It seems like in the United States there is this expectation that people are happy all the time, no matter how crappy their life situation is. Is it a human thing or just a uniquely American thing? I just notice in general that people who complain in America, no matter how legitimate or reasonable their complaint is, are scorned and labelled as “whiners”.
There is a very interesting article about America, and especially the West Coast’s tendency to be “attitude fanatics” - that is, the New Agey tendency to blame someone’s weaknesses entirely on their attitude and personality, when the real factors may very well be external and beyond their personal control.
http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/Attitude_Fanatics.htm
Do you think it relates to America’s victim-blaming belief that we live in the “land of the free” and “best country in the world” and anyone who is unhappy is simply not utilizing their freedom, and deserves anything bad that comes their way because it’s the result of their own moral faults? Whether it’s the poor, a rape victim, a black person, etc, it seems like Americans tend to blame them and not their circumstances or the person that hurt them.
I’m quite British in spirit, and I love to “have a whine” when I have a good reason to (only to friends/family and on the Internet, I don’t burden strangers in public with my gripes obviously). However I am still an optimist and I rarely complain about people, only about situations, places, or circumstances. Yet I find I only encounter hostility when I express negativity, even from my friends and family, so I’ve learned to just keep quiet when I’m upset.
I think complaining can be a good thing, and constructive. A society that is overly hostile towards people who have gripes and witch hunts “whiners” can’t even identify its weaknesses, so it’s only going to become more and more unhappy and dysfunctional.
Does anyone agree? Or am I just being a “whiner” and should get back to being unconditionally smiley and happy?