Middle America vs the African Bush

Village life is liad back, relaxing and more slow paced than I have ever seen. It seems like there is an almost inverse proportion to the quality of life versus the pace of life, and the accompanying stress. You don’t see Guineans complaining about how the maid doesn't put the dishes away, how the faucet leaks or how there are weeds in the lawn. When the only potable drinking water is two miles away and you have to carry a five gallon jug on your head, with a body barely nourished by a diet of white rice and no protein, suddenly the banality of 1st world problems becomes starkly apparent. Every day I see Guineans laughing and enjoying the simple pleasures of life; sitting in the shade of a front porch on a particularly hot day, chatting in the local tea bar or singing as they work in the rice fields. Yet the Guineans in my village live without electricity, refrigeration or plumbing. They have limited knowledge of French, no concept of sanitation or preventative health-care and yet they still function and live happy lives.

This is such an amazing contrast to the ultra privileged, yet ultimately unhappy white middle class of America. I think every husband undergoing a midlife crisis or desperately frustrated housewife should be sent to Guinea for a month to receive a much needed reality check. The bucket of cold water that is life in a third world country should be thrown in the faces of every bleeding heart liberal and Cheney worshiping conservative. Not even for political action to be taken, but merely to provide a paradigm shift to the ignorant and thus do a service to humanity.

I don’t mean to paint guinea as some kind of 3rd world utopia, or spout some back to nature Emersonian propaganda. There is certainly more than an ample amount of discontent and unhappiness here, as is dictated by human nature and socio-economic conditions. However, my goal is merely to illustrate the contrast between unhappiness that is justified and one borne out of a culture consumed by materialism.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to let me know if you stopped by as always.