 Michael and Rebecca Wong |
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Michael and Rebecca Wong |
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(so shut yer whinin')
Sometimes, it's easy to get caught up in things that bug us. It's easy to take things too seriously, get too easily aggravated, take things too personally, bemoan our little problems in life. But when you consider the way most of the world's population lives, maybe you'll be a little happier about your own situation. Here's a list of reasons why all of us living in the industrialized "first world" nations are lucky bastards (mind you, some of these are specific to North America).
It has been estimated that more than three quarters of the world's population does not even have telephone service. Most of us probably have two or three separate numbers.
Throughout history, very few of the world's people were able to marry for love instead of practicality. We consider it our destiny and our birthright to do so.
In most parts of the world, there's no such thing as pizza delivery. I have no freakin' idea how people live without pizza delivery.
We feel sorry for ourselves if we make middle-class wages instead of rich-guy wages. But in comparison to the whole world, every one of us lives in obscene luxury. When Mikhail Gorbachev saw a supermarket for the first time, he thought it had been specially built just to impress him.
We think we're destitute when we drive an old car. Most of the world's population does not own cars at all.
When we look at our children, we worry about whether they will be unhappy. When people in impoverished nations look at their children, they pray that they won't die of disease or malnutrition.
Two words: cheap gas. We bitch about gas prices, but have you seen what they pay for the stuff in Europe? Yikes!
We bitch about our government, and the way it abuses its power. But much of the world's population suffers under governments that make our most corrupt politicians look like angels.
Our women shave their legs, as well as a couple of other important areas. The last time I saw a female exchange student from Germany, I thought she was hiding a raccoon in each armpit.
Our country is sex-crazed. Some people think this is bad. Osama Bin Laden used it as proof that we are morally decadent. But I think it's great! Sexual depravity, pornography, sex toys ... it's all good :) If anything's going to change in that arena, I hope it goes even more liberal.
Our religious fundamentalist nutjobs haven't yet seized control of the government, unlike all of those Islamic dictatorships. And if we keep an eye on them, they never will.
Doritos.
Our leaders are ... well, OK, our leaders are idiots. Never mind.
(For people in my part of the continent) We get all four seasons here. We get a real hot, sweaty summer, with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 30s (Celsius, not Farenheit), we get a real autumn, with golden brown leaves piled up everywhere, we get a real winter, with crisp, cool air and fluffy snow, and we get a real spring (although that season is kind of drizzly). None of that year-round monotonous unchanging weather, like Vancouver.
Even our dogs live pampered lives. My dog is so spoiled that he actually turns up his nose at McDonald's burgers (or maybe that's just his superior sense of smell).
So the next time you feel down, just remember that despite whatever's bugging you, you're still a lucky bastard. We'd all like to win the lottery and become rich, but the fact that you were born in this country, in this era means that you already won a lottery. Anything more would only be gravy.
Last changed: 2002/01/08
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