I see lots of comments online from Americans, Canadians, Europeans, and Australians who travel to poor countries, see living conditions there, and talk about how “lucky” they feel to be from a wealthy, developed country. By the same token, do you personally feel that poor people in developing countries are thus “unlucky” to be born in such a situation?
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Of course. My success in life is largely due to factors beyond my control, one of those being lucky enough to be born in a developed liberal democracy.
I tend to feel more thankful for what I have, rather than sorry for others with less.
For people who grow up in bad conditions, it’s often all they know. So it’s not like they’re dreaming about caviar and rolls royces. They make do with what’s available.
Where I most feel bad is for people who are picky eaters. I had a dorm-mate who grew up in a rural area and basically refused to eat anything other than plain burgers (just bun and patty not even ketchup), chicken nuggets, and cereal.
Any time I eat kbbq or an amazing curry I think about people like her who are missing out on so many wonderful flavors.
I don’t think in terms of lucky and unlucky (and for God’s sake don’t think in terms of “better” or “worse”), but having awareness and a certain amount of gratitude for having been born in a materially better situation is important.
At the same time, it’s important to remember that we didn’t *earn* being born in the circumstances we did. It doesn’t make anyone smarter, or more credible, or whatever. In *that* sense it was luck because it was essentially random.
It’s like how (in a domestic sense) I don’t take for granted that, minor issues aside, I grew up in a stable family. That doesn’t mean that I think less of people who didn’t or go try to rub it in.
I’m not in their shoes, they may be happy or unhappy with their circumstances. All I can say is that I personally feel fortunate to have been born into all the privileges that come with a middle-class American life.
I’ve been a naturalized US citizen for a decade now. I’m originally from a developing country. I once told my husband that if I were born and raised here, I likely would would have accomplished so much better than I do now.
I have deep appreciation and awareness of the privilege that my kids have for being born in the US. The amenities are so much better than where I’m from. I cried the first time I stepped in a public library in Santa Monica which was my first home city since I moved to the US. The sheer beauty of public libraries here still move me to this day.
The state parks and national parks are also gorgeous.
As to education, while I moved from living in California to a red state, it’s not that shabby. I went to a state university back in college and when we learned music theory, we didn’t even get to touch a real keyboard. We had to draw our own keyboard on a cardboard box instead of being able to use an actual keyboard. My son is not yet in middle school and they have a real piano in class.
If anything, I want to appreciate the things I have in life.
It’s possible to be happy in a developing country.
I am only American because one of my ancestors moved to the United States.
I’m privileged and wealthy in comparison to the vast majority of humanity only because my grandfather went to college and became an engineer.
My own impact on my “station” in life is limited.
If this isn’t luck, I don’t know what is.
I mean yeah pretty much for the most part. Although I’m sure many have other reasons to feel lucky/unlucky that go beyond their financial status. Perspective matters.
Yes I do. And not just because I travel but because I hear things coming out.
No. You can live a miserable life in a wealthy country and claim to have zero luck. Think about all the unlucky SOBs living here in the US who are clamoring to leave when their politician of choice doesnt get elected.
People who say they are “lucky” living in the US are patronizing idiots who think the rest of the world is a shithole. They are the same kind who indulge in volun-tourism for social media karma and western saviorism. Ugh.
Yeah. Of course I consider myself luck to grow up in a country that is in the grand scheme of things very wealthy. If I grew up in one of the many impoverished countries I would have had significantly less opportunities and comforts. That’s not to say people from those countries are anymore sad or unhappy than people from wealthier countries but I for one feel extremely fortunate to have running water, air conditioning, and electricity.
Why ask an American?
Yes, people born into good situations are lucky and those born in to bad situations are unlucky.
Not automatically, no. You get used to what you are given. You can live a good and happy life without the amenities we all take for granted. If the situation is oppressive and objectively harsh/dangerous, then yeah, I do feel for them and want better for them. But just because they don’t live like I do? nah.
Plenty of people do well in developing countries
I think there are other factors to luck: Healthy, good parents, and a stable environment. But, yes, I think a child born in, say, South Sudan or Somalia is less lucky that a child born in a developed country.
Because in developed country, the institutions, societal ethos, and governance are designed to, at the very least, create an environment for that child to grow into a prosperous and fulfilled adult. Meanwhile, the conditions in an impoverished country prevent even very smart and talented individuals live up to even a fraction of their potential.
Maybe twenty years ago. The amount of entitled, gender confused overweight kids that suffer depression in the West. WTF?! Nowhere close. I appreciate and visit such countries. The ones advancing quickly that aren’t exclusively authoritarian.
Cheers to them. The kids in the West make me sad. What TF happened?
I mean, sure, in the sense that where you’re born is totally up to luck
I feel like it sucks to be poor no matter what country you’re born in. (I say this as someone who’s lived between the line of poor and lower middle class in America my whole life) US standards of “poor” may be better than some other countries standards of poor, (for example, living in a trailer park in America versus a hut somewhere in another country) but I feel like neither really have more luck. Because poor people anywhere I feel like are likely to stay poor, I will say being born poor in the US or other western countries may be more of an advantage though. Because the opportunities to become wealthy or at least move up in economical class is there more, but that’s about it.
Of course you’re lucky to be born in a developed country. If 1st world nations weren’t more privileged and advanced than developing countries then there wouldn’t be millions immigrating to the developed world.
Yeah, definitely. But more so being born into a developed country in general, not just the United States.
No, because all life is relative. I’m sure there are plenty of people in third-world countries living happier, more fulfilling lives than me, and vice versa. I’m sure there’s tons of individuals in bad situations in those countries to where what you said might be true, but it’s very rarely a universal thing, and when it is its because of things like war or a particularly brutal dictatorship instead of purely economic concerns.
I’m 5th generation Italian immigrant. My family came here so they could have a better life and that their children and children’s children would be able to do anything they wanted in life.
Given that I have friends in South America, I can definitely see why people say they’re unlucky
Yep. Getting from where you are to where you want to be may or may not be difficult depending on your starting point.
Many foreigners seem to think about that about westerners . They are full of envy and jealousy when they use the word lucky or not. Anyway I don’t think it’s lucky, everyone has their own challenges and problems in life . Being materially wealthy or more comfortable is not the best thing in life, everyone always looks at the outward value of things. Also how much is the USA’s greatness luck, rather than the actual achievements and hard work of its people most especially in the past sure but also today? How much hard work does it take to succeed in America? So much. Why has the usa been so attractive to the world as an immigration destination for hundreds of years? To escape their unhappy conditions and they worked incredibly hard to have a better life, not to just sit around and bask in saying ok we are lucky now we are lucky..foreigners think it’s some easy think or just given for granted, when it is righteous behavior of the people which creates a prosperous environment in the first place, not blind luck
Absolutely. This really isn’t an opinion. It’s a fact.
Yes and no. A lot of the world’s people live somewhere where they don’t have any/many amenities but have secured housing and healthcare and other basic life necessities. It really depends what you mean by poor. Also many Americans suffer living conditions of abject squalor.
Yes I’m lucky to have been born here thanks to my parents coming here, yes illegally but it was that or death. I’m first generation American so I grew up hearing my family talk about their life in Central America and it was horrific.
I’ve heard things I wish I hadn’t and it breaks my heart what they went through. Sometimes I get curious about stuff and I want to ask but I’m genuinely afraid of the answer or triggering sadness in them.
I remember returning back from the Iraq War and thinking that even in a war I was way better off than they were in their home country.
So yes, I see myself having won the place of birth lottery. Also being the first US born of our family allows me to really appreciate it since I have a better glimpse of what my life would’ve been like had my parents not taken a chance.
Of course I feel this way!