When did people in this country adapt the "entitlement" attitude?

Question

Was it simply the cause of the civil rights movement gone a little too far?

Jersey... and what does being created equally "entitle" you to?

And no... men are not created equal. We all have different skill sets and talents. Those who harness and develope theirs should be rewarded accordingly. What our founding fathers did set in place was an equal opportunity for all men... and that even took a little while to establish... were the slaves all that equal?

Jersey... exactly... learn the difference between "rights" and "entitlements".

jersey... it wasn't a comparison to civil rights... if you read the question I asked if it was a cause of civil rights going to far... in other words... people wanting more than just equal rights.

Answer 1

It's not the civil rights movement...it's the politicians willingness to sell off our democracy a chunk at a time for votes. It's a bunch of idealists that still think that Marxism would work, if only given a fair chance. It's a bunch of people who feel guilty about their wealth and lifestyle...and rather than individually giving to private charities, decided it would be best if "everyone" gave a little (the definition of "a little" varies, depending on your income). Finally, we can't blame the entitlement crowd for failing to move away from entitlements...politicians always threaten to set time limits, but it never gets enforced. So, we have about 4 generations of people who truly believe it's the government's responsibility to provide them with food, income, housing, and health care...if they just fill out the appropriate forms every now and then.

The answer to "when"...1964, LBJ's "Great Society" and "War on Poverty".

Answer 2

I say that the current victory for the "left" is short lived - like all things human. The republicans need to stick to what is excellent and in 4 years there will be a republican counter-sweep. If they stick only to what is good, and not to what is excellent then they wait 8 years. This is totally independent of anything that Hilary, Obama or the Democrats do. You cant be at the top of the hill and not make mistakes. Eventually people get tired of your mistakes, and want the mistakes of someone who is very different from you. Each party makes the false assumption that it is the people. No party is the people. The people are the people, and they were around long before either party. The party that serves the understandings, the interests, the goals, and values of the people will do well. The one that does not - will not. There is a pendulum: - far left during Carter - far right during Reagan/Bush - far left during Clinton - far right during Bush - far left during Obama For those who don't like math - that is 33 years of history. It is how humans in America work. The pendulum swings right - then left - then right. Which way is it going to swing next? The question is not at all whether its going to swing, just when and how. If you become an ultra-liberal because of where the pendulum is now - you get to wait ... typically four presidential terms (that is 16 years) before you get a moment in the sun.

Answer 3

This is a late stage of democracy (right before it fails). Folks realize they control the purse strings on the national treasury, then they demand more and more government handouts. It doesn't stop until the country goes bankrupt, then the military moves in and establishes a dictatorship.

At least, thats the story of the ancient Greek city states and other democracies following. Hope America will be different this time around.

Answer 4

The poor people of this country aren't looking for a free Mercedes Benz. They are in need of the bare necessities. How can anyone argue healthcare for the needy? You sound like a spoiled brat talking about "entitlement". These are human beings who are just looking to get by. Trust me, people on welfare are not living the high life.

It's always the people who are well off and born to privileged families who criticize the poor. Do you actually know anyone who makes less then $15k per year? I bet you never paid for your first car. It was probably a gift that you thought you earned because you mowed the lawn that week.

Answer 5

Its called the spread of communism and socialism. Also some people like my ultra-lib family member advocate a social Gospel claiming basically that Jesus is a socialist because he advocated compassion for the poor. So many Christians get hooked by that seductive lie.

Answer 6

Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are the largest entitlement programs now in the U.S. They were initiated from the needs of the people. Picture the U.S. with old people dropping like flies because they couldn't afford medical care. Picture yourself being completely responsible for the care of your elderly parents while raising a family. Picture your child dying because you couldn't pay for medical care, or if you did, would then be homeless. These are the situations that led to these programs. Would you still consider the U.S. a great country if your child could not receive medical aid? The older you get, the more you understand the need for them.

Answer 7

Unfortunately, it's a perversion of the Civil Rights Movement. The movement sought political and economic power for blacks, but now has morphed into a subversive way of getting slavery reparations from the government.

Answer 8

I think the first people who suffered an "entitlement" syndrome were the first people who moved to the what became the United States--they felt divinely entitled to the land, and believed that God had given them the continent for their "ownership". They then felt entitled to wipe out indigenous people and spread their culture and beliefs through a sense of "Manifest Destiny," which is simply another term for "entitlement".

In the modern sense, it is money that makes us feel a sense of entitlement. We as a culture have become incredibly selfish and ego-centric. This runs through all facets of society, from the poorest to the wealthiest. They feel entitled to different things (or to things at relatively different levels), for sure, but all socio-economic classes feel entitled to something.

Answer 9

when people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton hijacked the movement. I wish Malcom and MLk had lived to see through a better way..
A way much like Bill Cosby and Jesse Lee Peterson describe.

Answer 10

pining for the good ole days, are you?

the people who have the greatest degree of a sense of entitlement are our leaders, who think that laws don't apply to them.