Saturday, August 29, 2009

The "Entitlement Mentality" in Today's Society

God gave us a brain that requires a certain amount of rest for the entire body to function properly. If we don't take care of ourselves, how are we going to be able to take care of the necessities in our lives? It's important that we keep a natural pace in our lives, and that includes keeping track of time and keeping our "to-do-lists" up to date so that we don't fall behind.

All of that goes along with keeping our goals and dreams in front of us on a daily basis. I mentioned this in another blog, Goals, Dreams and Attitude. Having a picture of our dreams in front of us will keep them alive. I am not just speaking of "ideas" as a dream (although dreams can and most often develop into innovative ideas), but I am speaking of something tangible - like a new home, or a vacation on a romantic cruise with your husband or wife. If you post a photo of a cruise ship on your refrigerator at home or on the wall of your office, it creates a sense of importance. These are things that one must work toward.

For example, a little boy wants a red wagon, but wants to pay for it himself. The child puts a photo of that red wagon on the wall in his bedroom. He then goes all over the neighborhood, helping his neighbors with mowing lawns and washing cars to earn and save enough money to buy his own red wagon. And once the boy purchases his red wagon, he'll appreciate it more because he earned it himself. He didn't have to worry about someone else providing it for him.

That story is something that leads me up to the difference between the generations before us and the generation of today. I have come in contact with so many people in my lifetime, and most recently, I found people in online social networks; many of them I haven't seen in over 20 years. After a brief "conversation" with someone on YouTube, I have learned that many people of today's generation (mostly from the left) have this idea that "society owes me, so President Obama is going to get me what I am entitled to." See the video below during Obama's campaign:




This is so sad that our people have resorted to this type of attitude. There is no common sense behind it. Where is the sense of personal responsibility for this woman who claims that she won't have to worry about paying her mortgage or putting gas in her car if she helps Barack Obama? She has lost all logic and has fallen for the lies of this man who claims to be a citizen of the United States, but won't show any documentation to prove that. But that's anther story. Personally, there are times when I have to fight against the same indoctrination when life doesn't seem fair to me. I fight for what is morally correct, and yet I have to fight agaisnt being "politically correct." We've got the left-wing extremists quoting "All men are created equal," unless of course you are a Christian conservative, such as myself and millions of other Americans. I'm in favor of helping my fellow man when he or she is down and out ... but Only If I Want To, not because the White House and the community organizers require me to do so. It's called tax-deductible, private donations.

The entitlement attitudes have been shouting louder by saying things like "Do away with Capitalism," and "Capitalism destroyed our economy!" Capitalism hasn't destroyed anything! A few greedy bankers and select Washington liberals in the House and Senate did this. They decided that the poor were entitled to a new house even if they couldn't afford the mortgage. People today forget that this mess started more than ten years before former President George W. Bush took office. How quickly we forget that Senators Barney Frank (D.MA) and Chriss Dodd (Democrat from where, I don't remember) were pushing for this entitlement program under Bill Clinton. Years later, they put the blame on Bush for the whole thing. It was Bill Clinton who signed that bill into law.

So, now we've got even more people crying about how awful Capitalism is. "Joe the Plumber" asked a simple question about "sharing the wealth to then Senator Barack Obama, and he's accused of being "unamerican!" Don't people realize that the middle class includes small business owners who earn $250,000? That's not considered wealthy by today's standard what-so-ever. I know a couple who earn an annual, six-figure income combined, and they cannot consider themselves wealthy. They cannot because they don't live within their financial means because of their own bad decisions. So, the American people are required to bail them out too? At the same time, these same people are saying "Capitalism has destroyed our economy, and we deserve financial restitution from the wealthy."

Well, those of you who are crying in your beer or other drinks over how terrible capitalism is... you're going to get your financial restitution... eventually. But the question is... will you be satisfied? Will it help you accomplish goals you have set for yourselves?

We cry out for accountability from Washington and from the greedy bankers, and investors who have made bad financial decisions. I'm all for that. But we also have to be held to the same standards when it comes to our own household. I will admit that I've made some very bad financial decisions in my life, and I'm paying for them dearly. But I'm also learning a valuable lesson from it and striving not to repeat the same mistakes. It takes time, but I will get there. I refuse to participate in this fiscal "pity party" that the liberals have demanded! I refuse to be a part of the financial direction in which this country is headed.

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