"I SAID NOT TOO MUCH MILK! How am I supposed to drink this?!"
Sitting on my high horse in the western world, I am as guilty of focusing on minuscule and meaningless problems as the next person. Only last week, I found myself laying a complaint with a hotel about the noise created by night roadworks while away for a work trip. "What do you mean, they're working all night?! That's a disgrace!"
First world problems affect us momentarily. Flight delays ("you mean I'm obligated to sit in the airport and drink another beer?!"), ATM fees ("$2.50! Who's got that kind of money?"), poor service ("I can't believe she didn't even ask me how my day was, she should lose her job!"), the list is endless and I daren't even get started on low cost airlines...
But first world problems are not problems. They are excuses for people to one-up each other. The next-door neighbour may have had Chinese-made parts fitted onto their Holden by a slipshod mechanic, but my health insurance company refused to cover the major dental costs incurred by that whitening procedure..."Outrageous!"
Why settle for a perfectly privileged existence when you can get on Today Tonight and whine about electricity prices? Current affairs programmes abound in first world problems and make for some of the most depressing television possible. If it's not the electricity, it's the fuel. If it's not the fuel, it's Coles and Safeway ripping us off 34 cents for every loaf of bread we buy. Each segment requires the bad guy who refuses to speak to the camera, the finger-waggling local who has been ripped off and is NOT HAPPY, and the reporter asking cutting-edge questions like: "when are ya gunna pay them back?"
The only way to understand first world problems is to get a first-hand view of some third world ones. My sum total of this experience to date involved a tropical-strength case of pink-eye contracted by swimming in contaminated water in Indonesia. An acquaintance of mine went one step further on a recent trip to India. Suffering from a vicious attack of Delhi-Belly, he leant over an airport rubbish bin to be sick and simultaneously shat himself. That is not a first world problem!
Spending time with those who have little is a stark reminder that human beings do not require every last luxury to be happy. Some of the biggest smiles come from those whose only valuable possessions are each other. One of my lasting memories is the image of an Ethiopian toddler living in a refugee camp. He walked through thick mud, pulling an empty milk bottle on a string. Someone had attached disks on sticks to the bottom of the bottle, effectively making a 'car'. The young boy sported an enormous grin, proud of his toy. This image was presented at the media photography awards, an event I can recommend for a thoroughly eye-opening experience.
Price, eat your heart out!
Nobody has ever told that boy that he lives in extreme poverty. Nobody has told him of the overcrowding, lack of sustenance, prevalence of disease or the struggles he will face in the future. These are legitimate problems, with a lasting effect on lives and communities. Toughen up princess, nobody cares if your entree is lukewarm...
Blue skies,
-E
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