Disagreement "This is Water"

The start of “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace seems to imply that it will be a cute and witty commencement speech, but it is not.  One of the things I disagree with DFW on is that he wants more emphasis and thought to be put on the most obvious and apparent things in our everyday life, but if we take away our time away from thinking about the difficult and not so obvious things then they will overwhelm us, this is indeed why they are the difficult things in our life, because they demand to be thought about.

I also think that his ideas are completely preposterous when he says that we should alter or work harder to not make every decision based upon the fact that every single human being on this planet is designed to be completely self-centered.  What is wrong with that?  In this life, in YOUR life, there is only one chance you have to actually live, so everything you do is supposed to make your life better, that’s exactly why it’s your life.  Now don’t get me confused, I am not saying you need to be the most selfish, spoiled and non-loving person, but everything you do, you should do because you want to do it.  For example, some people say it is unselfish to help others, and in some ways it is, but in most it’s not.  It’s selfish because nobody helps someone and doesn’t expect to get something out of it.  Whether it is money, food, a hug, or the tingly feeling they get inside, they are always searching for something to receive, something they deem as equal or more valuable than their time that they just spent helping you.  After all, when asked about volunteering, haven’t you ever heard a little old lady say “I just love the way it makes me feel inside to help others”?  DFW might look at that statement and proclaim the actions she is doing shows that she is getting free of her default setting which is to be completely centered and not care about anybody else, but if you take a closer look you’ll notice that in that quote she mentions herself twice and the other person only once.  She may be helping others and bringing pleasure to them, but it is only so that it will bring pleasure to herself.