Reality bites, would you like some enablement with that?

In honor of WTP...

There are some major social and macro economic problems in this country that need to be fixed. The housing market is out of control. Our national deficit is higher than most of us can count. Many of us literally can't count, or read, or speak proper English. Inflation on housing, education, healthcare, etc, is out of control. Americans are fatter, more STD-ridden, and more depressed than ever. Homosexuals are being denied their civil rights. Jerry Falwell, Al Sharpton, Bat Buchanan, my fifth grade teacher, and Gloria Steinem are all still alive and kickin'.

But at the same time... we all have choices. Granted, we have a limited subset of options, but from those we are able to choose what we decide is the best option for us. Sometimes, we wish there was a broader selection in the subset or realize we made a wrong choice somewhere along the line. But if we can't realize that at least sometimes, to a degree, it's our fault, then we're never going to be able to make our lives better.

Life is unfair, and someone will always have it better than you. Nobody is "entitled" to anything they don't work for; if they still get it anyway, that's luck and you look like an immature ass to begrudge them. You never know what dissapointments someone else has suffered, and unless they directly and purposely injured you to get to where they are, get over yourself. If you're so jealous of what they have, ask them how they got that. The truth isn't always what you want to hear, but you can't fix your problems without honest understanding of the underlying causes.

And nobody's obligated to say "Oh poor baby, the world is so evil and none of your problems are your fault!"

If you don't agree with this philosophy, you're sure as hell not alone. Just understand that bitching and whining about how the world isn't handed to you on a silver platter isn't going to make anybody take you seriously or help you succeed.