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

to the inevitable decline of social morals and traditions