Sad Land of Contrasts

The saddest place on earth* is the place where a great haircut + tip costs as much as a cocktail at a bar. The land of paradoxes and contrasts, my homeland, is a pretty sad place. That's no news to anyone who lives there currently or has had that privilege in their lifetime. Nonetheless, most often than not, it takes an outsider to tell it straight, and I can attest to that. As I go back even more rarely and I am a mere tourist enjoying her sojourn in familiar places with old friends, it shocks me how much whining is done per diem. Not that the same isn't happening anywhere else, and the US is becoming increasingly unhappier as employers continue to exploit employees while the short-staffed organization is trying not only to keep itself afloat but to grow and expand simultaneously. Cheap labor has moved the US economy to greater lengths and shores while allowing for the exploited to still enjoy a higher standard of well-being here than on any other corner of the earth.

How are things changing? And what can be done to change a mindset in sad countries such as Bulgaria? Well, for once, there is always room for gray areas. Nothing is ever black or white. As many commentators pointed out, there isn't much information given on where the stats came from and how they were manipulated. They are merely food for thought and debate.

My favorite comment on the article was from sheilll [who] wrote: Dec 16th 2010 10:15 GMT "The empiricist...thinks he believes only what he sees, but he is much better at believing than at seeing." George Santayana

It is such a contrast to live in a country where people focus on the positives and it is somewhat demeaning and embarrassing to admit how miserable or desperate you are. There is such an importance given to being happy, comfortable and well off that it scares me how readily the majority of people I talk to on the opposite side of the Atlantic share their problems and concerns, blaming it all on the government, the society, the people around them, but never on themselves. Certain principles I am not willing to compromise yet. I still won't pay more for a haircut if I can. I need to draw the line somewhere.

*Even sadder places relative to income not taken into account due to lack of data