I had to write a ‘rant’ for a class I’m in. At first, I couldn’t think of anything I was upset about. And then….

One thing that makes me want to throw a fit is the current state of entitlement in the world. It seems that everyone and their dog believes they deserve something they haven’t worked for. Whether it is a child asking for something, a student expecting a grade they don’t deserve, or a citizen expecting a handout from the government, it makes me want to shake my fists in the air and ask, “why?”

I have students who come to me regularly and tell me, “You should give me some candy.” While I know this verbiage is just the way kids talk these days, the real issue is that they really believe I should give them whatever they want. This may seem cute, but in reality, it is the tip of the iceberg. I never would have told my teacher or anyone else, for that matter, that they ‘should’ give, do, allow, etc., me anything. I do not believe I was an anomaly either. There was a certain level of self-respect when I was growing up; we wanted to achieve things. We were proud when we earned a good grade. We felt accomplished when we worked hard at something and achieved a goal. We enjoyed the accolades when our project was not only finished, but looked good because we took the time to do it right. It wasn’t just about the grade or the prize; we wanted everyone to know that we did it.

When I listen to the radio, which is rare, a commercial always seems to come on that tells me I deserve something. I deserve to hear the songs I want when I want. I deserve to have the best car. I deserve a vacation. I deserve the latest XY and Z. I can’t help but ask myself why I deserve it. To me, it is the most obvious form of persuasion to make me think I deserve something when I’ve done nothing to earn it.

There is more than irritation attached to this. There is an element of danger. If we give in to the voices telling us we deserve everything our hearts desire and we don’t have to do anything to earn it, where will that leave the world? If no one is doing the work, no one is setting the goals, no one is sacrificing their time and talents to actually earn something…where will everything go? Who will be the creators, the inventors, the builders, the farmers, the cooks? Will we turn everything over to AI and watch as we start slurping our lives through a straw, eyes dulling as we float through life with no resistance and no growth? 

I love the movie Wall-E, but it is terrifying to me. I don’t want to fall into the trap of ease and relaxation, void of sweat equity. I don’t want to trust my future to those who would get by on their unjust deserts. I want to work, and think, and dig deeper. I want to know that what I get is what I have worked for and earned. We are doing no one any good by letting them drift through life as though they were on a Barbie pink colored floaty, complete with a cupholder filled with juice boxes. Eventually, they will get what they deserve, and when that happens, their little floaty will pop along with their bubble of naivety, and they will be stuck on the shore, with no flint for their fire and a wet bag of Cheetos, wondering what they are supposed to do.

Cause I said so.