I’m Good, But The Country Is In Bad Shape?

Do these numbers really seem to gel?

First, from the New York Post,

“A surprising 94 percent of Americans say they are satisfied with their lives – although far fewer in New York and other Eastern states think they’re better off than they were five years ago, according to a new survey.

The Harris Poll of more than 1,000 people reported the overall “satisfaction” level, defined as people who said they were either very or somewhat satisfied with their lot, was up 4 percentage points, from 90 percent two years ago.”

On the other hand,

(T)he basic indicators of the nation’s mood are quite negative. In a July Gallup survey, 74 percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied with the way things are going in the US at this time.

So, we have roughly 95% of Americans who are satisfied with their own lives, but 75% of Americans are disatisfied with how things are going in the US.

Don’t those numbers seem to be a bit incongruent? Don’t people normally extrapolate from their own situation to the country at large? In other words, people tend to think in terms similar to, “I lost my job today so the economy in this country must be falling apart.”

But, in this case, people seem to be saying, “My life is great, but the country is going to hell in a hand basket around me.”

Here’s a thought: maybe people are just being too negative?

Could that be because the Democratic Party and their willing accomplices in the mainstream media have a vested interest in spinning any and every piece of potential good news they can find in a negative way and so people are getting a skewed view of the world?

Whatever the case may be, although we certainly have room for improvement, life here in America is better than anywhere else in the world. We’re the world’s only super power, we have a great economy that has been going strong since mid-2003, and there is no nation in the world that is a more desirable spot for people who want to emigrate. Despite all the caterwauling and complaining, most of us have a pretty good life and things are going relatively well for the country as a whole, too.

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