American Entitlement and Atlas Shrugged

    Through the various jobs I've held and interactions with people over the years, I've interacted with a substantial number of people. Most frequently, this has been by means of the customer/service provider relationship, with my role mostly found as service provider. Through my years of "helping" people, and interacting with others outside of paid employ, I've cemented an idea that I have begrudged accepting for a very long while: Americans feel disgustingly entitled, and they generally don't even realize it within themselves.
    I work at Home Depot. I won't comment on how I feel about that because I currently still need that job. However, take a step back and look at a store of that nature. It contracts with a great number of companies to assemble virtually any tool, material or item that one could desire for basic home maintenance. And does the fun stop there? Oh no, not even remotely! Do the blinds you like not come in the size you need? Let us cut them for free. Do none of the hundreds of paint options make you happy? Allow us to match that piece of dog fur you brought in. Did you kill the plants you bought last year because you don't know how to water and fertilize something? Of course we'll take it back. Maybe you read those examples and think it's normal, that of course a store should do those things for you. You brought in your pennies, therefore the workers must bend over backwards for you. That's utter crap.
    We should constantly be in awe that we can enter just a few buildings and then run out of things we cannot buy. You don't have to mine your own ore, smelt it, shape it and then attach it to the wood you have worked in order to make a tool, nail or bolt. You don't even know how paint is made, would never have the patience to weave your own rug or kiln your own dishes. How many dairy farmers do you know locally? Probably none, and why would you, with fresh milk, eggs and cheese within a few miles of almost everyone? Don't forget breads, rice, cereals, fruit that is out of season, meat that has been cleaned and preserved, plus the whole line of cookies, candies and soft drinks that are available. And these are just stores. We glut ourselves wherever we can, for reasons that don't even make sense.
    Too often people get entitled to something new because they know someone else who received something. Have you ever been to a Panda Express or Subway, and right after you got your orange chicken or tomatoes, they refilled it with a brand new batch? Did you feel jaded because you didn't have the newest and best, even though twenty seconds before you were excited to eat what you had? Or your coworker got a new work computer from the manager, and now you're angry that you don't have one? How have we let ourselves get to this? Nothing is a luxury to us unless we are the only one who has it. As soon as enough people have a luxury, we view it as a necessity. My phone is more powerful than the computer that took people to the moon. I will never need what this thing can do. We have four fridges in our apartment (two of which tenants bought themselves). That's three more than we need, but we feel to store so much food at any given time that it became "necessary." We have two bathrooms, just in case we can't be bothered to wait the ten minutes it takes for someone to finish up in the shower before we do our thing. It's utter madness that with these things, our apartment is considered "dumpy." As Louis C.K said on the Conan O'Brien show:

"Everything is amazing, and no one is happy...now we live in an amazing, amazing world, and it's wasted on the crappiest generation of just spoiled idiots that don't care."

    This brings me to Atlas Shrugged. It's a fairly robust book, weighing in at a little over a thousand pages. Its author, Ayn Rand, simplifies people into two very distinct categories, which are essentially those who contribute and "looters," or people who try to get something for nothing. More of that book resonated with me that it probably should have, but what she describes feels so suffocatingly accurate. So many people don't want to work for things anymore. They want to be spoon fed these luxuries without thought or consideration for the work that went into them, let alone lifting a finger to acquire such things. Yes, I understand than in many instances, people have spent money on these things and service is to be expected. The moment, however, that someone feels like they own the person serving them, that they are somehow better or superior, is the moment I lose all respect for them. You're not better than your waiter, than the drive through worker, the employee on the floor of the store you're at, or so many other people that we categorize as "under" us.  Where would you be without the mind of your mechanic, plumber, electrician, store worker, housing manager or teacher? These people shared their knowledge and ability because you lacked the capacity to do what they did.  Now I'm fully aware there are people who are lazy and living off of others through sheer lack of motivation, and yes, and they are a detriment to society if they aren't trying to improve. If, however, we treat everyone as if they fall into this category, we are no better than those from whom we think to distinguish ourselves. Don't feel entitled. Or if you do, don't act it. It is ugly in every person it manifests in, and it is something that we never feel we have, even though it is often found within us.

"Equal Rights" Which are Already Equal

equal (adjective): "like for each member of a group, class or society" (Miriam-Webster).

I checked the number of friends I have on facebook. One hundred and seventy three people, all of whom I know personally. I expect that number to potentially drop after this inaugural post. I have ever been disillusioned with elections, protests and movements in general because of the "mob mentality" that takes over after issues arise. I have observed that these mobs will grab onto buzzwords, phrases or some perceived statement of nobility and shout it from every rooftop, believing fully that they are changing the world with the depth of their understanding of an issue or policy. While these mobs have shouted a great many things over the years, the current favorite, it seems, is "equal rights." Bear in mind, I am not writing for or against any specific issue, and I fully support equal rights, but I'm speaking out against the way that issues are being presented. While the hot topic of same-gender marriage will be the means used to show my point, it is not the focus of this post.

A great many people are shouting for "equal rights" with regards to same-gender marriage. In doing so, to the casual follower of issues, it appears a cross section of people are not being treated equally. They therefore must be second class citizens. This idea stirs memories or facts learned about inequalities of other demographics based on gender or race. Yet in looking at the issue, rights are already equal. They're perfectly equal, in fact. What is desired is a change in policy, and it should be called as such. I, as a heterosexual male, cannot marry another man. Another man, who wants to marry a man, also cannot do so. I am free to marry a consenting female of legal age. A man who is attracted to other men can also marry a consenting female of legal age. Our rights are equal. Our desires are not. The core desire of this specific campaign is that the bounds of who can marry whom be changed, regardless of sexual orientation. That is what should be pushed, because that is the goal. I find it extremely difficult to follow any campaign that mixes these the ideas of equality and desire into the same idea.

Why do campaigners feel the need to coddle the masses? Are we viewed as so dense, so unlearned that we cannot handle truth in its purest form? Or are they bringing so many undesirable ideas to the table that the only hope of passing laws is to wrap them in falsehoods? Confusion seems to be the order of the day with emotion fueling debates instead of facts. I would wager that a great many people who have aligned themselves with issues could not fill three minutes explaining, with facts alone, why they are aligned as they are. The war in Iraq, same-gender marriage, abortions, capital punishment, new healthcare and more are all issues that have been discussed heavily in policy and assuredly will continue to be, but what do people really know about them? How much outside of the buzzwords and catch phrases? "We gotta kill them al-Qaeda in Iraq and free the oil" or "We have no business being in Iraq." "Abortion is murder" or "Life begins at conception." "Obamacare will kill us all" or "Finally, we'll all have healthcare." Most people know where they stand on these issues, but far less could explain why. Were they purely emotional decisions or were they made by honest delivery of sound belief and study of facts surrounding the issue?

Again, the marriage issue is the vehicle by which I am discussing the misuse of "equality," which is only a specific example of one of my many gripes with politics and policy changes. Supporting issues and people who tell half truths and whole lies is tiresome, as it forces any honest seeker of understanding to wade through mounds of falsehoods in order to see what true intentions are. Words are powerful. To quote from V for Vendetta, "...while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth." When these words are used carelessly, "those who will listen" are turned away. Politics are becoming increasingly revolting, and I find it difficult to imagine the great leaders we remember playing the political games that are now so commonplace. Sound off if you agree or disagree; this is my current viewpoint, and is subject to change as my understanding increases. I'm welcoming to the exploration of new ideas, but I immediately doubt the intelligence of those who lead off a difference of opinion with blind insults.