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something i typed up for a friend on the issue of where i think the entitlement mentality of our society comes from. figured it's worth sharing. topic came up because it's a mutual friend's bday and i have a penchant for not celebrating holidays where people get gifts, partly for the reason laid out, but also for others
wufwugy 5:08 pm
well long story short, its mainly about xmas stuff than bday stuff, but bday counts too. basically the super "entitlement" mentality we have in this country, which we do but not precisely in the way people use it, but we do have it, i theorize is largely due to being raised in a culture that teaches us that we get stuff just for being us. like with xmas, it's the most important day of any child's life and he looks forward to it sooooooooooo much and thinks soooooooooo much about it and all it really is is him just anticipating and receiving things just because he's alive. things like xmas and bdays where we celebrate the person "just because" i think has had some of the worse cultural effects on us
wufwugy 5:23 pm
i should clarify that when what is important in your life is stuff that you are simply given because you're you, it changes your entire outlook even on the most subliminal level. so i contend that when young adults today exhibit such entitlement attitudes and they cant deal with the stresses of real life and a myriad of other related problems, it's really because their entire lives they were taught that important things were going to be given to them. they never learned what it means to achieve things
wufwugy 5:26 pm
contrast this to my father, who was never given anything ever. he was made to work for every single thing he's ever had when he was a child, and as an adult he has carried those values with him. when life gets him down he doesnt blame the system or others, he simply tries to work harder to fix it. i think if he was raised to believe he was special just becuase he was alive, his approach to obstacles would be like ours today where we blame outside factors, which is ultimately just a rebellion against the idea that we can't just have what we want by existing
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