Complaints…

By Andrew R. Duckworth

In a way, I deeply distrust those who do not complain in a world with no shortage of things to complain about. Moreover, I deeply distrust and lack respect for those who utter tired slogans such as “there’s nothing to complain about under God!” Knowing the end of the story does not mean that there is a lack of things to complain about. You can internalize those complaints all you want, but they’ll only build up more and more grief. The facade that “everything is fine” is easily torn down when one actually takes a good look around.

I have mastered the art of complaint, I admit. Sometimes, I can be selfish. I’m not perfect and I am no better than the next man. But even removing self from the equation, there is more than enough to complain about in today’s world and, I imagine, there will be more to complain about tomorrow. But the complaint, I argue, is the first step in addressing an issue. Actually recognizing it, vocalizing it, being able to communicate it, is a great first step. By doing it, you can better assess it. And, on occasion, all one needs to do is offer their complaint out to anyone who might hear, and the problem might vanish.

Today’s complaints are complex. I find myself complaining about the state of the world, the centralization of power, the moving from one controversy or travesty to the next, quickly forgetting about the last under the weight of the new. My complaints are often about things I have very little control over. And, if such is the case, why even complain? I’ll explain why it is perhaps even more important to complain about these things as opposed to those that we do have control over. In fact, it makes even more sense to voice such complaints over those that are easily overcome. If I can find the solution to an issue on my own, why even complain? No, it is those issues we have little control over that we should voice from the mountaintops. Why? Because chances are others have a similar grief. If this is the case, it makes finding a solution more and more a reality.