Living in America

What's wrong with some of my fellow Americans today? Many of them have no common sense, no respect for others and just really don't care about themselves or anybody else. Case in point I happen to live in a low to middle income apartment complex in a somewhat descent neighborhood. Mind you it's on the bottom floor of a two-story building so this is probably part of the problem. Prior to moving here I was renting a pretty nice house with a good friend of mine who was the person on the top of the lease so after a year or so we were in the financial predicament of not being able to afford the raise in rent so was crunched to find a place of my own in a short matter of time.

The building I'm in now was available and the price was right so I took it. The first couple of years were a breeze. The person living upstairs was a good guy and we got along really well. After some time he eventually moved on and what I've had to deal with since has been for the most part utterly hellish! The current tenants are total Neanderthals, if not just downright ignorant and selfish. They stomp around like their unit is a ball field for a marching band at ALL hours of the night and have the creakiest mattress I've ever heard, and I've heard a few in my time! I've gone through the standard protocol of asking them nicely to mind the noise and have shown them the clause in the lease about respecting other tenants peace and quiet but they just shrugged, said "Sure, Whatever." I've complained to the property managers to the point of being a nascence myself under the impression that "3 strikes n' yer out" would come into play as per 'Their' lease agreement. But, alas, not a damn thing has been done. Sure they were warned, told they are in violation of the lease and warned again but has anything changed? You guessed it, NOPE! As assumed things got louder and occur more often.

What is a weary, sleep deprived taxpaying American to do? My morals and common sense rule out retaliation and I don't feel I should be the one to have to pack up and find some place else to live, which on my measly budget is a gargantuan difficulty, just because the people above me don't give a rats rear-end and don't feel that the rules apply to them and the owners are too busy surfing the web during office hours to be bothered buy my annoyance. Is this the "Land of the Free" or just the land of "Nobody gives a crap about anybody else but themselves no matter who has to suffer?" Seems to me in my case it's the latter. And I'm sure I'm not alone in this dire situation. This is not how it's supposed to be is it? Maybe I should stop caring, stop giving a crap and bury myself in a shallow hole of self defecation like my sorry-excuse-of-a-life neighbors.

I guess nice guys DO finish last...