I was sitting in a restaurant with my wife recently and a family with a toddler sat next to us. The little guy must’ve gotten a new toy and when his Mom put it away (so he could focus on eating) he screamed bloody murder. He wanted it RIGHT NOW! She held firm and he quickly forgot and focused on his chicken fingers.

Don’t worry he’s still young and inexperienced. As he grows into an adult, he will no doubt hone his skills and his sense of entitlement will be sharper than ever. He won’t quit whining until he gets what he wants. He’ll complain that life just isn’t fair and he’s being treated improperly. And he won’t be alone.

Have you noticed lately that this sense of entitlement thing is out of control?  You don’t have to look very hard to find examples. Athletes are great at it. Tiger Woods has it, Big Ben allegedly has it, and Antonio Cromartie is the latest ‘7 kids to 6 women in 5 states’ athlete to have it.

Want an example of entitlement in the workplace? How about those people who believe that the sick days allotted to them by their employer are actually vacation days to be used whenever they please? Want more?

Recently, during a Judge Gino segment on ‘KLH, a guy wrote in to tell us the story of his 20-something son who has no intention of paying off his school loan… that Dad co-signed for! When Dad confronts him he says “Just don’t pay it and declare bankruptcy”. Hey, he’s entitled to a free education, right?  Dad kicked him out, but there’s that little matter of his good credit rating and Dad wants to keep that. So he does the honorable thing and admits that he shouldn’t have co-signed and he pays. Guess Dad just assumed that the disease of entitlement wouldn’t rear its ugly head in his own home. But, it’s everywhere.

And why shouldn’t it be? When our government passes an emergency plan to spend 10 BILLION dollars, and part of that plan includes getting satellite TV to rural America, we shouldn’t be surprised that our country is ‘infected’. I’m not saying all our tax money is wasted, but there is NO WAY that some of these entitlements are absolutely necessary. I’ve heard the commercial: Need a free cell phone? Just call! My question, though, is what phone are you using to call? But, I digress.

What happened to the kids of the Greatest Generation? How did we get so soft? Did we learn nothing from the stories our parents and grandparents told us about the Great Depression? Did we not understand that there is honor in working hard and doing an honest day’s work? Boomers, to a large degree, failed to pass on the steely determination and iron-will that our grandparents and parents taught us. Somewhere along the line we decided that everyone should get a ribbon and a gold star and equal playing time. That turned into everyone should get satellite TV and a cell phone.

And if you think I’m generalizing, well, OF COURSE I AM. There are exceptions to every rule so don’t write me and complain. Or, as my Grandpa used to say, “Quit whining and grow a pair”.

I think that pretty much sums it up, don’t you?