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I wish Americans showed more gratitude for what they have. Right now, you gain friends and influence by complaining. I'm not saying problems don't exist, but ma

by abnry 8y ago

I wish Americans showed more gratitude for what they have. Right now, you gain friends and influence by complaining. I'm not saying problems don't exist, but man, we are the 1% in human history. EDIT: Downvotes on this comment just confirm my point.

zanny 8y ago
The man dying from preventable illness really should feel mighty grateful he lives in a country where he has the right to buy a gun with all that money he doesn't have. The black teenager being bludgeoned into permanent disability by a cop should feel extra grateful the water only has iron in it and not ebola. Humans are infinitely capable of inflicting and causing misery. Just because some are more miserable than others doesn't make some not miserable. And we are all only unto ourselves - I cannot do anything to solve the suffering of billions abroad, my influence is functionally limited to who I vote into office that has macroeconomically influential power. And I'll keep doing my best to try getting those elected into such positions of power, using the power I have, that would work to reduce misery everywhere when they are able, but each of us is only one person usually with only the capacity to influence those immediately around us. We cannot all be changing the world at once.
- abnry 8y ago
  I live with a chronic illness where I can't work. My life sucks more than most people. I never said problems don't exist but it is undeniable that it could be so much worse if I lived in a different country or in a different time. If you NEVER allow yourself to be grateful for what is good in your life, you are going to INCREASE the misery you have. And that's what is missing in our culture. We goad each other online into complaining and more complaining about things that, while problems, make us forget the good we have and which robs us of happiness. There's kind of a perverse incentive to come up with the biggest "woe is me" story because it often confers a sort of status in today's culture. The fact of the matter is that in the history of all humanity, suffering is the norm. Falling asleep on a soft bed with a full belly after a clean shower with an entertainment screen is what is unusual.
sofal 8y ago
Could you go ahead and help us through the logical steps you took that got you from "my comment is being downvoted" to "therefore my comment is correct"? Thanks.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- abnry 8y ago
  Yes. People bristling at the suggestion to have more gratitude justifies my assessment that more people should show gratitude. It really is unpopular these days to be thankful for what we have. I mean, is promoting gratitude really something deserving of downvotes?
  - sofal 8y ago
    So you stepped from “people are downvoting my comment” to “people are bristling at the suggestion to have more gratitude”, and then you jumped from there to “more people should show gratitude”. Both of those are non-sequiturs and therefore must be dismissed. I trust that you’re able to see why those don’t logically follow.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]

by abnry 8y ago

zanny 8y ago

The man dying from preventable illness really should feel mighty grateful he lives in a country where he has the right to buy a gun with all that money he doesn't have. The black teenager being bludgeoned into permanent disability by a cop should feel extra grateful the water only has iron in it and not ebola. Humans are infinitely capable of inflicting and causing misery. Just because some are more miserable than others doesn't make some not miserable. And we are all only unto ourselves - I cannot do anything to solve the suffering of billions abroad, my influence is functionally limited to who I vote into office that has macroeconomically influential power. And I'll keep doing my best to try getting those elected into such positions of power, using the power I have, that would work to reduce misery everywhere when they are able, but each of us is only one person usually with only the capacity to influence those immediately around us. We cannot all be changing the world at once.

abnry 8y ago
I live with a chronic illness where I can't work. My life sucks more than most people. I never said problems don't exist but it is undeniable that it could be so much worse if I lived in a different country or in a different time. If you NEVER allow yourself to be grateful for what is good in your life, you are going to INCREASE the misery you have. And that's what is missing in our culture. We goad each other online into complaining and more complaining about things that, while problems, make us forget the good we have and which robs us of happiness. There's kind of a perverse incentive to come up with the biggest "woe is me" story because it often confers a sort of status in today's culture. The fact of the matter is that in the history of all humanity, suffering is the norm. Falling asleep on a soft bed with a full belly after a clean shower with an entertainment screen is what is unusual.

sofal 8y ago

Could you go ahead and help us through the logical steps you took that got you from "my comment is being downvoted" to "therefore my comment is correct"? Thanks.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
abnry 8y ago
Yes. People bristling at the suggestion to have more gratitude justifies my assessment that more people should show gratitude. It really is unpopular these days to be thankful for what we have. I mean, is promoting gratitude really something deserving of downvotes?
- sofal 8y ago
  So you stepped from “people are downvoting my comment” to “people are bristling at the suggestion to have more gratitude”, and then you jumped from there to “more people should show gratitude”. Both of those are non-sequiturs and therefore must be dismissed. I trust that you’re able to see why those don’t logically follow.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]