entitlement some ideas form Ceit

Hi Lawrence, a few thoughts on entitlement:

In the past we've discussed human rights and whether we get what we
deserve, which are related ideas to entitlement. If we have a right to
something, like education, we can say we are entitled to an education.
If we perform a service and deserve payment or reward, we are entitled
to that reward. However, the noun "entitlement" is most often used in a
negative way. Somebody with a feeling of entitlement expects reward,
deference or respect unreasonably, without fulfilling any conditions
that would ordinarily mean deserving those things. Entitlement is a
selfish and self-absorbed way of viewing the world, since feeling
entitled means everything you want is what you should get, no matter how
other people can be inconvenienced.

The trick is being able to accurately judge what we deserve from other
people or from life in general. Some people are trained to expect more
for themselves by parents who spoil them, others seem to develop the
idea of being "owed" for their existence on their own. Older people
often consider the young to have a sense of entitlement because of
greater choices in acquisition that they (usually) have. I have to have
a new phone, I should be able to buy what I want, I deserve to live
however I want to. Again, what is necessary is being clear about what
it means to live adequately and without undue duress; the requirements
for a "good" life evolve over time, and the standard of living of 50 or
even 25 years ago is not acceptable to many people today. Do we deserve
the most advanced technology at every moment? Are we entitled to
gourmet food on every corner? Should we expect every person we meet to
automatically be in awe of our intellectual brilliance before we even
open our mouths? Are these the rights we deserve, or are we suffering
from an unreasonable feeling of entitlement?

Ceit