Entitlement

Last year one of the elder statesmen of NPR was asked about his wisdom of past decades, especially the last round up, up to the changing of the millineum; I think it was Ted Koppel. And to give his view of the ruling theme of this period. He didn't waste time nor words, "entitlement" was it, and he felt that is was especially evident during the Bush administration years. At first I was surprised, but as it sunk in I was convinced he had nailed it.

From the billionairs & millionairs down to those who feel they can run their credit cards right up to the max, from the Wall Street manipulators and giant banks & investments firms, to the petty on line criminals & pornographers, the entitlement junkies take it to the max, and then wonder why our so-called democracy is in so much trouble. People are "entitled" to fine wines, brandies
(cognacs), beers and the cusines which can go with them? The unrealities are forgotten in the process. Can anyone be surprised that countless numbers of people were convinced to take on mortgages for which they had no possibilty of pay off, and that the cynical people who made them available were also convinced that the pay offs to them was just a logical extension of the American entitlement dream.

Does this entitlement business only apply to those on the top and bottom? No sir, it is endemic, up and down the line, especially in the middle classes. & the ultimate paradox is that the entitlement mania has, in large part, driven the damage to our environment, created the huge weather problems we are suffering through, and helped to undermine our own abilities to produce products which would be healthier and more sustainable. & this doesn't even touch the glossed over subjects such as bad diet (diabetes & fat), childhood malnutrition, homelessness and a host of other problems which do not belong to a working democracy.