Hmm, I'd say we have both quantity and quality over our predecessors. We certainly have a lot more choices, and the poor sap who chooses a path that they find unsatisfying deserves their misery until they make a better choice.

Real estate is just another possession. If we didn't stake out a claim on the land we live on, then we would, and do, fight about other covetous items. Land is only one facet of the struggle between the haves and the have nots. The author's views are perhaps germaine, but too narrow minded in that respect. The author also discounts whatever investment made into improving said chunk of land for the sake of the traveller, which I find wholly unacceptable. I do not intend to labor under the hot sun cultivating and cropping just so some freeloader can take what he wants and go on about his business without contributing his portion. Agriculture has long been proven to be far more efficient than hunting/gathering ever was. If venison is in greater market demand, then the rancher will grow deer instead of cattle. The author's premise is far too liberal for my tastes. As for community displeasure, once again I look to those wonderful liberal welfare programs which interfere so much with free market society. What's happening in New Jersey right now is a prime example. Politics and bureaucracy spoil everything.

Despite some social limitations that civilization makes inevitable, there is always one paramount choice in our existence that takes precedence above all others, and that is acceptance or rejection. I can change the things I control, choose to accept the conditions I cannot change, and find a way to live with those conditions in harmony with others, or be miserable. It is far easier for me to adapt to my surroundings than to try and adapt my surroundings to suit my desires. Those who learn that vital skill will get a lot more out of life.

Bear in mind that for any one of us who find our careers, our families, our social realms not what we wanted, there are a myriad of those past and present who would've killed to have what we loathe.

Listening to someone rant on about what might've been, could've been, or even should've been won't solve any problems, it only adds to the noise and puts the blame for their misery onto someone or something else. I much prefer to be a "glass is half full" kinda guy. Life is too short, you take what you can get and make the best of it; you could always have less.

It is always easier to quit trying and find a fault to blame than it is to never give up and be responsible for your own happiness. Life, such as it is for each of us, is a gift, in whatever form we are bestowed. It can either be wasted or relished. If a guy like Ivan Denitsovitch can find something in each day to be happy about, then how much moreso for us?