by Karla Perry

Created on: November 19, 2010   Last Updated: November 21, 2010

Americans are poised toward feeling entitled. The Burger King slogan “Have it your way,” has almost become a national motto where we demand to have things our way.  Not only do we want it our way, we want what others have whether we earned it or not and see no reason why we ought not to have it.  Even those who have think those who don’t are entitled to have. 

Regardless of the economic status, most of us, especially if we live in the city rather than out in rural America, feel like we deserve the things we want at the speed at which we want them.  We are consumers first and foremost.  We consume money, food, resources, relationships, etc. 

As the American values of hard work, duty to country, and being responsible with our personal resources earned from our hard work lapses into obscurity, we fight for our rights.  The only thing we are left with is being desirous for “rights” without any substance. We do not fight for freedom for we are comfortable with dependence.  We want to be provided for at the expense of the freedom of independence and self-governance. 

We want to be mothered and fathered into adulthood transitioning from natural parents and elder siblings to Big Brother providing our needs.  We haven’t learned to stand on our own two feet and we think others owe us to keep us fed, sheltered, and healthy.  The best thing for most of us is to experience the consequences of our actions. If we don’t work, we don’t get money and no one is going to give us some without requiring our labor.  Then we don’t have food, shelter, and health care.  Once we find ourselves without our needs met, we learn to figure out how to get them met.

People are smart.  They will figure out that if they work, they get a pay check and with that pay check they can buy food, pay rent, and go to the doctor.  If they don’t work, no one else is going to and their hunger is their own responsibility to rectify.  This is not heartless.  This is good parenting. 

Good parents parent to bring the child to a place of maturity and responsibility.  This child grows into an adult who knows how to take care of himself and govern his own freedom.  If his freedom is always governed for him and his bad choices are corrected by another, he will never learn how to be an adult.  Then as the parents take a back seat, the government has to

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