During a conversation with my grandmother of 85 years I realized just how far down the cultural ladder we have slid. She grew up in on of the poorest towns in New Jersey. Her, her sister, brother and mother lived in a shack with a coal stove, an out house and water from a pump that was 20 yards away. He mother used to send her down to the railroad tracks everyday to pick up coal that had fallen from the rail cars (she was five). Needless to say they were quite poor. At one point I asked her what The Great Depression was like. She blew me away with her answer. "We were so poor we didn't even notice", was her answer. Stating that it wasn't till after the fact that she had heard of this "Depression". During the conversation she longed for those days of abstract poverty. I was puzzled to hear her painting such a rosy picture of what seemed to me to be deplorable conditions. When I questioned her on this she simply stated, "We were poor but we were happy".

Happy.

Something I see very little from my fellow Americans who I interact with every day. It seems as thought the "American Dream" has morphed into the "American Nightmare". I don't pretend to know the reason why or even imply that I have a solution but the palpable unhappiness that I feel from people seems to be the symptom of a much bigger problem. We have allowed ourselves to become lulled into submission and have accepted this sorry existence as a way of life. Broken families, rampant drug use, the loss of simple virtues like honesty, compassion and goodwill are all but lost. Just the simple fact that Paris Hilton's most recent scandal holds much more interest to the average American than the varied world plights of hunger, genocide or political upheaval speaks to our values. Don't agree? Just turn on the TV. The networks are only giving us what we are asking for. Between the reality shows, MTV's "Cribs", the spread of legalized gambling and a whole host of distractive items and events we seem to have lost the will to become better than we were yesterday. Stagnation leads to a whole host of negative results. Our seeming disinterest in the political process has left our present government with the notion that they can pretty much do whatever they want. They seem to know that we might bitch about it but the latest Hollywood scandal will soon extinguish any rise against the machine. We are becoming sub-human and it is spiraling out of control. Fear, distrust and isolation has replaced love, trust and inclusion. I have been a willing participant in this downward spiral for quite some time. However it wasn't until I saw that my young children are become a more amplified version of that lesser self that I snapped out of the "National Trance" and began to resist.

I'm here to sound the alarm.

We are under attack. Not from Islamic extremists but from that lesser, lazy, uncaring form of humanism that we have allowed to dominate us. Examine your life and the lives of those around you. Are you happy? Are you fulfilled? Do you recognize that this is the most exciting time in human history to be alive? Or are you simple detached , unhappy or waiting for that distant day to come where its all going to be alright?

We can stop this if we choose. Our country was founded by people that believed in the unending creativity that exists within the heart of every man and woman that walks this planet. Call upon that greater self to say no to the distractions and yes to the dynamic human spirit that is screaming to be heard. Lets start over and give our kids something to be proud of.

Do it now.

Yes, everyone was on Cloud Nine 85 years ago. They worked longer hours, lived in cramped quarters, and died sooner. They had just been through a Great War and were running pell mell for another one. Millions had died from influenza, stacked like cordwood in the streets. You could die from a scratch on your arm since there were no antibiotics. And forget about working conditions. If you complained, you'd get a lead pipe over your head. How dare a common laborer open their yap! And god forbid you were born a negro! If you were caught admiring a white woman, they'd lynch you from a tree and have their photos taken by your hanging corpse.

Good times. Good times.

I suppose its easy to criticize another's thoughts when your persona is hidden behind some obscure tag. Enough said.

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Hey you! Yes you. Had enough yet?.................How about now?

I'm very happy. I am not a doom and gloom, the end is near, kind of person. Sorry.

Is there much to be done? Oh hell yeah. Are we worse off than our forebearers? Hell no.

I would never envy the lives of those who lived 85 years ago and if you experienced their lives for yourself neither would you.

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Proof of media bias? A mistake by the major networks they don't want you to know about. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media...als_04-24.html

this is because our views of happiness have changed. in the early 1900's a happy man was one that had a family, a house, and food on the table. Quite simple and homely. Life was harder then and money didnt exactly fall from the sky. Happiness was a different concept

Today, however, happiness is poinsoned by false pretenses, greed, and desire. Money controls the world and it is the key to success as some beleive. Kids dont know how to have fun without expensive things. And THINGS are what people want. Things things things things are all we care about in America. We need everything and we have forgoten what is truly valuable-friends, family, and a nice hot meal in a simple house.

This can not be cured so easily as by saying "stop it!" Persuading people is hopeless as they are blind. No, the only hope is to wait and pray that it is for the best because as the corperations grow so does American citizens greed.

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Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.
`J.R.R. Tolkien-The Lord of the rings, Volume I

I agree with Miltiades.

What makes a family-oriented person happy, might not satisfiy a materialistic person.

And we are materialistic today.

very materialistic....

There are few people who truely find happiness in things other than objects. Nature, Friends, the Road, and truth are some simple things that I treasure. Happiness is different for everyone-just make sure you do things that make you truley happy, no falsity and beliefs that money rules the world. If you have money you fear to loose it and are cautious. I value owning nothing and being free from the clutches of worry.

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Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.
`J.R.R. Tolkien-The Lord of the rings, Volume I

Our society today seems to revolve around possessions. People seem to focus on what they don't have. Today is my 20th anniversary and I am the happiest woman in the world!

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For those who fight for it,
Life has a special flavor.
The protected never know.

Most of the world still lives in these conditions. Do you really think they are happier than us?

If you think people were happier in the US 100 years ago, please provide the evidence to support it outside of anecdotes and wishful thinking.

Just because you feel miserable doesn't mean everyone else does.