A few days ago, I read an article in Newsweek magazine with some poll data about the way some Americans feel about conditions here in the U.S.

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 our president. According to the article, two-thirds of the citizenry just aren't happy and want a change.

So, what are some of us so unhappy about? I know that the war in Iraq has caused a lot of people to change their thinking about the President, but there must be something else to cause the American people to have such a negative feeling about our country.

it that we have so much like electricity and running water any time we need it, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week?

Could it be that we are unhappy because we have air conditioning in the summer and comfortable heating units in the winter?

I wonder if it is because 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have good paying jobs? Maybe it's because we can buy gasoline for our new automobiles and drive to the city of our choice just to go shopping.

Or, maybe it's because we can go into a grocery store and find more food in two minutes than some people living overseas have ever seen.

Maybe it's because we can hop in our fine cars and drive from the East Coast to the West Coast across many state lines without ever showing identification papers at the state lines.

What about the clean restaurants with one's choice of cuisine, and clean motels and hotels we find along the way? Maybe this makes them unhappy.

Could it be that when we have a car accident and need medical help, emergency people show up and take us to a medical facility?

According to this Newsweek article, about 70 percent of Americans own their homes. Some of these folks may be unhappy with knowing that in case of fire, trained firefighters will appear quickly and extinguish the flames that would have destroyed their homes and all their belongings.

Or, maybe they're unhappy because of the protection afforded by our uniformed officers who put their lives on the line when coming to our defense when a criminal tries to break into our homes to harm us or steal our property.

Maybe they're unhappy because our children can attend free public schools and be protected while getting an education.

How about our religious freedoms? We enjoy more social and political freedoms than any other country in the world, yet the poll says that 67 percent of us are unhappy.

We are the most blessed people in the world, yet we find so much to complain about. Could it be that we have too many privileges, too many freedoms and we are taking them for granted?

T&D Correspondent Jim Wingard can be reached by e-mail at jamesrwingard@bellsouth.net. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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