Are Americans A Nation Of Wimps?

Dear readers, do you recall about a year ago when the NFL postponed a game between the Minnesota Vikings and the host Philadelphia Eagles due to a winter storm that was moving through the East Coast at the time?  After the NFL's decision, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell (D) referred to the US as a nation of wusses.  Please see the link below for a memory refresher.

A Nation Of Wusses

At the time, most of us got a chuckle out of Mr.  Rendell's comments, made him the punchline of an occasional joke, and really didn't give his remarks much credence.

However, as time has gone by, I have begun to wonder if the good Mr. Rendell wasn't on to something.  Consider the following, friends and frenemies........................

Today, the high temperature was 62F (17C) here in North Central Indiana where I live.  I witnessed more than one person wearing heavy overcoats and scarves.  Overcoats intended for winter weather and scarves?  Seriously?  On a pleasant late summer/early fall day?  Outerwear of this nature might be acceptable in climate like this were we on the equator.  However, we are not, and these people are obviously wimps.  I shudder to think what they will do in January when the high temperature is 10F (-12C). 

Recently, and acquaintance of mine went on a tirade on a social media website because the nozzle on her shampoo bottle wasn't functioning in a manner that she found acceptable.  That's right, folks.  Her biggest challenge of the day was washing her hair.  It wasn't finding enough to eat.  It wasn't finding shelter from blistering heat, driving rain, or bitter cold.  It wasn't needing a place to urinate or defecate because she didn't have a permanent home.  It wasn't being able to adequately care for her children.  It wasn't having to flee an abusive relationship.  It wasn't facing foreclosure or eviction because she didn't have enough money to meet her obligations.  No.  She couldn't wash her sodding hair the way she wanted to.  Pathetic.

Consider this as well.  I cannot tell you how many people I have heard whine and cry about the price of their fast food.  "Ohmigawd, it cost me eight dollars to get a salad and baked potato at Wendy's!!!!"  How about pausing to give thanks that you have a spare eight bucks to toss down at your local fast food establishment?  How about being grateful that you have the means to feed your family with have a bit left over to enjoy such a treat?  Are you so bloody self-centered that you don't know there are people in your community that go to bed hungry on a regular basis?  Are you blind to the homeless that live day to day and moment to moment under your very nose?  How about you try to look past the end of your own nose for once and see things for what they really are?  Sickening.

How many times, dear readers, have you heard others act like the biggest trauma they could possibly endure is their air conditioner going on the fritz.  Now, don't get me wrong, folks,  I love my AC, and Ol' Doug hates the heat, but...........................  Since when did AC become a necessity as opposed to a luxury?  As you sit in your air conditioned SUV on your way to your home with central air, try to give more than a passing glance to the rat hole apartments and mobile homes that have no air conditioning.  Give special thought on those horrible hot, humid Indiana summer days.  Are you a wuss?  Probably so, and self-centered as well.

Ladies and gentlemen, we all have our moments, myself included.  Lest we forget the meltdown I had on this very site over the sodding poor service I received from Best Buy's Geek Squad regarding a television repair.  What was that about?  An HDTV.  Something that is totally meaningless when the big picture is considered.  Isolated incidents are perfectly acceptable and are human nature.  However, the examples above speak to pattern.  These things go on nonstop, and they are not isolated incidents.  They are examples of the very nature of our country.

Back to the original question.  Are we a nation of wimps?  Yes, we certainly are.  We are also self-centered, egotistical, short sighted, and oblivious to the pain and suffering around us.  These are not the principles upon which this country was founded, and I wonder if the Founding Fathers would recognize the country they fought to establish.  Think about that for a while.

Peace and love, my brothers and sisters.