Entitlement. What do you feel entitled to? There is an urban myth that millennials (those born between the early 1980’s and the mid 1990’s) are the entitled generation, but I would disagree. That’s a convenient scapegoat for our times, times characterized by “what does this have to do with me?” It all makes sense when you speak to people who grew up during the Second World War, the Great Depression and the many illnesses that spread throughout the world at that time. People then, from necessity, banded together, thought as a collective, and made sacrifices to obtain goals. There are many positives that arose from this mentality; after the war communities rebuilt and illnesses and other social challenges were dealt with a serious and organized collective effort.
But there were downsides to this all for one and one for all attitude. Those with power and privilege demanded of those without either more sacrifice than they were prepared to offer. Women gave up more, minorities were invisible and difference was seen as a weakness or danger, not a strength. People then confused uniformity with collective effort. People now look back at the 1950’s as an inherently dull, if not safe, period. Homogeneous cultures are boring communities.
Prosperity led culture out of homogeneity and into diversity. There was no more compelling reason to sacrifice and conform when affluence was abundant and plain for all to see. “How you gonna keep them down on the farm once they have seen Pairis”, the old expression goes. Many people concluded their time had come, they weren’t going to take it anymore and particularly groups that were held down for what was supposedly the common good demanded their share. Justice was flourishing.
The 1960’s and 1970’s were heady times and many people experienced a kind of rebirth and new hope. Of course those with power and privilege were worried and felt defensive about what they were and what they stood for. There was a backlash. The 1960’s and 1970’s were cultural, generations argued with each other about identity, freedom and sacrifice.
What we wear, how we speak and what we call ourselves may be arguments that continue but one debate is now settled. We are all entitled and we will do everything in our power to demand and receive what we are entitled to. This call to arms is no longer restricted to groups previously looked down on, groups ignored or groups denied. Now everyone feels entitled, everyone believers s/he is entitled to what it is s/he feels s/he deserves.
I hear seniors who feel entitled because of all they have done for society, men feel entitled because they somehow (really!?) now feel unappreciated, and the rich feel entitled because they pay most of the taxes. Whereas the concept of fighting for one’s rights was previously imagined as a means for persons who had received the short end of the stick to finally be respected now everyone feels entitled to whatever it is they feel is due to them.
It’s a brand new world. How we navigate these challenges will say everything about our priorities, who should be listened to and why. I am pleased that more and different voices are finally be heard. I am concerned that we no longer seem to prioritizing these demands based on need but rather dealing with whoever yells the loudest.