Saturday, January 23, 2021

complaining











I have an acquaintance that shares weekly thoughts on various things much like I sometimes do here on the blog. This week I received an update where the individual was talking about the inauguration and his opinion on it. He wrote the following comments as a part of this weekly update.


"...I have very little emotional attachment to this country that I've lived for over 30 years. Love the land and friends, but as an entity, I can take it or leave it. My existence here is entirely circumstantial, and objectively this country has sh***** more than it could flush."

The comments above make me remember how fortunate I am to live in this country and how much I appreciate what it has to offer. I get up everyday and don't have to worry about the safety of my family from evil people, I have opportunities to pursue the things I want to pursue, and I get to do as I please for the most part. No doubt there is a lot of bad in our country, but I think there is a lot of good and a lot to be thankful for. These days we tend to focus on the bad ALL of the time. I'm reminded of how lucky we are to live in a country where people aren't literally tearing each other apart on a regular daily basis. I know everyone is complaining about the country and everything that's happened in the last year, but we're surely fortunate to live where we do and to have the opportunities that we do. There are people that are born into this world and are literally running for their lives to escape evil and that don't have the opportunity to better themselves.

Privilege and equality are often the topics of conversation at school these days, but people really don't realize their own privilege in this country. All people do is complain, and I really see very little action to make things better from those doing the complaining. They're always expecting an institution or someone else to make things better, rather than starting with themself. I believe we have become so complacent and removed from the rest of the world with our "first world our issues", that our unawareness of what other parts of the world and other people are dealing with will be the demise of this country. 

The last few generations (including my own) have not faced any real adversity, comparatively speaking, to humans in other parts of the world. People here think they have dealt with and seen a lot of bad. They study history too and always bring up ALL of the bad things,  and cite reasons for why we are so bad off as a society. If you truly look at the rest of the world and every crevasse of human existence, I don't think this country has even begun to see the level of evil and injustice that humans are capable of. With this kind of thought though we are quickly headed to a place that will bring about some things that we may not recover from. 

I'm just sick of the doom and gloom and how people always blame the institutions that provide them to live their life and make their complaints. Are things unfair? Do bad things happen to good people? Are some people treated differently than others? Yes, but that said, I am grateful for what I have. Churchhill said it best: 

"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…"

Winston S Churchill, 11 November 1947 

Maybe people should take a few moments to count their blessings, say a word of thanks, and then get off their rear and help someone out across the world. I also think it wouldn't hurt for people to travel somewhere far away that isn't a vacation destination...maybe someplace where their life might be in danger. In fact those that engage in regular recreation and travel might even want to especially consider this the next time they find a reason to complain about how bad things are or how unfair things are.

Sorry for the rant. I'm thankful I live in a place where I can do this...



3 comments:

eric said...

yeah, sure seems like it can be a fine balance between an "attitude of gratitude" and complacency... I sure do echo your sentiment of being aware of your place on spectrum of history and fortune, something I've been trying to remind myself of more. I love how you're able to throw something down about these topics, I feel too uncertain most of the time to really know where I stand on many things.

Frankie Flood said...

I'm just as uncertain as you are.

I just figure no one is reading this and my opinion on all matters is of little consequences to this world and the people in it.

I'm a spec of dust floating through this world/galaxy...

eric said...

i don't think you give yourself and your influence enough credit my friend.

Followers