I get very pissed off when I hear people talking about and bitching about the entitlement aspect in this country. Why, because their definition of entitlements and who in their mind feels entitled gets so skewed, that they have a tendency to lump in circumstances, and people that don't apply, and their stereotypical view of folks "receiving" something, or "getting" something takes on a one dimensional aspect because of some form of resentment of a condition that people are in, or the people themselves for that matter. People get labeled as lazy, and not contributing to America while receiving some sort of assistance when that is really a broad perspective by folks lulled into fighting against one another by the people that really have the ability to be lazy, and who don't contribute. Folks always seem to get up in arms about someone, especially poor people "Getting" something, or "taking away something" that is rightfully theirs. A complete distraction from the crux of the issue, and I will tell you why.
There is this underlying hatred towards the "Have Nots" in this country because this country is labeled as a land of opportunity, and apparently in peoples' minds if you have not, then you are not working hard enough to achieve "have" status. For some that is true, but because people in the "Have" column say it, then it is accepted Bible fare. "Look at me I worked hard" is the official battle cry for some of the folks who hold shiny objects in one hand while diverting you from the truth in the other hand. While there are many folks who did earn their money, there are many more who parade around with old money given to them, or handed down through some inheritance, or trust fund, or given all sorts of opportunities and breaks not achieved by their own diligence. The only reason they are given credibility of their condemnation is because of the position of "Have". Some of these folks are in their own "Entitlement" mode, because they seem to think that they deserve to be able to critique, and own a world in which they are at the top of the economic food chain. This is not nature, and some of those folks would not have survived in the real world had the opportunity not been presented to them so that they could live in the lap of luxury. I am not painting a broad picture of those with money either, but I am pointing out a severely twisted view by those that tell everyone to "Get yours" while theirs is not even theirs. Theirs became theirs by the opportunities presented them, and even if they did not take advantage of those opportunities, they would still be ok in life, and winners in the eyes of those seeing America through some kaleidoscopic view where the have nots are actually the drag on society. I despise that way of thinking because it turns poor people into some sort of enemy of the state, therefore why bother to help them, or why not share some of what is abundant to give them the opportunity to see their potential.
The key word in my last paragraph is "Opportunity". There are folks who don't have opportunity, and opportunity reaches across a broad spectrum. Funding for neighborhoods, money towards good equipment for schools, the ability to experience other peoples and aspects of science, and nature. Someone who invests in another person's well being. All of this is in the "Opportunity" net which then transfers to hope. Where there is hope, there is the ability to see life and the world as bigger than yourself. When you have an idea in life that the world is bigger than you, and that there are things out there that you can tackle, and be good at, and things that are waiting for you to accomplish, then 9 times out of 10, someone will want to gravitate towards achieving their happiness, because there is hope on the other side and excitement about living, and not just existing. If someone's reality is a shitty neighborhood, where crime is prevalent and daily struggle and survival depends upon fighting one another , and there is the idea that no one gives a damn, then there is no hope. And as the saying goes, "The most dangerous person in the world is someone with nothing to lose". When you have nothing to lose, your mentality changes, and you become someone who is a taker, because that is what you recognize as your ability to survive. Think about how you would react if you had no hope, no support, no feeling that you have an opportunity to make your life better. You would begin to view the world as your personal grocery store in order to survive. Anyone who says that they wouldn't begin to think like that, knows absolutely nothing at all about human nature, and how people gravitate towards the basic instincts of survival and resentments, and not the wonderful feelings of cooperation, and ethics. Maybe reading a copy of "Lord of the flies" would help put it in perspective for some.
My point in this blog is to point out once again hypocrisy, and the dangers of it being one sided in favor of those in power, and those illusions that make someone who "haves", an icon, or model of society. It is a dangerous and to me unfair labeling of people, and a way to once again hold one hand in the air and say, "Look here..shiny object" while distracting people from the real aspects of truth. And the absolute truth is that because someone has, does not necessarily mean that they earned. And just because someone is a have not, does not mean that they are a leech upon you, or what you believe that America stands for. Truth also is that entitlements work both ways, but it seems that the cry of "I pay my taxes" by someone up top as they jump through loopholes and they condemn someone having a hard time paying theirs should infuriate all of us, but it doesn't because money and opportunity talk loud..But some of those who have it are even lazier than those perceived as not having it.... But they certainly look damn important in the process.
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