Some Observers Say we've become "a culture of complaint." They say we actually enjoy pointing an accusatory finger at each other—in talk shows, Internet chat rooms, tabloids.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with constructive criticism, especially if it's aimed at finding moral, social, or political solutions. The trouble comes when discussion descends into mean-spiritedness and personal attack. Then, the sad result is what Georgetown University professor Diana Owen, referring to one effect of talk radio, describes as an "alienated citizenry that complains more than it acts, and which fails to take meaningful steps to change society for the better." "Talk radio's price: a culture of complaint," The Christian Science Monitor, November 16, 1998 And such a climate of complaint proliferates lawsuits, intolerance, hate crimes, ethnic divisions.
Yet complaints are nothing new. Thousands of years ago, Middle Eastern mothers and fathers warned their children about a chronic complainer who—if you listen to him—will convince you that the bad outweighs the good in any given situation. And in any person. So if you listen to this complainer much, you'll start getting angry about everything and everybody. You'll start turning against good things you really believe in. You might even turn against God, who is good itself.
