Relentlessly negative
- Saturday, June 14 2008 @ 08:43 AM CST
- Contributed by: filbert
- Views: 1,323
The Brookings Institution's Gregg Easterbrook, in the Wall Street Journal:
Life isn't easy. Life isn't supposed to be easy. Life isn't supposed to be anything. Life just is.
Life is about meeting and overcoming challenges. Life is about making yourself better--better for yourself, better for those around you. Life is about losing those ten pounds. Life is about reading a good book. Life is about making a friend happy. Life is about making a loved one feel loved. Life is the daily struggle to Do The Right Thing. Some days are better than other days. Some days are worse.
Life is about turning off the TV, putting down the magazine, turning off the computer for a while, and stepping away from the doom and gloom, and seeing for yourself what is important in your life.
The relentlessly negative impressions of American life presented by the media, including the entertainment media, explain something otherwise puzzling that shows up in psychological data. When asked about the country's economy, schools, health care or community spirit, Americans tell pollsters the situation is dreadful. But when asked about their own jobs, schools, doctors and communities, people tell pollsters the situation is good.Yes, there are people struggling out there. But you know, there are ALWAYS people struggling out there. If it wasn't gas prices, it would be the mortgage. If it wasn't the mortgage, it would be that unexpected illness. If it's not that, then it's politics at work. If it's not that, it's something else.
Life isn't easy. Life isn't supposed to be easy. Life isn't supposed to be anything. Life just is.
Life is about meeting and overcoming challenges. Life is about making yourself better--better for yourself, better for those around you. Life is about losing those ten pounds. Life is about reading a good book. Life is about making a friend happy. Life is about making a loved one feel loved. Life is the daily struggle to Do The Right Thing. Some days are better than other days. Some days are worse.
Life is about turning off the TV, putting down the magazine, turning off the computer for a while, and stepping away from the doom and gloom, and seeing for yourself what is important in your life.