The Interrogative Mood, Questionnaire Example

Is there anything sadder than the demise of the elephant of all the sad occurrences in the modern world?

This question raises serious concern for the sanity of Padgett Powell, but also provokes us to think about many of the sad occurrences that have taken place in the “modern world.” For instance, September 11, 2001 is by far one of the most disastrous events to occur in the United States in recent memory. However, problems in Haiti, Hurrican Katrina, the Sudan and continuous conflicts in the Middle East – not to mention the fall of the Greek economy – have all played a key role in creating the ominous category that Powell refers to as “sad occurrences in the modern world.” In fact, some people even consider President Bush taking power in the United States presidency as one of the saddest occurrences in the modern world; however, that may be better debated elsewhere.

To answer Powell’s question, I think it is safe to say that the demise of the elephant is not the saddest of all of the sad occurrences in the modern world. There are far too many to mention, but it is clear that our society is not prepared to deal with many of the tragedies that has befallen us in recent memory. We need to work together to overcome many of these challenges, and in my opinion, the fact that fellow citizens and neighboring countries can be at war with each other instead of working together is by far the most sad occurrence in the modern world. With all of the advancements in technology and education, we still continue to solve our problems with violence and utter disregard for human life. This is truly sad.

Would you like to have a modern house on a golf course, kitchen island, breakfast counter and live the golf lifestyle with golfing friends?

Although I am not a huge fan of golf, I would love to be able to retire someplace warm and have nothing better to do with my time than go golfing, owning a home outright and spending time with my friends and family. This has turned into the new American dream and it is definitely something that I think most people aspire to. The breakfast counter is definitely not a requisite for me to live a happily retired life, but the kitchen island is definitely a must-have. Who lives a good life without a kitchen island in the oddest room in the entire house – the kitchen! With this said, Padgett Powell raises this question to ask us to consider what we truly think of as the perfect life as we come to that retirement age many years down the road.

To answer Powell’s true question, I would absolutely love to retire somewhere close to my family and have enough income to support the retiree lifestyle. At that age, I no longer wish to care about the flaws of the government or the problems in the Middle East. I want to live the “golfing lifestyle” which is only to say that I wish to lead a stress-free life while being able to devote time, money and resources to caring for my family and spoiling my grandchildren. This is the life that I hope to live one day and the “golfing lifestyle” would be an excellent goal to shoot for when that day does come.

Do you like to pay bills?

The simple answer to this question is that I absolutely despise paying bills. Bills are a reflection of short-term debt that come more regularly than I would like and make me realize that at the end of every month, I owe a portion of my hard earned money to someone else. I often take for granted that this money is in payment for a service that I am receiving, but they are often services that we all take for granted until they are no longer there or the bill is due. For instance, how many times do we turn on the faucet and expect to see running water or turn the light switch and expect electricity to illuminate the bulb? Paying bills is a necessary component of being able to receive these simple services that we all take for granted.

However, in addition to paying bills to utility companies, we also pay bills to credit card companies and banks for loans and long-term debt. Just like utility companies, these bills come at the same time every month and are a frequent reminder that I owe someone else. This type of debt is usually accompanied with a fairly large interest rate that shrinks the actual amount of money I am paying on the principle balance with my monthly payment. In addition, having too much of this type of debt can also ruin credit scores and hinder the option to purchase a house, car or obtain additional credit when it is needed. With all of this said, paying these types of bills can often be very disappointing; however, at the same time when a credit card or loan is completely paid off, there is no greater feeling in the world. This has happened to me three times in the last two years and each time it is a major accomplishment. The only joy that I have for paying bills is so that one day I will be able to tell a credit card company to take their credit card and place it somewhere that is not pleasant.

Bibliography

Powell, Padgett. The Interrogative Mood. London: Profile, 2010. Print.