"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." It is from the pen of Thomas Jefferson with which I choose to open my blog. Through the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson asserts our unalienable rights. Rights that are incapable of being surrendered. Rights that as Americans and as humans, we are truly deserving.
In the 236 years since America dissolved the political bands that connected us to England, we have seen that in addition to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, many Americans also believe they deserve free education, free homes, free iPhones, free health care, and if they can't find a job, free money. As Mark Knopfler sang, they want their "money for nothing and their chicks for free" and they want the government to flip the bill.
The shame with all this "deserving" is it actually quells our ability to pursue our own destiny. The more our government gives us, the more we depend on it and the less likely we are to cut ourselves off from the gravy train in the future. When our government is giving us no incentive to improve , laziness and complacency sets in. It is in the not to distant future that Americas path shall suffer the same fate as Greece
It is time this country reverse its "deserving" mentality and break free of the golden handcuffs. Instead of putting our hands out as if we are entitled to everything at the expense of another, let's put our hands to work and receive what we earn… and then keep it! Webster defines earn as "to receive in return for service". If you are giving nothing, you've earned nothing in return.
That brings us back to life, liberty and happiness. These three virtues are truly deserved of all humans and as such, something we are entitled. Everything else must be earned. And when a long train of abuses and usurpation instituted by our elected officials over the past century elicits a society of entitlement, we must rise up and take a stand. I vote to strike the word "deserve" from our vocabulary and usher in a new era of "Earn". And next time you hear some one use the word "deserve", make sure to tell them, "Deserve's got nothing to do with it".
Respectfully,
Finbags
Boy do I agree! I was raised in my house to believe that if you worked hard -- you will get ahead.
ReplyDeleteYet, while growing up in the 70's I heard over and over how my generation thought they deserved everything to be handed to them...
Over the years, it has only gotten worse. We are an over-indulged society. We collect stuff!
I see so many parents indulging their children with every game system, phone, (you fill in the blanks) on the market and I ask why? What are the children benefiting from this? Think of how they communicate? Think of how they ask for something? We are creating the next generation of "deserve has got nothing to do with it"!
We start this trend from when our children are first born. How many parents have closets overflowing with clothing and stuff for the new arrival? Everything given by well meaning friends and relatives? We just continue with that mentality all through their existence, then we get to a point where we wonder how come our children act the way they do?
In addition, it is harder and harder for kids to find work and earn their own money. The Child labor laws protected our children, but also hurt them. The flip side is they can't work other than babysitting, newspaper delivery or mowing lawns and even then people don't want to hire someone that is only 12 to do those tasks. Their recourse is to ask their parents maybe in exchange for good grades, or house hold chores or maybe not?