Life is Good

This afternoon I was listening to our local NPR station. The program had a segment called "Good News, Bad News, or No News". It's a simple bit, the host describes a story off the wires, and three pundits give their opinion as to the value of the piece.

Up on the sacrificial altar today was a bit about the "Life is Good" promotion. In case you missed it, there is a clothing line out there featuring a happy, smiling little guy who is up beat and optimistic, even when times are hard. There are T-shirts, mugs, and even the odd festival to support the concept.

So what is this, panel? Good news, bad news, or no news? The answer reminded me how much I dislike listening to NPR. It is a difficult duty that one must periodically endure in order to understand how the opposition thinks. Well, OK, they don't think. It is all about feelings on the leftist side of the aisle, isn't it?

Pundit #1 opined that stick figures were not to be trusted. They were commonly found on signs by hotel elevators directing inhabitants of a raging inferno to use the stairs and not panic. Given that they are made of sticks, they would surely panic in a fire. Clearly this was BAD NEWS.

Pundit #2 declared it HORRIBLE NEWS. The guy promoting the concept was SELLING stuff. Making a PROFIT! How dare he sell shirts for $25 a pop to people who were already struggling in the dreaded Bush Depression?

Pundit #3 was simply stating that life is NOT good. After all, if children are in pain, even if you can reduce the pain of some children, the world is still bad because you can't erase all of the pain of all the children. Somehow it's always for the children.

Seriously. All 3 of these dreadful people couldn't stand it that people wanted to be happy. I work in an industry that is having hard times. Businesses are closing left and right, government regulation is exploding and choking the life out of the industry. It's really tough out there. Sure I've had to pull a second mortgage to keep the business going, I forget what decent wine tastes like, only a limited number of credit card companies get lucky some months, and I REALLY need some new underwear. Each and every morning I wake up and inventory the good things in my life. I have a loving wife, nice (really nice) kids, a house in the burbs, and a beater of a car that gets me where I want to go (most days).

A couple of years back I spent some time in Asia. I saw people scooping dirt out of polluted riverbanks to create a mini-cave in which to live. My life isn't so tough in comparison.

I have no doubt that each and every one of the pundits loathes their affluent, privileged, disdainful lives. They look down on everything and everything around them, and regret that they live in such a wicked country and time.

Talk about effete snobs.

Life IS good. The T-shirt guy has it right. But optimism is NOT the negative, nihilistic, self-destructive attitude of most on the left. And it applies to their politics. When they talk about the Obamassiah, and the politics of change and hope, the change for which they are hoping is almost entirely negative. They don't want to successful and prosperous to be so successful and prosperous. Rather than increasing the standard of living of everyone, they want Barack to reduce everyone's standard of living by decreasing the things we have, the energy we use, and the single family houses to which we aspire. Free 25 million Iraqi's from tyranny? We can't have that. Support the only stable affluent democracy in the Middle East? Down with Israel. America is the world leader of life style, freedom, and justice. That MUST be changed. It is just so awful to live in the world's greatest superpower.

What a bunch of jerks.

Dudes. Cheer up. Life IS Good. America IS the greatest country in the world, and a tremendous force for progress and good. Celebrate it and celebrate life. Vote for McCain. Not who I wanted, but infinitely better than the alternative.

Hairy