I am sick to death of the whining.

And I hear plenty of it from grown American adults who have plenty of choices and opportunities, living in this land of promise.

Sure gas prices are high. Sure food prices are going up. Sure the housing market is shaky. But did any of you have to walk to work today? Or did any of you watch a child moan with hunger? Or try to find shelter for your family in the blazing heat?

Considering the whole history of the world, we are living in an amazing, wonderful time. Considering the conditions in the rest of the world, we are still better fed, better educated and have more chances to choose our future than almost anyone else.

American truly is a land of promise and opportunity. And we should consider ourselves blessed, lucky or both to be living here, even with its problems.

In fact, we are doubly lucky to be in Tooele County.

Money magazine recently named us the best job market in the nation. We don’t have many homes in foreclosure, like other places in the country are seeing. In fact, despite a slowdown in the real estate sector, we are building — look at the new Big 5 Sports building going up downtown. Our banks aren’t failing, like some elsewhere in the country. And we’re actually healthier than our countrymen in other states.

So do not whine. Consider the gloomy national economic news as a warning. We would all be better off examining our budgets and making adjustments. Eating at home more often is not only more nutritious, but much more economical. And we could all benefit from driving less and walking more. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt us to consume a bit less of everything, throw away less, and be more frugal in our usage of resources like water and fuel.

Compared with the trauma that some in our nation are facing, not many of us in Tooele County are losing our homes, our jobs and our pensions. We are living in a great time, so let’s cowboy up — and enjoy all the blessings we have.

Ann Herron is a journalist and former associate professor at Utah State University who lives in Tooele. She can be reached at annherron@comcast.net.