A little while back I read an article by a columnist named Ruben Navarrette, Jr. I used his book, Odyssey of a Harvard Chicano, as partial fodder for my senior thesis on evolving assimilation. I've often referred to him as a cultural opportunist and shameless self-promoter, but I found his reporting on other people's work to be particularly insightful.
Navarrette writes about a researcher's concept of "Generation Me" and the growing culture of narcissism and entitlement among younger generations of Americans. I'm absolutely positive we all have observed this, and probably indulged in it at some point.
Generally, this trend demands and expects special accommodations for objectively normal things. Cited are examples like people calling into work because they were too tired and needed more sleep, students asking for accommodations for birthday trips to vegas, among others. The thinking seems to render impressions of oneself as exceptional or at least of warranting exceptional treatment. I have definitely gone through a phase of this, but as I matured, I realized that making excuses and cutting myself constant slack was unfair to myself and to others.
The article conjectures that this phenomenon is rooted in a popular obsession with oneself. I think you see this in our self-preserving child rearing: trophies for merely participating, not keeping score in normally competitive games, etc. I think in certain contexts these are important approaches to the formation of children's views towards others, but in the wrong contexts they seem to impart inflated views of themselves. Ready rewards are made without requisite effort, a lack of responsibility and self-ownership plagues the development of upstanding principles.
Nowadays, It's not so much about taking pride in your work and doing your best, it's about doing minimal work and expecting maximum payout and credit. Ideally, one would try their best and be satisfied with that. It appears that the value of hard work and a justified sense of achievement have lost value and ground to selfishness and complete self-centeredness. But what are the effects of this?
"'Narcissism is absolutely toxic to society,' Twenge said. "When faced with common resources, narcissists take more for themselves and leave less for others. They tend to be greedy and take too many risks. They feel entitled, don't think about consequences and think that everything will turn out great.'"
This is not to be confused with optimism or naïveté. The American Vice of Entitlement is marked by hoarding of attention, seeking of sympathy (often in the form of pity) and an incessant desire for exceptional classification in both positive and negative superlatives. Perhaps you've heard phrases like "Just be glad you don't have it as bad as I do…"-- a parry-and-thrust phrase of one-upmanship wherein two people seek a pathetic designation as "the one who has it the worst." What kind of sorry goals are we holding? We seem to crave attention and reward more fervently than spoiled bratty children.
I have personally observed this behavior at all levels of education and employment. It is a ubiquitous trend of constant complaining, bragging, truth-stretching and selfish insecurity that seeks to seduce people into a complacent apathy content with doing just enough to get away with it all. I just hope it isn't permanent.
1 comment:
Well said, sir. I agree (as both purveyor and observer) of said behavior. We should start a "Hey you, stop sucking" club. Si como no?
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