Taking Things Forr Granted Essay Research

Taking Things Forr Granted Essay, Research Paper

Taking Things For Granted?

While chowing down some fried rice, I was busy watching poetry in action when my mother told me to turn off ?that wrestling trash.? Then I pondered something: how many people are missing out on this stuff? Then I pondered something else: how many people don?t watch it because they don?t have a TV? A week later, I was wolfing down some yogurt while listening to George W. Bush mispronounce a certain somebody?s name along the lines of Slobodan Mi-LAA-se-VICK, and then another question popped in my mind: how many people are interested in or actually care what he?s talking about? A few seconds after that, I thought about those who did care about democracy, freedom, rights, and having their voice heard, but could do nothing about it ? Just like that, the obvious epiphany popped into my head. We as a society take just about everything in life for granted. Whether it be our family, our resources, or our health, everything is expected to come to us, and if it doesn?t, then we complain that life just isn?t fair.

When contemplating taking things for granted, one might first think of the family. In ancient times, the basic unit of Roman society was the family. Even today, most issues center around ?Who?s taking me to school?? and ?Why did you scratch your older brother?? My daddy and mommy always tell me that everything in their lives is for my sisters and I. They always say, ?When we die, we won?t be taking all this stuff with us into our graves.? I could never picture anything but my mom sacrificing her entire life, her entire working career just to bring us up correctly. I could never picture anything but my mom always at home ready to cook me some nice, hot chicken ? you know, the kind where the outside is all nice and crispy and the inside is all tender and juicy. Only 4 days in my entire school career did I ever buy lunch ? the reason why, you ask? My mother chose to wake up every single day just to make me my very own healthy, but tasty, lunch. How about siblings? My parents always tell me that they yearn to see their own brothers? and sisters? faces, if even just for a moment. They tell me how they too were like us: they?d tease one another and fight a lot when they were all young, and then, slowly, but surely, everyone got married and started living in different houses. I then realize the true importance of family: I have someone to go home to and talk to and relate to and tease; I have someone to tell all of my problems to; I have to someone to answer most, if not all, of my questions. But, do we ever think of that one kid who?s an only child or those 3 children of a single parent?

It doesn?t stop there, though ? people tend to dismiss their available resources. It?s a common sight to see people stuck in a traffic jam complaining, honking, and making love signs at their neighbors. Yet, we?re lucky that we?re sitting in an air-conditioned vehicle, listening to music, or talking on a cell phone. If someone were to hit us, we would be restrained and protected by airbags and a seatbelt. In the mountainous terrain of Peru, the people?s main mode of transportation lie in swinging on cable lines across wide, hot, mosquito-infested chasms. If they mess up, if they fall, they?re gone ? there is literally no safety net. This past night, I left my fan on because I was hot, my lamp on because I?m afraid of the dark, and my computer on because I was downloading a song when my little sister, not my mother, told me that I was wasting energy. Now, I said something along the lines of ?Yeah, right? or ?Oh, well,? and yet, she had a point. Figuratively speaking, every one of us, at least in our life, has left the water running while brushing their teeth. For us, water isn?t a problem ? it?s literally at our fingertips. In places like Tanzania, people rush outside when it rains because that rain is their main source of water ? they operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Considering their dry climate, if they?re even a little bit late, they can forget about taking another shower for the next few days. Furthermore, it?s a common sight to see someone go up to their mother and complain, ? Mommy, I need another pair of jeans ? I got this big pen mark on the pant leg.? What?s wrong with this picture? Well, you might say it depends on who you ask, but there is indeed a common theme. My dad never discards a shoe, sock, shirt, or the like ? if it gets stained, he works in it outside in our garden. The fact it, though, that he has the power (both monetary and mobile) to go out and buy something that he needs to wear anytime he wants. While most of our society is becoming more and more concerned with the outside-in instead of the inside-out, our materialistic ways serve as a foil, if you will, for those without resources. One can go into the heart of Mexico City and easily be approached by over 20 kids asking you to buy $.05 chiclets from them ? their basic source of income. In India, where my cousins live, power always goes out at least 1-3 times a day for hours at a time; meanwhile, my computer is on the Internet in one room downloading a song and I?m in the living room watching the Letterman Show. Even a basic thing like education we take for granted. Here we are in a general school system that offers us free schooling to help better our future, and yet we still choose to cut classes and take off periods