The dangerous brainwashing of the development/ public policy sector

As I explained in my About page, I have lived in various developing nations. They were primarily during the years prior to what is called high school in the United States. It should be obvious by now that there was a fair amount of brainwashing happening, by having a parent that was working in the development sector. On top of the cultural expectation of women to be the people in society to care about everyone else's problems except our own, this do-gooder attitude is further heightened when you are surrounded by government workers/ diplomats/ international aid workers. It honestly becomes exhausting when you are one of the few that constantly puts others' needs before your own. People tend to seek you out or consult you for the economic and social problems they face, and it makes you feel guilty for ignoring their pleas, despite having your own life issues and objectives to grapple with.

Furthermore, as I mentioned in my previous post (The constant comparison to Scandinavia), people from different parts of society can react in a bad way, believing you are a threat to their world. I never tried to actively be a threat to anyone; I was merely doing/ saying what I thought was right. Of course, there is no way to avoid people that have a problem with you, regardless of the rhetoric you state. You could be going about your life quietly and as respectfully as possible, and there will exist people that feel big feelings that you are living the type of life you are living, or coming off a certain way. You speak in a weird way. You aren't like the rest of us. After a number of years, it turns into: you attended those schools? You are so privileged! You had a chance to visit those places? Privilege! Is that your taste? Privilege! Your existence is just screams privilege! You think you should be successful at a younger age, when so-and-so was only able to be successful later in their life. It must mean you are privileged (and your skills and efforts didn't count to your result)! You get to hop on the feminism band wagon, and choose to not have children and be a mother? Privilege! You don't have caretaking responsibilities? Privilege!

Is it privilege to muster the courage to stand up for yourself and your human rights, at the risk of being abhorred by multiple groups in society? It is considered privilege until you get mocked for making certain comments, after which it becomes entertainment. I am not the only person who has received such attention. Anyone in the public eye or that has been a group target has probably experienced similar things. Somehow, the outcome seems to be being discriminated against from all directions.

I guess the only thing I can do, is really just set expectations of what I can provide. It goes without saying that I am still subject to those with money and/or power. I cannot make big changes, and I cannot provide large quantities of resources. The most I can currently do, is provide my opinions on issues and topics from an economics perspective, with a bit of logic and common sense sprinkled in. If individuals in society require money/ resources or would like policy changes, you have elected representatives and officials you can contact to make your needs known - their entire purpose is to meet your needs. It is also not my job to provide solutions to issues - there are numerous salaried experts which have been chosen for those tasks. Even if I do provide a quick and "dirty" solution, it might be a very unpopular solution because - unsurprisingly - most issues are complex and the onus, on average, shouldn't be on one side/ group to compromise (except for edge cases e.g. monopolies).

People really need to come out of their bubble every so often, and actually make an effort to have civil discourse and reach across the isle. Consider that as your new year's resolution?