Entitlement While Driving
When I am driving, one of my biggest pet peeves is listening to someone blow the car horn because someone else is essentially not traveling fast enough. Have you ever been at stop light that turned green, and the first car does not move? What makes this situation even worse, is when a driver three or four cars back blows their horn. Why does the fourth car back feel entitled to be the hurry-up police? It does not make sense to me, that someone not immediately impacted by the delay feels the need to beep his or her horn. The patients shown by the first three cars must not be contagious enough.
What is entitlement and who is entitled to what is a popular topic in politics, business and personal life. Entitlement is defined as the fact
of having a right to something. In society, we question entitlement in certain situations. If an employer provides a certain amount of vacation time for every hour worked, is the employee entitled to that time if he or she meets their hourly obligations? Are we entitled to practice any religion of our choice? Are we entitled to work? Are we entitled to protect our homes and personal property? Are we entitled to do something if someone else’s sense of entitlement affects our personal space and rights?
According to Barth (2013), entitlement or the sense of entitlement can be healthy. (Barth, 2013), uses a child’s psychological development as an example of entitlement, to think he or she is the center of the world. On the other side, as we get older, we may create a sense of entitlement because of mistreatment or lack of satisfaction. So where do we draw the line between entitlement and respect of others?
What makes people believe that they deserve favorable treatment over others? “We are programmed to be entitled at an early stage of life, but we are also programmed to gradually develop the capacity to recognize that other people have needs” (Barth, 2013). Only when we learn to balance our needs with needs of others, can we have genuine relationships with other people. The feeling of entitlement is learned at a young age and should be removed, as we get older. As we become aware of other people’s feelings and self worth, it will help eliminate such egocentric behavior.
People with entitlement tendencies come in two types – (1) those who feel ashamed of their tendencies and feel motivated to change, and (2) those who see no reason to change (Boyce, 2013). Unfortunately, our society does not support the development process of unlearning self-entitlement. We often either give in to the demands or mask the feeling of disrespectfulness. It is easier to give something tangible, like money or gifts, rather than showing others love and respect. We also find it difficult to express our feelings when we feel disrespected. Additionally, I believe the sense of entitlement has increased because of the evolution of society. Children are raised more with positive reinforcement rather than a strict and proper upbringing. I remember seeing pictures of my grandparents when they were kids. They dressed and acted much older than their age. Many years ago, maturity and self-dependency was stressed, while friendships and being the “cool parent” seems to be running the show today.
So where does the sense of entitlement come from? Entitlement is created at a young age to help child development. Unfortunately, if other values like respecting others and self-awareness are instilled in that child’s mind, the sense of entitlement could grow into an unappealing character trait.
What is entitlement and who is entitled to what is a popular topic in politics, business and personal life. Entitlement is defined as the fact
of having a right to something. In society, we question entitlement in certain situations. If an employer provides a certain amount of vacation time for every hour worked, is the employee entitled to that time if he or she meets their hourly obligations? Are we entitled to practice any religion of our choice? Are we entitled to work? Are we entitled to protect our homes and personal property? Are we entitled to do something if someone else’s sense of entitlement affects our personal space and rights?
According to Barth (2013), entitlement or the sense of entitlement can be healthy. (Barth, 2013), uses a child’s psychological development as an example of entitlement, to think he or she is the center of the world. On the other side, as we get older, we may create a sense of entitlement because of mistreatment or lack of satisfaction. So where do we draw the line between entitlement and respect of others?
What makes people believe that they deserve favorable treatment over others? “We are programmed to be entitled at an early stage of life, but we are also programmed to gradually develop the capacity to recognize that other people have needs” (Barth, 2013). Only when we learn to balance our needs with needs of others, can we have genuine relationships with other people. The feeling of entitlement is learned at a young age and should be removed, as we get older. As we become aware of other people’s feelings and self worth, it will help eliminate such egocentric behavior.
People with entitlement tendencies come in two types – (1) those who feel ashamed of their tendencies and feel motivated to change, and (2) those who see no reason to change (Boyce, 2013). Unfortunately, our society does not support the development process of unlearning self-entitlement. We often either give in to the demands or mask the feeling of disrespectfulness. It is easier to give something tangible, like money or gifts, rather than showing others love and respect. We also find it difficult to express our feelings when we feel disrespected. Additionally, I believe the sense of entitlement has increased because of the evolution of society. Children are raised more with positive reinforcement rather than a strict and proper upbringing. I remember seeing pictures of my grandparents when they were kids. They dressed and acted much older than their age. Many years ago, maturity and self-dependency was stressed, while friendships and being the “cool parent” seems to be running the show today.
So where does the sense of entitlement come from? Entitlement is created at a young age to help child development. Unfortunately, if other values like respecting others and self-awareness are instilled in that child’s mind, the sense of entitlement could grow into an unappealing character trait.