Are Americans really thankful for what we have?

Some might be. Let’s not lump people in one group, though.

Given the amount of the world GNP we control, we have a lot to be ashamed of as well. One in four children in this country go to bed hungry every night. Kids get out of college with debt for their education that will take them 20 -50 years to pay off. Old people cannot live off social security. We don’t care for those diagnosed with mental illness, and they often end up on the streets. Day care workers barely make minimum wage.

I’m thankful.

Do some people ask inflammatory questions and make ridiculous presumptions?

I wish I had more shoes; I’ve worn all of these for 3 months already!!

@eponymoushipster This is the holiday season, and everywhere it seems to be I am told to give thanks actually it started just shy of Thanksgiving so I thought about what I have that people I have contacted don’t. Things they feel I am lucky to have like running water and a gas heater to heat my house. If you cannot think of anything to be thankful for here you could go live in places like the Philippines, or Nigeria and maybe you will notice a big difference. Or you could stay here and be like many I have run into that are bitter because they had to sell their 6 bedroom house and get a e bedroom, or give up the country club membership BUT still get to go play golf on a public course oh, the shame of it. We won’t even talk about the guy pouting because he can’t move up to a 54in big screen from a 42on because his company is not giving out bonuses this year forget the part where he still has a job. But, glad to see you noticed the question :-)

For the most part we are all grateful for what we get and what we have. Most of us though, have no real basis for comparing what we have versus what life is like for the less fortunate. We know they are around, we see the tug at the heart string movie of the week, but we really don’t take a “real” look. What I mean is we “know” but it isn’t part of our “reality”, so it doesn’t strike home.

Some people are thankful, some people are not – I think more people should recognize there is a world beyond America out there and understand their privileges, but that’s too much to hope for and apparently people don’t like being told that because they immediately go into’ blad di blah I worked hard to be this wasteful’

I’m thankful and grateful, and do my best not to take anything for granted. I think a lot of Americans have no idea how good they have it.

Why don’t you ask @Sebulba??

@JLeslie, I know how good I have it, and I know how fragile it is. What I don’t think is that most people who ask these sorts of questions don’t acknowledge the significant portion of people in this country that don’t live like they do, or that what passes for normal in other places in this country is not what they live.

@Hypocrisy_Central maybe you could stop making assumptions about people and start doing something on Fluther besides soapboxing your moral agenda.

Ive lived in places that only got hot water once a week, places where the water is unfit to drink even for the locals, and places where people will eat turned food simply so they have something to eat.

how about you stop whining about things and start doing something productive? this is your great truth – some people are materialistic? what’s next – the sky is blue?

what’s more – people are materialistic in countries other than the US. if you’re so into showing us what it’s all about, why don’t you move to Nigeria, and maybe ill get an email from you in a few months in my spam folder.

I believe that there are quite a few people in America who are not thankful for anything as they expect others to suppport and take care of them…..

We give our children so much , and for doing nothing… that they come to EXPECT things to be given and just handed to them without any work or efffort to EARN anything… and this is sad commentary on America today.

However; with that said; I am very Thankful every day for what I have and my health, as bad as it is , because I can ALWAYS turn on the television or pick up a newspaper and see those right here in America who are worse off in so many ways thatn I am…

@HighShaman how could you know what I’m teaching my children?

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Did I mention YOU specifically ? NO; I did NOT ..so quit being so damm thin skinned . OR; is that GUILT…. ?

Oh no, it has begun!

Have you ever been to Mexico? go there just for a visit and compare what the majority of the Mexicans have, compared to Americans. no wonder they all attempt to cross the border into America. i am for anyone coming to America, just be legal. the majority of Mexicans live in lean-to kind of huts. their water is filthy and there is crape all over the place. the women come to you and beg you to buy their children. they work for little of nothing and have nothing to show for it. in Mexico, the rich are very rich and the poor do not stand a chance. the drug cartels are running the country. get in their way and either they will kill you or the police will. its a country out of control. i go to bed at night and thank God i was born and live in America. people gripe and complain about everthing in America. go and live 30 days in Mexico and that will stop your complaints. we not have the best judicial system in the world, but it beats anything else thats out there. at least the trials are by jury and not some powerhunger drug pusher. be thankful you live in the United States. you can go and visit anywhere you please, but there is no place like home, America.

There are other countries that are great places to live too. It’s not all doom and gloom out there. Just saying…

It is what it is.
So I am what I am.

Most of all, as there are many others, very thankful for my freedom! My father gave his life on the beaches of Normandy D-Day and freedom really means something to me. Dad, did not die there physically, but mentally, as he spent a large part of his life in mental institutions caused by the War!

Today, very thankful for our men and women, that are fighting the War against terrorist. While we are here in the safety of our homes posting things on the internet, they are in a Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. fighting for us.

Thank you for the question!

No, I don’t think they are, but on the other hand, I also think a lot of Americans don’t understand that there are a lot of other places, other countries, that are good places to live, where people feel just as strongly about living where they do as many Americans do about living in the U.S.

I don’t understand what kind of answer you’re looking for. I don’t know all 300,000,000+ Americans. I cannot tell you if they are thankful for what they have or not. The only person I can speak for is myself and yes, I am thankful. I’ve been to Kenya and Mexico and such, I’m aware of the less-developed parts of the world outside the U.S.

Furthermore, America is not the only wealthy country in the world. Per-capita-wise, Qatar, Luxembourg, Norway, Brunei, and Singapore are wealthier. Just saying. The rest of Europe isn’t doing too bad either. Australia has, on average, larger houses than the United States. It’s not just America. Just thought I’d throw that out there…

@john65pennington That is so real. Some might think to fathom the such a thing is soap boxing, grandstanding, etc but many not all do not really imagine what it would be like to have to wake under those conditions. Because they have a 4 cyl compact they bitch because it is not a 3oohp sports car or a powerful SUV. There are places on the globe that enjoy good living but most people want to come here, the US of A, this is the game for many people. Just get here and anything is possible. Thanks for realizing, and having vision,

@Hypocrisy_Central so, are you moving to one of these places?

No.

We’re continuously reminded that what we have/who we are is never enough.
A great many of us believe that.

So our entire existence is based on the accumulation of more.

No not really the only thing that Americans are thankful for are material items like ipods (not that I don’t love my ipod) and the biggest tv that you can get and other things like that

I’m thankful, but it’s impossible for anyone to be entirely thankful for everything.

I am! I am SO thankful for my car, house, education, and all the wonderful luxuries I have. I am so lucky.
But, there are too many people (NOT just Americans) who are not thankful for what they have, like the snobby rich.

@Freedom_Issues No one is or could be thankful for everything because there are many things one never realize that it was in deed something to be thankful for. But what one does know about one then would know to be thankful for that. ;-)

I’m just glad to be alive.

@PandoraBoxx I understand what you are saying. You might have seen on other threads how disgusted I am that being poor in America often times means you live unsafely (especially in the inner cities). Many of these neighborhoods are like war zones, with bullets flying, drugs, and mental trauma/illness. Many in America fail to see how good they have it just compared to other Americans.

@all I also agree with many here pointing out that there are other countries out there which are doing very well also. With freedoms and wealth similar, and in some cases maybe better than the US, but they tend to be in cold cimates, and I hate being cold. The ones in warmer climates may have the wealth, but don’t seem to have the individual freedoms, but probably there are some examples I am not thinking of.

When I answered the question I was not saying only America has it so great, I was just saying I was grateful for what I do have, and it could be much worse. I also think of it compared to 100 years ago, not just other countries. 100 years ago women died in child birth all of the time (which by the way does happen in countries still) and now we can travel 1000 miles in less than 2 hours. I can text or call my family whenever I want, and be in touch instantly. I can sit in the comfort of my own home and be entertained by the television or listen to my favorite songs. All sorts of things that are fascinating to me, even though I have these things basically my entire life.

I think some of it has to do with percentages. It is true that there are Americans who live without running water or indoor plumbing. @john65pennington talked about Mexico. The thing about Mexico is such a large percentage of the population lives in poverty it stands out, or people are less insulated that in America. My husband is from the “upper class” of Mexico. But, as I learned more about how much money they really had, and their education level, when he was growing up, I began to realize that in America he was really upper middle class by our standards, or definitely teetored on the line. I think many perceive Mexicans as being superwealthy or poor, but that is innacurate; they are upper class or lower class, it is not quite the same thing. I am not a sociologist, but it seems to me that the upper class just accepts people into their class more readily than in he US, there are fewer things that define the different strata of the classes. Plus, in suburbia today in America people are not really in touch with poverty, as I said earlier, they are insulated. Most third world countries have city and country, very little suburbia. People who live in the city are more aware of poor people, people who live on the street, and the mentally ill.

No. We’ve evolved (or devolved) to the point where the masses are only happy that their government will now take what I have.

@coolbeans Yes! I know people just like that, to even have a TV period is not good enough. To have a car os not good enough, they have to have the biggest with 1080p 3+ HDML ports that does gaming and have 750MHz speed. The house HAS to have a 3 car gerage minimun and a gourmet kitchen as if a smaller regular kirchen could not cook chicken just as well. Their car has to have GPS, cruise control, electric seats, a power retractable top etc., and not be older than 2 years of the current date heaven forbid a 4 year old car might make them look cheap. Those things if one didn’t have them they are not going to die, go hungry, freeze to death without shelter or something like that. I am not against those who want trappings like that, I have some and will buy more in the future but I know what they are, endulgences and not basic needs.

I think maybe it has to do with a hierarchy of needs. Once you get all of the basics met, then you focus on the more frivolous, the wants. Not exactly what Maslow was talking about, but same sort of idea. So, maybe we talk about the granite counters and the three car garage, because the things like food and shelter are a given; at least a given at this point in the persons life. It just sounds very ungrateful and bratty if you are one of the people struggling to make ends meet.

@JLeslie With me it was not being pissed at the idle rich because they flainted wealth while I was struggling, I have road high and low never as high as the Gettys, Montibanks, or the Gates. Those times when I was doing well, I forgot a lot of the little things, if the city said they had to shut the water off for an hour and a half to fix the pipes which in the long run I knew would be better for all I was annoyed that I could not have running water for 90 min+/-, when there are people in the world who would want to have running water if only for 6 hours a day if they could get it. When you have so much on the top one can forget the little things on the botton, the everyday things that make life slightly better.

Australia has great climates, good economy and personal freedoms…

@Hypocrisy_Central That probably describes a lot of people. I feel like I rarely fall into that. I am always very happy for the little things. I grew up modestly, and now have more than I ever imagined I would have. I could have much much more, but don’t even desire it. I was raised that money gives you independence, freedom, and power, with little focus on what it buys regarding material things. I think my father was brilliant that he repeated that to me a few times in my youth.

But, if I am honest, I am aware and feel badly for people who don’t have running water as you mention above, as I said I don’t take what I have for granted, but am I willing to part with a bunch of my money to maybe help them? Not to the point that it would inconvenience me. Maybe that sounds selfish?

@SirGoofy I am sure many in Haiti are thinking that too my friend. Especially when there were no rules on who would make it out or who would be lucky to find a pocket in the wreckage that saved them.

I think it’s human nature..( or at least the nature of many unconscious types ) to take for granted the goodness and prosperity they enjoy. The poorest American is still living many times better than a whole lot of others on the planet. Gratitude for what one has, be it health, family or monetary ‘riches’ is an oft forgotten appriciation.

If you take things to a bare bones ‘spiritual’ level if one loses their sight they have gratiude for their hearing, and on it goes. ‘Happiness’ in general is usually much more of a mindset and personalty fixture ( pessimist/optimist) than anything to do with the ever changing circumstances of one’s life IMO. Most people can’t even tell you the color of their best friends eye’s….observation and appriciation escape a lot of folk.

Apart from cars and other luxuries of choice, we are on the cusp of Thanksgiving but how many are truly thankful? Here in America we have hot and cold running water; no heating up over a fire pit or hauling it 500yd from the communal well. Most will have a fat bird to eat on Thanksgiving with all the trimmings in a nice warm house and a table to sit at. There won’t be any leaky roofs or muddy dirt floors to contend with. The roads to and from family that might be visited will be more than not smooth, easy and safe (barring douche bag drunk driver) to travel. How Thankful are we? With all this what can people really grumble about? Because someone else has more cars, a bass boat, larger flat screen or newer cell phone? If you get home or end the day at home after the guest are gone and you have a full belly and you are alive and well, shouldn’t you take time to be thankful of that?