Midnight Musings

This treatise is a cautionary tale about how comfort without perspective can become corrosive entitlement, and is at its core, anti-infantilization. It notes patterns, ignores noise, and is a call to self-awareness and self-mastery. 

We live in a world where we take so much for granted, yet have so much to be thankful for. Consider: you’re alive. You have a place to stay, and clothes to wear. You have shelter that’s warm in the winter, and cool in the summer. You have potable water to drink, food to eat. Access to lavatory facilities. You’re better off than you think; this is the first tier of gratitude, and the most fundamental.

The second tier includes safety: from persecution, abuse, violence. Nobody’s out to get you as a matter of state policy just for your being who and what you are. Hate crimes and discrimination are edge cases, yes, but they are exceptions and not the rule. That you’re also comfortable; both in who and what you are, as well as where you are, and if not, that you are free to amend that as you see fit. You’re also able to care for yourself and others near you.

The third tier is just as important, though. You’re healthy, both mentally and physically, and have no restrictions that prevent your freedom of moment, physical or cultural. You may also have those that love and care for you, be they friends or family. Your life is good and your presence enriches the lives of those around you. You have gainful employment, and it gives your life purpose and meaning. 

The higher the tier you occupy, the greater your obligation to act with restraint, responsibility, and perspective.

Yet despite knowing all this on some level, we complain about everything. The winter’s too cold. The summer’s too hot. Why won’t this idiot ahead of you drive faster? Why won’t this person return your phone call? Did they even read your email before replying? Even during the pandemic, people lamented government overreach and health & safety directives, framing it as oppression. We elected governments to govern, not to remain idle during a crisis. During declared states of emergency, the government gets all sorts of temporary powers it would not ordinarily have. And while some complaining is warning and not whining, this does NOT excuse or condone bureaucratic or governmental overreach or excess. It is merely a cautionary tale not to confuse overstepping bounds with enforcing public order. Emergency powers may be necessary, but they must be temporary, transparent, and revocable. Confusing enforcement with tyranny is childish, and excusing tyranny as “order” is just as dangerous.

Pride and ego are running amuck, and it is having a drastic effect on people’s health – mental and physical. To quote George Carlin, science and knowledge have added years to life, but not life to years. That we live in a society where we can talk so freely about such things without fear of persecution is something to be grateful for. That we can vote in and vote out people whose policies and platforms we like or don’t like is something many have laid down their lives for. People in authoritarian states certainly can’t protest against their government!

Anger, frustration, resentment, jealousy and impatience are the most common factors assailing the modern mind and distorting perspective. So before you fly off the handle or start complaining about something you have next to no control over, remember: there will always be people who have it better than you, and there will always be people who have it so much worse than you. And we’re all dealing with things we don’t share with others. 

In short, be grateful for what you DO have, and maintain perspective: there’s people in your city right now that have it a lot worse off than you do. Legacy and prosperity, health and happiness, require it. Gratitude disciplines perception. Disciplined perception prevents entitlement.  Entitlement corrodes self-regulation and self-regulation failure invites authoritarian correction.