Why Don’t We Complain? Essay, Research Paper
Why Don’t We Complain?
Having read William F. Buckley, Jr.’s paper on why we don’t
complain, I feel compelled to respond, answer, and expound at
length upon this topic. I feel he never adequately answered the
question posed; hence, I will proceed to elaborate my reasons why
Americans don’t complain.
The reason why we don’t complain is very basic and
fundamental. It is because of our culture, tradition, and heritage to
not complain. It isn’t polite, it is considered rude, and it is undignified.
We are raised to behave ourselves, and when growing up, if we
don’t behave, we are punished.
I went to a store the other day and purchased something. I was
owed 2 pennies in change. They didn’t even give me the change. I
didn’t say anything about it either because it wasn’t much, and my
asking for the change would have held up the people in line behind
me.
At restaurants, I don’t like ice in my soda because the ice melts
and waters my soda down. Despite that, I never order my soda
without ice because to do so is a hassle. We don’t want people
having to go out of their way to accommodate us. We want to get in,
get out, and get on with our lives, without troubling others.
When people complain, in public at least, it draws negative
attention to themselves. Who in their right mind wants that? It makes
them appear to be jerks, or obnoxious at best. The only time I find
that type of behavior appropriate is in traffic situations. If I see
someone who obviously doesn’t know the proper way to drive their
vehicle, I will be the first to voice my criticism. I will yell and scream
at them, and hope the message gets through. Usually though, they
can’t hear me at all, and my yelling does little to change their
behavior. However, I feel better at least to get it out.
Buckley’s paper seemed to suggest that we should raise our
voices to complain more frequently. I feel that goes against the ideal
of a perfect nation, a nation of power, strength, unity, purpose, and
peace. While I hold Buckley in high regard as an intellectual, I feel
his thoughts on this matter lead us to be a nation of complainers, and