Thoughts from an Alien

I picked up Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller the other day. I don't read a whole lot of these types of books, mainly because I am pretty well-rooted in my faith, but I really connected with his style of writing. In one chapter he imagined that an alien came to earth and observed for a few days and then reported back to the other aliens his findings. Here's what he found:

"Humans, as a species, are constantly, and in every way, comparing
themselves to one another, which, given the brief nature of their existence,
seems an oddity and, for that matter, a waste. Nevertheless, this is the
driving influence behind every human's social development, their emotional
health and sense of joy, and, sadly, their greatest tragedies. It is
as though something that helped them function and live well has gone
missing, and they are pining for that missing thing in all sorts of odd methods,
none of which are working. The greater tragedy is that very few people
understand they have the disease. This seems strange as well because it is
obvious. To be sure, it is killing them, and yet sustaining their social
and economic systems. They are an entirely beautiful people with a
terrible problem."

Upon reflection on these words, I am embarassed about how much of what I do is influenced by this disease of comparison. Do you agree with Miller's assessment of how an alien would see the world? Why do we compare ourselves to others so much?