Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Perspective on the Economy

Americans have no perspective. We seem to be unable to recognize our place in the world and how good it truly is.

We complain about 5% unemployment rates and a weaker economy as though it is complete doomsday. I don't see any zombies yet.

We act as though the slow housing markets will bring the world to an end. Are we serious? We would have to be stupid to expect only up and never any down?

Countries around he world bury thousands of their children every day due to starvation and we complain if the pizza delivery guy is five minutes late.

War levels entire cities and villages to the ground and we complain when our own homes' value drops a little. Lost value or not we still have shelter.

Inflation reaches the historically high levels in other countries essentially bankrupting entire nations and we whine like babies about high gas prices -- even after it drops back to $2.50 a gallon.

My wife and I once went to an authentic Ethiopian restaurant with a large group and the food they served us was absolutely horrible. Everyone else at the table complained about how bland, strange, and just awful the food was --except me and my wife who were more humbled by the experience than angry. Instead of complaining like the others, we politely ate as much as we could stomach and quietly discussed how the food we were barely able to swallow is considered a delicacy to most Ethiopians who never eat that well and live in such poverty that we cannot comprehend.

Most Americans have shelter, food, heat, clothing, medical care, and the other "necessities" in life like cell phones, flat screen televisions, portable game devices, Internet connections, Bluetooth headsets, and video game systems and it is still not enough. We still insist on buying new cars rather than used, spend three months salary on engagement rings, and spend money on daycare rather than parent our own children. Frankly, Americans are downright spoiled.

If America is truly the greatest country on Earth then we ought to act like it. We should be humble and grateful for what we have no matter how much or how little it may be. We should be if not sympathetic then at least empathetic toward others who are truly suffering whether from war, famine, disease, or some other actual affliction. True the economy is worse than it was a few years ago but with a little perspective we should all recognize that the world is not coming to an end and that we are still infinitely better off than most of the rest of the world. For now anyway.