Thank “You”
Pawan Kim
Thank you. Merci. Gracias. 감사합니다. There are so many ways to say thank
you, but how many times do we actually mean it? I was always reminded to say thank
you whenever I got a gift as a child, such was my level of interest in a new toy. Oh
boy! New Lego! Awesome! I can’t wait to play with it… oh right. Thanks. Perhaps the
constant reminders wore me out to the extent that it became a habit, albeit a polite
one. Now, I spout out my thanks at any moment, not really thinking of the importance
of those words. Thanks for buying the drinks. Thanks for the pencil. This may seem
like a small problem, but it stems from a larger issue: our inner selfishness.
Humans are innately selfish creatures. Although this is a cynical outlook, there
is ultimately nothing more important than ourselves. After all, is that not why we
write raving articles praising “Heroic 12-Year-Old Boy Saves Grandmother From Burning House”? The heroism that the boy displayed was his valuation of another life
over his own; an act that people herald because it goes against nature. The article
is an acknowledgement of innate human selfishness and how one overcame it. Still, we
see everyday examples of how it is ourselves that we place at importance, even subconsciously. In our conversations, there is only one subject. Me. Talking to mother.
About me. Talking to a friend. About me. Stand-up comedy. The main topic? Me.
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