Thursday, January 28, 2010

Entitled

To what are we entitled?

According to the law firm of Stickem, Stickem and Twist, I'm entitled to a large settlement if I get cancer, drain bamage or ingrown toenails after taking certain high blood pressure medication or if I'm injured in a tornado.

According to some conservatives I'm entitled to as many guns as I can afford.

According to some liberals I'm entitled to free everything - food, housing, manicures, cupcakes. . . .

According to the TV commercial I just saw, I'm entitled to getting the IRS off my back if I haven't paid income tax for the past 18 years.

Why do we think the Universe owes us something? Why are we entitled to a ding dang thing? I'm not saying that we aren't, I'm just asking why and what?

I think we need to decide what the essentials are and what we're willing to make sure everyone has and then go for it - work to make it so. I'd like to think that we all deserve, that is are worthy of, a fun life. That doesn't mean I think we're all entitled to one. I'm not willing to work so that everyone can have free nose jobs and cigarettes. I'm not willing to pay higher taxes so someone down the street can avoid paying any. But I'm willing to work for a world where everyone is entitled to a chance at a good, basic education and good, basic healthcare.

What are you willing to work for? It seems to me that without a consensus about what we're all willing to work for, we can't agree about to what we're entitled.

3 comments:

  1. I agree with your two entitlements, and I'll add a third. We are entitled to a stable retirement.

    All the years that we work we pay a lot of our earnings into Social Security and Medicare. But the money doesn't go there: since Reagan, the money goes into the General Fund and is spent for unnecessary things like wars, NASA, and Congressional pork.

    SAVE for retirement? That's a laugh, thanks to Wall Street and the banks.

    So I'm willing to work for a world where everyone is entitled to a chance at a good, basic education,good, basic healthcare, and good, basic retirement.

    Thank you so much for your thoughtful posts.

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  2. Maybe we should be entitled to politicians who actually work for us.

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