<p>Do people need to compare themselves with others in order to appreciate what they have?</p>
<p>People definitely need to compare themselves to others in order to truly appreciate what they have. Parents tell their children to think of the less fortunate. Even as children, people are taught to compare themselves to others. This comparison is essential to appreciating what a person has.</p>
<p>In the United States, people take immense pride in being the bastion of liberty and equality. This is very much true. The US serves as a template for other democratic nations. The people of the US always compare themselves to the nations in which the government does not toleral personal liberties. Americans often take the freedoms given by the government for granted. They do not appreciate it until they compare themselves to the people of North Korea or China who are living under severe limitations. Hence, the people need to compare themselves with others in order to appreciate what they have.</p>
<p>As demonstrated by the activists during the French Revolution, people need to compare themselves to others. The french Revolution was directly influenced by the success of the American Revolution. They longed for the freedoms and autonomy that the Americans enjoyed. By compariing themselves to the Americans, they saw what they lacked, and they wanted it as well. The French activists began a revolution in a quest to obtain the freedom and autonomy the Americans' enjoyed. Therefore, it is clear that people need to compare themselves to others in order to appreciate what they have. </p>
<p>After careful analysis of the thoughts of the American people and French revolutionaries, it is can be concluded that people are compelled to compare themselves to others in order to appreciate what they have. If the Americans and French revolutionaries did not compare themselves to others, they would not appreciate what they have or seek to obtain what they did not have. The natural human tendency to compare oneself is very important to history as a whole.</p>