On Kids These Days

When I say "Kids these days", naturally, I don't mean ALL kids. I mean a frightening number of kids, or things that kids do these days that other generations would probably not DREAM of doing.

This is what I saw today that really bugged me:

I was watching "Judge Judy" on TV (what can I say? JJ is my hero!) and one of the cases was a well-dressed young man - backed up by his mum - that was suing his disabled father who promised to buy him a car when he started college, and didn't.

That just blew my mind.

Why, in God's name, would you SUE your father, who lives on $1000 per month (minus $300 per month for child insurance) FOR A CAR? Seriously, kid, you're 22 and in college. Do you not see how ridiculous that is? "He promised he'd get me a car, and so I want my car!" It made me so incredibly angry. Righteously angry. And made me want to shake not only the kid, but his mum for letting him do it!

Douche.

Luckily, Judge Judy is a smart woman and ended the case with "get a part-time job and get your own car"

Seriously, why are we teaching our kids that material goods are a right, instead of a privilege? Are they blinded by shiny objects so much that they cannot see common sense anymore? What is happening?

Sadly, there are FAR too many factors to be able to blame this on someone/thing: poor parenting, consumer media, capitalist values, lack of general accountability in society, loose cultural morals. The list goes on and on. But the sad fact remains: kids are growing up with an unhealthy sense of entitlement.

Regardless of how it started, we need to start thinking about how to end it before it becomes an epidemic. Or rather, a worse epidemic than it already is. We need some serious damage control.

Rant over. For now...