I've written about how the bad news can be steady and never-ending ... bad news currently generated by plagues; by global warming, by the death of civility/the rise in celebrity of those who eschew civility; by fears — perceived, real, realized — of having one's rights, civil liberties and status quos snatched away from them.
Bad news of Bible-prophecy proportions. Bad news that has come at us so fast and furiously, processing it is its own form of multitasking. Bad news that has come at us so fast and furiously that just having what we used to think of as a blah, run-of-the-mill day is enough to bring on at least vague feelings of guilt.
It's also an argument for replacing the term "first world problems" with "sane world problems."
"First world problem" is a term used to describe problems experienced by those in "first world" countries — problems that pale in comparison to those experienced by residents of "third-world" countries who are struggling just to survive and who lack access to 21st-century gadgets and gewgaws First Worlders take for granted. Or as the Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines the term: "a usually minor or trivial problem or annoyance experienced by people in relatively affluent or privileged circumstances especially as contrasted with problems of greater social significance facing people in poor and underdeveloped parts of the world." First world problems include such tragedies as a lost or nonworking TV remote, slow wireless internet (or in a case that got me especially irritated a few days back, a short internet outage), a dying phone battery or the waiter failing to bring water.
I advocate using the term "sane world problem" because, as the onslaught of bad news indicates, a whole lot of so-called First Worlders are taking a beating in one way or another these days.
So much so that it's easy to feel downright guilty for not having gotten sick with covid-19 or its delta variant. For having gotten to not only take a vacation, but a fun, safe one. For having a home that's still standing and unflooded. For being able to pay the rent or the house note. Heck, for having access to coffee. Forget any grumbling about that event your noncovid-suffering self wanted to attend being canceled due to covid. Or grumbling about housebugs, leaky dishwashers or traffic jams or the skunky coffee you just bought at the convenience store.
Or, don't forget them. Just rename them. They're sane world problems. The stuff you grumbled about in a time seemingly eons ago when things may not have been ideal, but at least had not exploded in your face all at once, in varying shades of nasty-crazy and affecting not just Other Worlders but First Worlders from all walks of life.
"For a start, the phrase is an anachronism, since we no longer talk about the 'third world,'" according to Steven Poole's article at Theguardian.com — "Why the phrase 'first world problem' is condescending to everyone." Poole goes on to indicate, in parentheses, that "the usual phrase is the optimistic 'developing world.' "
He goes on to explain that "The Oxford English Dictionary's first citation for 'first world problem' is from 1979, though it was then meant seriously, to denote housing problems that were specific to the 'first' world. The modern, exclusively ironic usage of 'first world problems' did not get going until the mid-1990s. And yet search analytics show a big uptake only since 2011, long after we all learned to stop talking about the 'third world.' That implies there might be something smug in the modern usage, as well as a hint of enjoyable transgression in using language that is not 'politically correct.'"
I'd add that it has always been the case that some First Worlders have been better off than others. But as of late, adversity has been getting far more equal-opportunity-ish.
I believe I've said in this space before that the time is long out for anyone, no matter how privileged, to sit on their several yards of comfort zone and say "Hey, I'm glad that's not me." As someone with a lot of Facebook friends, I see this loud and clear any time I scroll my newsfeed and see someone seeking thoughts and prayers.
So if the worst things going on with us are that we didn't get the fries that were supposed to come with our order, or our wireless internet reception went south, let's take a deep breath and take a moment to be grateful. After which we would ideally get up and lend a helping hand/ear/prayer/buck to fellow First Worlders who — due to covid, hurricane, tornado, wildfire, terrorist attack, whatever — may be wishing such sane world problems were their biggest ones.
Email: hwilliams@adgnewsroom.com