Buckley, Jr.'s paper on why we don't complain, I feel compelled to respond, answer, and expound at length upon this topic. I feel he never adequately answered the question posed; hence, I will proceed to elaborate my reasons why Americans don't complain. The reason why we don't complain is very basic and fundamental. It is because of our culture, tradition, and heritage to not complain. It isn't polite, it is considered rude, and it is undignified.We are raised to behave ourselves, and when growing up, if we don't behave, we are punished.I went to a store the other day and purchased something. I was owed 2 pennies in change. They didn't even give me the change. I didn't say anything about it either because it wasn't much, and my asking for the change would have held up the people in line behind me.At restaurants, I don't like ice in my soda because the ice melts and waters my soda down. Despite that, I never order my soda without ice because to do so is a hassle. We don't want people having to go out of their way to accommodate us. We want to get in, get out, and get on with our lives, without troubling others.When people complain, in public at least, it draws negative attention to themselves. Who in their right mind wants that? It makes them appear to be jerks, or obnoxious at best. The only time I find that type of behavior appropriate is in traffic situations. If I see someone who obviously doesn't know the proper way to drive their vehicle, I will be the first to voice my criticism. I will yell and scream at them, and hope the message gets through. Usually though, they can't hear me at all, and my yelling does little to change their behavior. However, I feel better at least to get it out.Buckley's paper seemed to suggest that we should raise our voices to complain more frequently. I feel that goes against the ideal of a perfect nation, a nation of power, strength, unity, purpose, and peace. While I hold Buckley in high regard as a...
