Auraseer;
Yes, Europeans are soft, but not as soft as Americans. As you rightly pointed out, this is a discussion about opinions. My opinion is that those of us in the First World have become so used to extreme comfort that the slightest bit of discomfort is perceived as horrific. I am not suggesting that no-one suffers in the heat. Of course they do. All over the world. But the whole idea of discussing A/C as a necessity is one of those converstaions that makes me laugh and say, “only in America”.
Look, I love my country, but we are definately spoiled here. Do I want to trade that in for a life of poverty? Absolutely not. I’m not saying that we should take away everyone’s A/C and make them suffer like the rest of the world. I’m just trying to explain that if one takes a world view and then asks this question, it’s absurd.
“I think it would be a great idea” Mohandas Ghandi’s answer when asked what he thought of Western civilization
One last thought:
I guess my view on this also differs and seems cold to some because I probably define trajedy differently than some of you. Anyone dying from the heat is sad. It seems especially sad in an American context because so many people are able to easily avoid the heat with A/C.
But I have also had the horrible experience of seeing cases where people have died because the simple anti-biotic they needed was not available in their village and the supply truck didn’t make it in on time. I have seen people suffer and die from illnesses that we routinely treat here with great success. I have seen children die of dehydration after long bouts of diarheal disease because their parents didn’t know enough to bring them to the clinic. And all of this on top of never having adequate food, poor living conditions, unsanitary water supplies, and no A/C.
In either case, people are dying, and that is sad. But here, one has some options. For example, hang out at the mall that day or go to a relative’s house. Here in Chicago, the city sets up emergency cooling centers where people can go inside an A/C building and cool off. The mayor comes on T.V and encourages everyone to check in on the elderly. Now sure, some people slip through the cracks, but there are a hell of a lot less cracks to slip through here than there are elsewhere. IMHO, A/C is a pretty trivial concern (yes, I know, not to the person whose dying of heat stroke, but in general).
“I think it would be a great idea” Mohandas Ghandi’s answer when asked what he thought of Western civilization
Lucky,
I am sorry, I didn’t mean to jump on your case.
I think I misunderstood your point. I agree that compared to a person who doesn’t have the medicine needed to live someone who is hot shows that A/C is a luxury.
But comparing the lack of medicine to gas or electricity, shows both of them to be luxuries as well. I think the OP conceded that these weren’t real neccesities, but in an American culture that values gas and electric as neccesities, in some areas A/C might be considered as much a necessity as they are.
I think we agree, Lucky, I just think we are viewing the original question on different terms.