Once upon a time, I had a colleague - he was British, married to a Finn, living in Denmark, and frequently complained about various things he found wrong in this country.
At one time, we other colleagues (of different nationalities, incidentally, but that's a parenthetical remark) had enough of it. We asked him why he actually stayed in Denmark, now that there was so much obviously rotten in the Danish system.
His answer was brief and to the point: because Denmark was "the least worst country to live in". But he found that this should by no means make him refrain from pointing out what could be improved and how.
I am afraid that one thing, which we have far too little of in the world at the moment, is people able to appreciate "the least worst alternative". Too many are too busy protesting to appreciate what they have, or to at least try to put up a qualified alternative to what they are protesting against. Too much is purely destructive protest and anyone trying constructively to put into words how to make the best of the existing, or to put forth alternatives, fall an easy prey to the voice in the street and the social media, to click-baiting debaters, and to journalists who knows all too well how to maximize their audiences.
I recently read a piece by the American journalist Anne Applebaum on how we have enjoyed half a century of political stability, prosperity and freedom - and on how all this is something we take for granted until it's gone.
Regrettably, it is a thought-provoking dystopia, Applebaum draws up ... but to make the best of it, I hope it will actually provoke a lot of thought.
(Translated from Noget om de mindst ringe alternativer, originally published March 23, 2016)