Summary

The article reflects on the sense of entitlement that pervades different generations, particularly highlighting the discomfort of living without air conditioning after being accustomed to it, and contrasts this with the simpler life the author's family embraced after hiking the Camino de Santiago.

Abstract

The author describes the discomfort of enduring a broken air conditioner, emphasizing the stark contrast between the current expectation of comfort and the simpler lifestyle embraced by their family after hiking the Camino de Santiago. The narrative touches on the broader societal issue of entitlement across generations, from Gen Z's focus on materialism to Baby Boomers' accumulation of possessions. The author questions the validity of generational stereotypes while acknowledging that everyone, including themselves, has developed a sense of entitlement to certain comforts and conveniences. The article serves as a reminder to reflect on and appreciate the privileges often taken for granted.

Opinions

The author believes that people, including themselves, have become too accustomed to modern comforts, such as air conditioning, considering them entitlements.
There is a critique of the generational divide in attitudes towards material possessions and the expectation of immediate gratification, particularly among Millennials and Gen X-ers.
The author suggests that Baby Boomers may not understand their children's desire for freedom and mobility over inheriting material possessions.
The experience of hiking the Camino de Santiago is presented as a transformative period that taught the author's family about living simply and being content with less.
The article implies that society should reassess its sense of entitlement and the impact of consumer culture on our expectations and lifestyle choices.

We Are All a Little Too Entitled

Struggle some

It is true that, when an entitlement begins to be enjoyed by people, they like to keep it. — Jon Kyl

Sweat is developing under the hair on my head as I type. I can feel the heat on my scalp as though I’ve just finished a workout. Moisture is building up and starting to crawl around like ants at an outdoor picnic on a summer day.

I feel the temperature rising.

Drip.

Of sweat off my nose…

We’ve collected glasses of perspiration.

Because the air conditioner is broken.

Our family has worked fastidiously to live simply.

Air conditioning is a luxury, but I’ve grown comfortable in expecting it to work.

Consider these common sayings:

It is what it is…
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Technology is great until it doesn’t work.

We grow comfortable with working things until they don’t work.

One year ago my family had just finished hiking El Camino de Santiago.

We had been schooled in frugality, living out of backpacks, and being uncomfortable. We received our degrees from more than a month of hiking and nursing blisters on our feet.

We enjoyed the best food Spain had to offer.

People hated us for the experience.

Some still do…

We struggle by having no air conditioning over a weekend until the repairman arrives, but one year ago we would have gladly accepted a few moments to sit and enjoy a beverage in the cool of an air-conditioned establishment.

We had different freedoms, but today sit here entitled to have working cool air.

Entitled: believing oneself to be inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.

Entitled, that’s what we are…

Looking around, we’re not all that entitled by comparison.

We live simply and don’t desire much in the way of materialism but in comparison to where we were one year ago gives me pause.

Let’s look around a little:

Gen Z cares about fashion, footwear, technology, food, and beauty and speaks in acronyms and emojis. I look at my daughters and wonder what their future holds.
Millennials are stereotyped as lazy, entitled, and narcissistic.
Gen X-ers aren’t much better, spurred on by what Baby Boomers did without. They’re just so entitled — they want everything now before they’ve paid their dues. Trying to accomplish in eight years or less what took their parents a lifetime to amass.
Baby Boomers are largely a stay-in-one-place kind of people that have a lot of “stuff” and can’t understand why their kids don’t want to be saddled with their overpriced estates and heirlooms of furniture that hold their kids back from the freedom of going, doing, being anywhere and anything they want to be.

It’s time to give up the generation stereotypes and realize we’re all a little too entitled.

Don’t you agree?