A Little Perspective

E T A Nemo often follows up a complaint with the statement "Oh well. First world problems." Sure that's true, but I'm of the opinion that everything is a matter of perspective. While your car getting a flat tire or coming down with the flu is not seeing your mother stoned to death in Afghanistan for being raped, it nonetheless affects you. You have the right to bitch about things that negatively impact you. Your world is, at some point, just that: your world. Relativity is a law that affects more than just that imaginary rocket ship traveller nearing the speed of light used in a physics thought experiment.

With all that said, I listened to a song today that brought the idea of "first world problems" into perspective. It's sung by Martha Wainwright covering her father's (Louden Wainwright III) original. Here are the lyrics and a link to the song follows.

I slept through the night, I got through to the dawn
I flipped a switch and the light went on
I got out of bed and I put some clothes on
Oh, it's a pretty good day so far

I turned the tap, there was cold, there was hot
I put on my coat to go to the shop
I stepped outside and I didn't get shot
Oh, it's a pretty good day so far

I didn't hear any sirens or explosions
No murders coming in from those heavy guns
No UN tanks and I didn't see one
It's a pretty good day so far

No snipers in windows taking a peak
No people panic, running scared through the streets
I didn't see any bodies without arms, legs or feet
It's a pretty good day

There was plasma bandages and electricity
Food, wood and water and the air was smoke free
No camera crews from my TV

It was all such a strange sight to be home
Nobody was frightened, wounded, hungry or cold
And the children seemed normal, they didn't look old
It's a pretty good day so far

I walked through a park, you would not believe it
There in the park, there were a few trees left
And on some branches, there were a few leaves

I slept through the night, I got through to the dawn
I flipped the switch and the light went on
I wrote down my dream, I made it this song
Oh, it's a pretty good day so far

LISTEN HERE