Entitlement

Is entitlement ever good? What role has it played in our present? These are a couple of the questions that are flowing through my head right now.

I think we here in the US have gone through roughly 60 years of unprecendented growth and prosperity. There have been downturns for sure, but looking at the whole, it has been phenomenal. I don't think I am different than most people in that when things go well for me for a period of time, I tend to relax. I am thankful for sure, but I relax, I get in a mindset that this is the way it is and going to be. A sense of entitlement. I act and do a little differently as time passes. It is not really a conscious decision on my part but it just turns out that way.

Now is that possible for a nation? A people as a whole? I think so. The overriding belief as we go through a tough time for our economy and nation is disbelief. "But this is what my life is like." "This is what I make." " This is how my job/industry works..." It's kind of like the frog in the pot of water that slowly turns to a boil and stays in.

Have we not seen this through history? The Roman Empire, The French/Russian/Spanish (etc) Monarchies. Through the church? I mean the King James Bible is after all the only real and true version of the Bible. Hymns from the 15/1600's are the only songs to sing in a church service. Right? Right...

So then what to do!?!? Should we not challenge our assumptions, what we are "entitled" to? This is a hard thing, in fact I don't think we know all of the assumptions we have made about our lives. Where do we start? Our jobs/professions, our possessions, our time. Are these things even "ours"? I think I am only scratching the surface, but I believe it a worthy exercise. One that will result in the right kind of change. In fact I think it will be freeing, because unlike the frog in the pot, we can escape being cooked.