Am I too selfish?

Carl Rivera43 said:The West is just fundamentally broken and pretty much fake at its core, if you ask me.

Why limit your perspective solely to the Western world?

It’s mostly because the West holds so much sway over everything else on the planet, isn't it?

gentlejackal76 said:Why limit your perspective solely to the Western world?

I guess he hasn't discovered the East yet. 😁

Carl Rivera43 said:It’s mostly because the West holds so much sway over everything else on the planet, isn't it?

Just imagine if a system like North Korea's actually reached the West. hmmm lol

briskranger5 said:Let’s be honest: the title here is nonsense. We aren't talking about something normal, are we?

I won't drone on forever, so I'll try to make my point concisely, though I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.

I see it all around me—and maybe I’m guilty of it too—people who grew up with nothing and spent their entire lives grinding just to build something substantial. They sacrificed everything to get there. But then they hit this certain age where their children are well-off, their grandkids are comfortable... yet they haven't changed one bit. They still obsess over every single cent, treating a cheap bottle of Jack Daniel's like it's some grand luxury.🙂

And I’m not even talking about your average retiree. I’m talking about the people who actually built something through sweat and grit on construction sites or in tough trades.

Some might argue it’s just a generational thing, but I see plenty of examples of this happening right now.

Personally, I can be pretty frugal, but I’m not so sure I could ever go to such extremes, even for my own flesh and blood.

What about you?

Different people just have different priorities. What looks like stinginess or unnecessary deprivation to one person might not look that way to someone else—maybe they simply don't care for those things, or they think the value just isn't there for the price tag.

It’s a bit like a five-year-old trying to understand the perspective of a candy store owner. That kid spends all day staring at rows of colorful sweets, only to trade them for little scraps of paper.
In the kid's mind, any sane person would just lock the doors and eat the whole inventory themselves!

Joseph Watson3 said:Different people just have different priorities. What looks like stinginess or unnecessary deprivation to one person might not look that way to someone else—maybe they simply don't care for those things, or they think the value just isn't there for the price tag.

It’s a bit like a five-year-old trying to understand the perspective of a candy store owner. That kid spends all day staring at rows of colorful sweets, only to trade them for little scraps of paper.
In the kid's mind, any sane person would just lock the doors and eat the whole inventory themselves!

Sure, but that’s not my point.

I’ll concede that everyone has their own habits and priorities, but you can't claim it's "normal" to live on nothing but toast for three days straight when you have a solid Social Security check coming in. Or you can't say it's normal to crave the most colorful candy bar in the aisle and then refuse to buy it.

We aren't talking about deciding whether you want a Chevrolet or if you'd rather have a BMW. This is something else entirely.