Two days off in a row.... finally I can wash the jeans I have worn about 5 days in a row and vacuum out my car (seeing as how it now has about 2 months' worth of accumulated grit on the floor). I'm feeling quite strangely today. All of the things I want to complain/bitch about in this blog seem trivial compared to other people's problems. Inspired by a friend who told me about the article, I decided to read this piece from NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/world/asia/cold-weather-kills-children-in-afghan-refugee-camps.html
Now, normally, I would ask, "Why the fuck are these people having children they can't afford to raise in a warm, happy environment? Why the fuck aren't these people utilizing birth control knowing full well their kids will live a life of hardship in the world they are unwillingly made to enter?" But that is all besides the point. These children have already been brought into the world, and therefore something needs to be done about the situation. It baffles me that Americans are so unaware of the hardships faced by others around the world. Sure, we have a shitty economy, and many of us are living below the poverty line right here in our own country. But honestly, we are lucky we aren't in refugee camps, or subjected to freezing temps at night because we have no electricity or insulated homes to keep us warm. We are fortunate not to live in fear that we might be killed or raided or raped by bands of rogue insurgents at night while we sleep.
Yesterday at work, I thought it was a sad reflection on the American people that on Super Bowl Sunday, people stopped shopping a good, two hours before my store closed. Presumably, the game took importance over all else in their life, and they went home or to whichever party they were invited to, to make merry, get drunk, and watch football. My store was dead between the hours of 5 and 7:00 pm (the last two hours we were open). I worked on Christmas Eve, and we were busy right up until close... which also happened to be 7:00 pm. Why is it that watching football is a reason to be home on time, but being home with your family on Christmas Eve isn't reason enough to deter people from shopping right up until the last minute we were open? I guess that goes to prove what is really important today in America.
We live in a world where the latest Kardashian gossip and celebrity breakup makes front-line news above Darfur and freezing babies in war-ravaged Afghanistan. I'm not saying that we can help everybody all the time, because I am a firm believer that one cannot help another until they have helped themselves (in this case, America needs to be financially stable before we can give increased aid to other nations in need). However, I am saying perhaps instead of focusing on our own wants, we learn to recognize the fact that around the world there are people with actual NEEDS that are not being fulfilled. Instead of complaining how much I hate my job (even though I will continue to hate it until I find one that is more fulfilling), perhaps I should take time to remind myself that I am lucky to have a job in the first place, amongst the hundreds of other things that I am lucky to have.
I'm sure I'm as guilty as the next person, sometimes bitching that I have never travelled to Europe, or that I wish I could afford more vacations, or a sick apartment to call my own, but I am lucky to have enough food to keep me satisfied, a roof over my head, and the comfort of knowing that I live in a country where I am (essentially) free, and safe enough to walk down the streets by myself (excluding sketchy sections of Binghamton) any time I want (let's just forget the dangers of being a woman, alone at night for the sake of this statement).
So today, even though I want to complain about the fact that my debit card cannot be used internationally to order this Motel dress for my upcoming birthday: http://www.motelrocks.com/shop/products/Motel-Ginetta-Dress-in-Jade-and-Black-Lace.html
I shouldn't complain at all, seeing as how I have enough money to afford such a frivolous little number, and seeing as how this pales in comparison to the true problems and issues faced by millions of people around the world. I remember when I was 6, I got the wrong American Girl doll for Christmas ( I wanted the Asian baby and my mom bought me the Felicity doll), I threw a fit and cried. My mom slapped me (yes, this was a day and age where it was still socially acceptable to man-handle one's own child) and reminded me how lucky I was to have any presents at all when their are children who never even know the pleasure of a new toy, and are not even lucky to have enough food to keep them full. I didn't really comprehend back then, why I was fortunate, and I couldn't look past what I saw as an injustice (getting the wrong doll). Looking back, perhaps my mom should have slapped me harder or made me watch a documentary on the children of developing nations so I had a reality shock a little earlier on in my life. Sadly, this situation repeated itself when I was 12 and I cried because I got underwear and a training bra in my stocking and proceeded to pout and cry. I was such a brat. I am no saint, and I complain pretty much daily about things that people living in poverty would never consider a problem, or worthy of stressing over, but I am going to make an effort to be more aware from this point forth. Lord knows I have been aware of animal cruelty for a while and I still continue to eat meat.... but we will save that topic for another day.
