THE UNITED STATES IS IN A GREAT PLACE The United States is doing well but… By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist The United States is in a great place, but we don’t seem to appreciate it. The citizens of the USA are living in a wonderful, stable, peaceful time. There are currently no world wars, available work for those who want it, and food is plentiful. The negative world events are few and far between affecting our affluent nation. There are spots of discontent and hunger, but they are mostly handled by government social agencies. Rampant abuse of children, the retarded, the elderly, and mentally ill still exist but most of those affected are in safe environments supervised by well-meaning staff. The USA is not perfect, but it is more than adequately meeting the basic needs of its people. However, too many Americans are unappreciative of what they have as individuals. The majority of citizens have all their life necessities met more than adequately. We Americans have more material goods than most any nation in the world’s history. Although there is no great joy or celebration, there is great sentiment of the US citizens that asks “Is this all there is?” There is a strong impression that we all have lost our sense of appreciation for a life that people in most of the world could dream about. Could it be that the American dream has been so amazingly realized that citizens have forgotten about the hard times when they did not have the affluence they now possess. Too much of anything, including blessings, can weaken our appreciation of what we have gotten through on our own initiative. Young people, just out of higher education or advanced technical programs are under the impression that they should start out on the top of the employment ladder making top salaries and benefits. They do not realize they have to prove themselves through their own good works. They will only prove themselves through good works, over time and perseverance. The USA has not been actively involved in any war for more than a decade. Although crime is too high in some urban areas, crime is decreasing overall outside some of these areas. The United States is far from perfect although it is still a great place to live. We should count our many blessings while trying to make our nation even better. Highlighting only imperfections distorts the great achievements of our wonderful nation. Yes, we are not perfect but we may be the overall best nation at this time. Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers and blogs, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. Dr. Maglio is an author of weekly newspaper articles, INVASION WITHIN and the latest book entitled, IN CHARGE PARENTING In a PC World. You can see many of Dr. Maglio’s articles at www.drmaglioblogspot.com.