America is the greatest nation in the world. We are strong, powerful, successful and live more comfortable live than anywhere else in the world. However, all of the affluence and prosperity our nation has seen in the past has developed a poor attitude that is evident throughout the nation. This attitude is a false sense of entitlement, and the idea the world owes us something.
We are losing some of the essential elements that this country was built on, such as hard work, personal responsibility, and ambition. Often times people say the idea of the American Dream is dead, but in reality the American dream is not dead. The problem is people lack the motivation and ambition to chase it.
So many people in this wonderful nation have turned into little kids in the grocery store. If their mom says they cannot have a bag of skittles, they throw a fit until their mom gives in. I have worked at a grocery store for three and a half years, and this is a frequent occurrence. It is embarrassing and frustrating for the workers, the shoppers and the parents. This mirrors problems within our society today. Those of us who work hard have to see others who don’t get benefits for acting irresponsible or just simply don’t deserve them.
People want the American dream, but not enough to work for it. We want what we cannot afford to have and we either get frustrated by it or buy it on credit we cannot afford to pay off. It truly amazes me how people will spend money that they simply do not have, and it is often times on things that they don’t even need. There is nothing wrong with having nice things, or even wanting nice things because this desire can drive us to reach our greatest potentials, but you have to have the means to buy these things.
If you go back to my grandfather’s generation, there was a much different approach to life. After the Great Depression, people understood how to spend their money in responsible and economical ways. They may not have had six cars in their driveway, but they learned how to make sure their families were provided for. They spent money when they needed too, and they saved money for when they needed it. They were able to buy nice things, but it was after they had saved money, not before they had earned it. This philosophy needs to become imbedded with the American people once again, whether it is concerning our personal finances or government spending. The excessive spending from individuals and the government is ridiculous, and a lot of it is unnecessary.
If we continue believing that we have the right to have certain things that we do not, our country will continue to decline. A lot of blessings are taken for granted in this country, and will continue to slip away if we continue to act irresponsibly. It is our right to have access to the pursuit of happiness, but it is our responsibility to go after it and reap the rewards of it. William Graham Sumner once wrote, “The men who start out with the notion that the world owes them a living generally find that the world pays its debt in the penitentiary or the poor house.” I believe that this statement is very true. It is our responsibility to ensure ourselves happy lives, and it must be done responsibly.
