You are entitled to......

The blog has been up and running for a few days now and all seems to be going well.  Kyle has been chiming in with his “2 cents”.    I’d like for more people to comment and have some discussions.  If anyone wants to get in contact with us e-mail us at montyobv@gmail.com   

 Now for today’s thought.  As I’m watching the news this morning all of the talk about the soda tax has me thinking.  (Yes apparently this is my pet peeve.  Another reason why I need to enter politics) Why do the people of this country feel so entitled?  They keep saying that this soda tax will hurt the “poorest people” in Philadelphia.  Huh?  So now soda and sugary drinks are part of a balanced diet?  They are a necessity for people to live?  Apparently these people feel entitled to be able to buy these drinks.  (Which no one is saying that they can’t)  Let’s dissect a bit shall we? 

Now I didn’t grow up rich by any stretch of the imagination and we certainly weren’t poor.  We were a typical middle class family.  There were some stretches that were rough and others that were much better.  What does this have to do with anything you ask?  Well, we knew there were certain things that were “privileges”.  If there wasn’t enough money for non-essentials like “soda” then we went without.  You mean to tell me that these “poor” people in Philadelphia depend on soda and sugary drinks to survive?  I’m not buying it.  Sure they may be cheaper but here’s a thought, maybe you’re fat and have diabetes because all you drink is soda?  But I digress.  So where do these attitudes come from?  I feel it’s a deep rooted sense of entitlement.  Everyone feels they are entitled to everything and anything.  Truth is a lot of these people probably don’t know what they are bitching about.  So where does the sense of entitlement come from?  I have my thoughts.  It comes down to bad parenting. 

Somewhere between the end of the baby boomer generation (1960-1962 ish) and today (Gen X and Y) there has been a drastic change in parenting.  I’m not sure what caused this change, maybe it was the late boomers and Gen X and Gen Y trying to “be different than” their parents.  Maybe it was an increase in both parents entering the workforce.  Maybe it was just plain apathy (a characteristic of Gen X and Gen Y).  Either way, parents are just different.  The question becomes is the bad parenting a reflection of society or is society a reflection of bad parenting? 

 The biggest part of the bad parenting is just an overall lack of discipline.  This I feel is where the entitlement comes in.  When I was a kid and I did something wrong I knew there was a consequence.  I’m not talking about a “time-out”.  What is that?  Are we playing basketball?  I mean a legitimate, hit ‘em where it hurts consequence. (Not literally hitting….all the time anyway….)  I know what you’re thinking, but there’s a difference between discipline and beating.  I see nothing wrong with a little smack.  I do see a problem with a child getting beat because the parent had a bad day.  It’s not just smacking or hitting a kid though.  Some consequences I received were not talking on the phone, not being able to go out, no TV, etc.  There’s none of that today.  The parent that disciplines their kid is the exception today.   

Kids aren't scared of or do they respect their parents or any adult for that matter.  They don't get punished. Or if they do they get sent to their rooms.  I’d love to have been sent to my room as a kid with TV, computer, video games, cell phone, etc.  Or they are told you can’t go outside.  What?  These kids don’t want to go out anyway so where is the punishment?  (The kids are fat and out of shape, maybe the consequence should be you must exercise 2 hours a day?  But again, I digress).  The kids walk all over and don’t respect their parents and that carries over to their everyday life.  This also leads to the sense of entitlement.  The parent gives the kid everything they want and the kid does nothing to earn it so they feel they are entitled to everything.  News flash, it doesn’t work that way in real life.

I feel a lot of parents try to be their kid's “friend”.  This is where the problem begins.  You are a parent not a friend.  They try to not hurt their kid’s feelings or upset them.  Huh?  Again, this leads to the sense of entitlement.  Society as a whole is actually a part of this problem.  T-ball games with no winners or losers, everyone getting a trophy, no one getting cut, treating all kids like they are equal, blaming ADD or some other ailment for your problems?  Ridiculous.  Guess what kids? You are ALL different.  That’s life.  When you go on an interview your potential employer won’t care if you have ADD or a learning disability.  They won’t say you’re a nice person so we’ll just give you a job.  They certainly won't try to "spare" your feelings.    Life isn’t fair and the sooner you all realize that the better off you’ll be.  Again, get off your ass and do something.  Stop whining about how “unfair” it is and do something about it.  Parents, this is all your fault.  By coddling these kids you are in a sense creating the monster.  Maybe you feel bad because you weren't coddled?  Guess what?  Suck it up and get over it.  You're making society worse by feeling sorry for yourself and thus coddling your kids.  This is why people feel entitled.    

From birth these kids are told they are great.  They are the best.   That’s all well and good.  I’m not saying to tell your kid they suck but please be realistic.  Not every kid is going to be a great athlete, a great musician, or a doctor.  Help your kids set realistic goals and encourage them to achieve them…..themselves.  By giving them everything they need you’re only feeding into the sense of entitlement.  Guess what?  The world doesn’t owe you shit.  You know who are the people that are making it in the world?  The ones that are going out and making it happen.  Not the ones waiting for things to be given to them or bitching because the world owes them something.  My dad told me early on; the chances of you making it to MLB, the NFL, etc. are very slim.  He didn’t discourage me from trying but told me realistically to have a backup plan.  Go to college that way if it doesn’t work out or god forbid you get hurt you have a job and some type of skills to help you.  Guess what?  I don't feel entitled.  In fact I'd say I've done pretty well for myself.

Our government also plays a role in this entitlement………………I’ll get into that another time though.  I could go on and on about that, but we'll save that for another time.  Well this went from a sugar tax to bad parenting but I guess that’s how it goes sometimes.  Please feel free to make a comment at the bottom of the blog and we can start a dialog.  Also feel free to comment on the overall appearance, content, or anything else about the blog.  Until next time this is Jimbo saying you are entitled to read my blog.  See you next time.