Complaints

Yes, as Buckley says, a major reason why we don't complain is because we expect others to do it for us. No, neither he nor I mean it in the sense that we are too lazy to do it, but rather we believe that our actions will be fruitless. We think that there are so many other people out there in the same position, one of them is bound to speak up. Unfortunately, one of the issues with this is that if we all think like that, nobody actually complains.

People today also complain less than they used to because of our media. We are constantly bombarded by the most sensational stories in the world.  This gives us two more reasons why we shouldn't complain. When we are always hearing about a crisis of the most dire magnitude, all of our problems seem petty. How can you complain about the quality of your food when there are millions of starving people in the world who would give anything for a scrap? This is not to say that there weren't people starving worldwide one hundred years ago, but people feel closer to these hardships when they see them on TV or read about them online than they did one hundred years ago.

Our desire to complain is also affected from the opposite end of the spectrum by our media. Movies, documentaries, and television shows also showcase people like Jackie Siegel (shown below)

who are excessively rich and complain about money issues (as in questioning whether or not her family can afford a $75,000,000+ customized mansion). Those of us on social media surely (I wouldn't know) see dozens of comments daily about getting the wrong toppings on their pizza, not having time to eat breakfast, etc. Being exposed to all of these unworthy complaints leads us to think less of those that complain about anything less than the death of a family member. So we keep our mouths shut, even when our complaints are valid.

I do not have that much to complain about, and when I do, it usually can't be solved by complaining about it. When I do however, I usually have a pretty good reason. Last year, my AP Physics class got off to a rocky start. It was my teacher's first year teaching an AP class. So I went to my counselor, and through my counselor administration, and complained about it. While obviously it was not his fault, there was much more that the students, my teacher, and the rest of the staff could do to make things better. I complained on this occasion because it seemed like that was the only way to get anything accomplished. If nobody had said anything (and some of my classmates did as well), then nothing would have changed. Thankfully, it all worked out in the end.