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Ode to the Whiny Traveler
Karlovy Vary: The Inspiration For This Blog Post.
"Life is a bitch, and then you die." We've all heard this phrase before, and to some extent, I once despised it. Yet, as I've gotten older and (hopefully) wiser, I've come to learn that it's actually rather accurate, for most of the global population. However, after walking around today in the town of Karlovy Vary, or Carlsbad, listening to a group of upper-middle class tourists whining and complaining that they couldn't go to all of their planned attractions in one day thanks to limited hours of operation because of the Easter holiday, complaining about how it was "just not fair", I was strangely annoyed. What sense of entitlement, we western-civilized inhabitants have. I blame this pre-conceived notion that we all deserve to get what we want and the notion that we will receive happy endings on Disney. Yes, that's right. You heard me correctly. I blame the House of Mouse. Disney led us all to believe that we all deserve happy endings that end with us living happily ever after with our one true love. Reality check: The economy is in the crapper, people are losing their homes, cars, jobs and more, the national divorce rate is at an all time high, and our country is trillions of dollars in debt, resulting in woes for everyone. How is this relevant you ask? Because if life was in fact, fair, the already rich oil giants wouldn't be getting richer while the rest of us pay the price (though a nice silver lining of the economic crisis, is the sharp decline in oil prices, thanks to no one being able to pay!). The reason I'm even writing this is because I'm tired of hearing everyone and their mom (including my own, thanks very much) complain about how life isn't fair. You're completely right! IT'S NOT FAIR.GET OVER IT. There's always going to be someone with more money than you, someone a hell of a lot better looking than you, someone more successful than you in their endeavors, and complete jerks that have everything going their way. But FAIR doesn't drive the world, does it? Is it fair that children starve in African countries while we live a life of excess and travel? Oh, because HEAVEN FORBID you can't get your back massage on a national holiday because the spa is closed. Or is it fair that good people die from incurable diseases? No, it's not, but would you like to know something? No one ever said it was. We were just taught since childhood that good always triumphs over evil, and that everyone always gets what they deserve. We were lied to, plain and simple. However, that shouldn't stop us from bettering ourselves, now should it? If anything, it should push us to strive for the best, for what we think we do deserve: To live better and make the world a better place than it was before we left it. Our narcissistic minds can take comfort in knowing that no matter how unfair that we think our current predicaments may be, there is always someone out there who has it far worse than we do. So, in closing, remember to treasure what you DO have, and stop complaining and start living. This is life; It's not perfect, but that's what makes it all the more exciting.
i think its great that you
i think its great that you are learning so much about learning to accept things in life as you are abroad. it takes many people so many years to learn that they have to deal with things that get thrown in their way, rather than simply complaining about them. it's important to realize, though, that everyone needs to vent sometimes.
its unfortunate that we,
its unfortunate that we, tourists have to be so needy. I like the part where you mention the house of mouse being a culprit in our dreams for happy endings. Is it bad that one should expect a happy ending? Or should one rather not be so optimistic. I think optimism is a positive characteristics, but basically I agree with your conclusion...shit happens and life isnt fair!
rant post! i, too, really
rant post! i, too, really despise it when tourists just invade a place and complain... of course, i'm guilty of doing it from time to time, but whenever i hear snobbish things about my home city, i get automatically defensive and just want to walk up and be like "then don't effing come. leave." and i'm starting to feel that way about prague a bit, even though my stay here is just temporary.
looks like you had a chip on
looks like you had a chip on your shoulder with this one...to be honest, i feel like tourists get a bad rap sometimes, when you visit a city, you obviously have an idea of what you want to see, because presumably you're only here once. and while that sense of entitlement can be annoying, you're lucky to have it because i'm sure it's given you more opportunities than people who don't have the luxury of being American.
extremely passionate post!
extremely passionate post! but, very true. some tourist's can be extremely selfish, that's what gives the term "tourist" a negative connotation wouldn't you say?