Attitude Adjustment Wrench

This won't take long...and it won't be pretty.

A pop quiz: Our attitude as a people can best be described as:

A) One of entitlement, as in "We are owed this and that"
B) One of insecurity, as in "We must loudly proclaim who and what We are"
C) One of indifference, as in "We don't care about much, except Our own wants"
D) All of the above

I bet most of Us would say "D". But think about what that means: We are indifferent to most everything that doesn't impinge directly upon Our life, behave as if We automatically deserve everything We want when We want it and yell like banshees to announce to the world “We are Puerto Ricans,” even though what We yell about may not be worthy of the effort.

What does this picture paint? The portrait of a self-indulgent, none-too-successful brat.

Oh dear.

Is this too harsh an assessment, even from one of Us? Okay, let’s see what world a self-indulgent, none-too-successful brat would eventually create to live in:

--One where the general situation is chaotic and even damaging due to the indifference of the primary person responsible. Check.

--One where second-level and third-level (minor) successes are trumpeted to the heavens, but primary—-necessary—-successes don’t happen because the efforts to make them happen are deemed useless, too difficult or (more often and wrongly) someone else’s responsibility. Check.

--One where the principal activities frequently and consistently appeal to and occupy the monkey-brain and the id: gossip, scandal, spending money, keeping up with the Jimenez’s, “beating the system”, demagoguery. Check.

--One where merit and the tools to earn it (education, expertise, integrity, perseverance) would be downplayed, denigrated and deplored in favor of opportunism, quick-fixes and “connections.” Check. See Our government for further proof.

Too harsh? Too harsh would be to let this continue without applying some heavy-handed tools to make the needed adjustments so We can grow from self-indulgent brattiness to self-actualized responsibility.

The question is, of course…how?


The Jenius Has Spoken.