Happy 4th of July!

SIMON SAYS

Do you realize how lucky you are to be an American? The freedoms and quality of life we enjoy in this nation are quite amazing, and we should be thankful every day. But, we're not. Truly, we carry on with our business each day taking so many things for granted. Like a child who thinks that everyone lives just like they do, we don't even stop to think what folks in other places live like, we just trip merrily along doing all the important, necessary and occasionally exciting things that comprise our lives.
How spoiled we are really hit me the other day at the grocery store as I was scanning the cereal aisle looking for a particular kind of cereal. Suddenly, I was quite overwhelmed by the number of choices laid out before me. I thought to myself "there are people in the world starving, and I am here trying to decide which of the gazillion types of cereal we're going to eat this week. What's wrong with this picture?!" So, I started counting, just out of curiosity, and do you know that there were approximately 63 different kinds of cereal?! Are you kidding me?! And that's not even counting generic versions. That means we can have a different kind every week for a year and still not have tried them all! No wonder I see people in the grocery store wandering the aisles looking bewildered, and frankly, in the male population, downright frightened. We should be scared! 63 choices, and that's just the cereal aisle! While there are people out there wondering where their next meal will come from, if  they will have one, we're stuffing our faces with cocoa crispies. AMERICA- WE ARE SPOILED ROTTEN! I remember when I was a kid, a priest talking to us about a missionary trip that he took to Africa. He was on a bus, eating a banana. He threw the peel out the window, and watched in horrified amazement as a dog and child ran up and started fighting over the banana peel. He said that was when it really hit him how poor and hungry these people really were. We really don't understand how fortunate we are. Even our poor are much better off than a lot of folks in other countries. I was inspired to look up some information to see statistically how we compare with the rest of the world. I'm not just talking about what we would consider to be poor countries, but countries that you would probably consider "on par" with us. Now, I am by no means saying that money is everything, but you must admit, you like having more rather than less of it, don't you? Did you know that the 2011 median income in the U.S. is $46,326? Now, consider this: according to 2007 numbers, here is the median household income for some other countries:

Italy: $16,866
Japan- $19,432
United Kingdom- $25,168
France- $19,615
Spain- $18,391

Are you feeling lucky yet? Now, consider, that the 2009 poverty level guideline for a family of four in the United States was $22,050.00. Compare that to the numbers above. If you're still not feeling lucky, how's this for a statistic: the average family in Uganda brings home $320.00 a year. Yep, that's right, $320.00. You probably spend that on going to the movies. Or, if you chose, you could buy about 80 boxes of cereal with that money...but you only have 63 different kinds to choose from, so you'll have to eat the same kind a few weeks out of the year. You poor thing!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!
GOD BLESS AMERICA!