Can Whiners Ever See Positive Side??

We would all be better off if professional public-policy critics had to offer their own solutions in order to get their names in the newspaper.

Of course, that is unrealistic, but it's tiresome to see creative policy ideas immediately dismissed by those who see all through the narrow prism of their own agendas.

The whiners of our society play to the natural media tendency to emphasize conflict; any given story has "another side" and they think it's their job to showcase it. For the whiners themselves, it's their chance to get some attention, "Hey! Look at me! I'm attacking the President! Aren't I clever?"

When whining complaints appear in the press (or in this forum), you should always ask yourself a question: "What exactly has this complainant ever attempted or accomplished?" Then, remember Teddy Roosevelt's great speech:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. -- TR, one of our greatest Presidents.

Great quote, Cincincatus. I think one of the reasons that whining is so popular now is that it is so long since we have actually see somebody dare to plan something bold and different and really carry it out, that it unnerves those who have grown up thinking that "don't rock the boat" constitute words to live by. I blame some on this on the American educational system, which actually seems to penalize initiative and is heavily slanted against individuality.

But I suppose I blame most of it on human nature, unfortunately magnified in our time by the press and media.

BTW, is it necessary to excerpt the Orlando Sentinel? (It's a registration only site, and I hate registering!)

BTW, is it necessary to excerpt the Orlando Sentinel? (It's a registration only site, and I hate registering!)

Evidently excerpting is required - it was automatic on FR when I tried posting the entire article. Don't blame you for not wanting to register -- that's only one of the reasons I NEVER read the NYslimes.

that's only one of the reasons I NEVER read the NYslimes.

I registered a long time ago on the NYT website, before they began demanding detailed personal info. Since then, I've rocked along w/o updating my info on the site, since it won't let you update anything without giving up all the other stuff. I refuse to give anyone four-dimensional coordinates that marketers can use to locate me, or personal info like income level. The brass of these clowns anyway, asking people how much they make -- and making it a requirement to see their tacky site!

Anyway, I'm registered until they get horsey.

From the article:

"Ironically much of the criticism comes from those who go to Hillary Clinton's "it takes a village to raise a child" school of thought. There must not be any churches in their villages. And, please, don't get me started on the critics who oppose the initiative because help would not be open to gay couples. Don't forget that the Defense of Marriage Act was signed by that well-known right-wing nut, William Jefferson Clinton.

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