Some people do things because they enjoy it; others do things because they feel entitled. Like anything, entitlement can push one to greatness…or make them one of the most annoying people you may ever meet. This week, we feel entitled to talk about entitlement!
We start off chatting about whether or not we felt entitled to anything as kids, and if that changed as teenagers. It seems many believe entitlement is a feeling reserved for the young, but after talking about the past, we talk about the most entitled people we’ve ever met: adults!
With social media, everyone has a platform — and many adults spend a lot of time online pushing their opinions on others. Are those people entitled to an audience no matter what they say, or are we within our own rights to shut the ranting poxmonkeys down? (Our answers, here, are probably pretty obvious by referring to the obnoxious blowhards demanding we listen as “poxmonkeys.”)
Moving on from there, we discuss unsolicited criticism and ranting in general: why do people do this, and can any good come from it? Many believe anything said online is deserving of a contradicting rebuttal. When Popular Science removed comments from their website because they grew tired of recurring arguments derailing conversation, there was outcry. We take a moment to discuss why people feel so entitled to having their say, before moving on to asking if the Internet has contributed to a sense of entitlement to any and all opinions being thrown about with no regard to others. Often, with this kind of entitlement, anger lies at the root; we discuss the relationship between anger and a sense of entitlement.
Entitlement comes in all shapes and forms. If one wins the lottery, or even makes a lot of money on their own through hard work — some family and others feel entitled to a cut. We share our thoughts about whether or not others are entitled to the fortunes of others.
Many creative people feel they are entitled to making a living doing what they love most, and that those who work cheaply (or for free) are not entitled to anything because they’ve undercut the way things have been done for years. We share our thoughts as writers on this, arguing that creative people are really nothing special and that to expect earning a living simply because you really love doing something is a strange sense of entitlement in its own right.
Politicians have done a great job in recent years branding things they don’t like as “entitlements.” We devote some time to discussing if these programs are good or bad…and if they are entitlements at all or simply basic rights. After that, we ask if humans are entitled to anything, simply for existing. Finally, we close the week’s show by sharing what one thing we would make an entitlement if we had the power.
Despite all that’s said in this episode, you’re entitled to your opinions; feel free to share them in the comments.
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Growing up, I wanted a lot of things, but I didn’t think I was “entitled” to them. I kind of envied my cousin who was more privileged than me. She lived in (what I thought was) a mansion, she got to wear makeup and bikinis in the summer, (and she was a year younger than me!) had a waterbed and air conditioner in her bedroom, had a pool in her backyard, got to go spend summers at a leisure park, had duel-income parents who were married, wore designer clothes and jewelry, had all the boyfriends, etc. Yeah, I was a bit jealous. Later, as an adult, I found out though she had a lot of privilege, she didn’t have the idyllic childhood I thought she had.
When my sister ran away for the second or third time, I got her waterbed and people thought I was soooooo lucky. It really is funny looking back at the people I knew who seemed to have it all…and how many times, that wasn’t the case. The person who picked on me the most in junior high school, who lived on the “rich” side of the lake in our community may have had a bigger house and cooler things, but…something was lacking because she was a heroin addict for years. We’re in touch, now, and she’s much happier in her tiny house, job in a natural health shop (retail), and average car than when she had so much more.
The head cheerleader in my high school graduating class was a really nice person back then, and still is today. She may have never wanted for much because her family did well with the businesses they worked hard to get going, but I bumped into her in junior college once. She was having a hard time because it was a bigger environment with less structure, and she envied the ability friends and I had of not being overwhelmed by it all. She (and other cheerleaders in our school) broke the stereotype of petty popular people; and in that moment in college, any beliefs I had that people who are well off instantly have it easy was shattered.
I think we were alike in that we wanted things, but didn’t feel entitled to them. I appreciated the things I had, and when my step father came along and we had a stronger, multiple-income household, I definitely appreciated the things that came with it. I may have wanted a much cooler car when I turned 16, but I’m glad my first car was a humble 1980 Datsun 810. I was more than happy with that — and with 4 doors, it was a much better car for mischief than a 2-door sports car.
OK I’ll take my $20K per year entitlement. ‘Cause Shawn says so. 🙂
It’s a perfectly doable plan.