for reporters to ignore the fact that 70 percent of the births in one minority group are given by unwed, mostly teenage mothers.
It's dishonest to ignore the reason that dang-nigh everything that's sold in this country is made in communist China, the reason being that when it comes to moral obligations to labor, the difference between communism and capitalism is zero. Capitalists are just as willing as communists to work people for wages they can't live on, foul everybody's air and water while professing a desire to serve the common good.
Neither capitalists nor communists are above taking advantage of cheap labor to make a profit. It's only my opinion, but I believe that's why a lot of businessmen say America needs illegal immigrants to be able to compete in the global economy.
It could be that we'll muddle on with nothing changing until it has to. Then we'll have something else to be unhappy about.
In the meantime, we should remember that the unintended consequences of government meddling aren't all bad. For example, if not for TSA airport screenings, Uncle Cletus would've never known he had an enlarged prostate.
Ken Byler is a Star Local News columnist. Email him at kbyler@tx.rr.com.
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