ENTITLEMENT: Today’s focus on the media, celebrities and materialism creates a culture of people who believe they deserve everything.
By Valeria Carrillo, Opinions Editor
This summer brought new challenges to airline companies as they flew thousands of people every day with lower fares. However, these new prices were not the problem. Within the past three months, there have been three incidents in which passengers lost their minds due to the reclining seats, causing the flights to divert and land. In one of these incidents, passenger Amy Fine was napping on her tray table when the passenger in front of her reclined her seat. According to witness Aaron Klipin, Fine screamed at the passenger in front of her and cursed at the flight attendants to land the plane immediately. Although interrupting an American airline is against Federal Law, (costing hundreds of dollars to land a plane and ruining the tight schedule of airports and passengers) only one of the three passengers who inappropriately spoke his mind was charged. Due to the plane’s decreasing coach seat sizes, it’s understandable that some passengers may be upset, but not enough to act like they own the plane when they paid less than 400 dollars to ride it.
To put this situation into an everyday perspective, after an exhausting day of work or school, everyone fantasizes about the hot meal and soft couch waiting at home. But first, the dreaded traffic. Nothing is worse than having to wait in a left-turn lane when a maniac drives towards the front to cut you. After eating at a restaurant with horrible service, nothing is worse than having to give the waiter or waitress a 15 to 20% tip when they deserve a few cents. After going through the grueling airport check in and security, nothing is worse than wanting to take a nap during your flight when, in midair, the middle-aged passenger behind you throws a tantrum because you reclined your seat.
Entitlement is everywhere, regardless of whether you’re thousands of feet above the ground or in Riverside. High school is one of the easiest places to spot these perceived prerogatives. At some point in every classroom a student blurts, “that test was too hard.” Or perhaps, “I’m not passing because the teacher hates me.” Just because a student shows up to class every day does not mean that he or she is learning the subject, but because a student assumes they are a “good” student, then they must be. Although students may not realize it, teachers do recognize the type of student who demands a higher grade at the end of the semester because he or she thinks he or she deserved better.
Sports, whether at the high school, college or even professional level, are filled with big heads. Randy Moss, who was one of the best wide receivers in the National Football League (NFL), is not only remembered for his skills on the field but his egotistical personality. According to previous teammates, Moss was notorious for missing practices, refusing to mentor younger receivers, leaving games before they ended and making bold remarks such as “I play when I want to play.” Since the media likes to focus on scandals or unusual stories involving highly paid athletes who concentrate on “me, myself and I,” their egos trickle down to the lower levels and subconsciously infect the minds of future athletes. During tryouts, practice or games, there is bound to be one person who believes he or she is the best and deserves to take over the team.
The media also focuses its cameras on who society believes is most important. In high school this usually means the one who dresses the cutest (occasionally most inappropriate), entertains the most (makes a fool of him or herself) and acts the coolest. Cool has altered meanings depending on the people you call your friends. Cool can be scoring the winning run or starting a new club or earning the best grade—cool can even mean being rude. Although I never thought acting rude was cool, I ironically learned this during Poly High School’s P.R.I.D.E. celebration. While waiting in line for almost two hours for a funnel cake, a few teenagers formed a small mob towards the front of the line in which they pushed their way past everyone who had been waiting. Once they made it to the front of the line, I decided to civilly speak my mind about how unfair and impolite their actions were. In return I received vulgarity and “We were here just like you.”
The culture of entitlement throughout the world is leaving a majority of the population speechless. Maybe it’s the new technology or items introduced into the market that are turning this world into a place where everything is given, not earned. Perhaps the media has too much influence on our minds. They tell us that simply wanting or wishing for something is enough to constitute reward instead of going out and fighting for it. Regardless of the reason, everyone must be reminded that nothing in this world is a right; it’s all a privilege.