Being somewhat older than many folks, I can remember a fair amount of American history - either through personal experience, or the teachings from the personal experiences of my parents - which goes back to the 19th century!
And it is clear that throughout American history - and even world history - there have always been "hard times". Just since the birth of our nation, when George Washington and his army suffered at Valley Forge; Washington D.C. was burned by the British in the War of 1812; over 100 patriotic Americans were slaughtered at the Alamo; millions died and tens of thousands maimed in the Civil War; WWI, the Great Depression; WWII, the Korean Conflict; Viet Nam; --- and through it all, Americans who lived through those trials learned the meaning of a very important word - SACRIFICE.
My parents sacrificed everything to get through the Great Depression. During WWII, families across America were unable to get sugar for their coffee, or tires for their cars. My mom sacrificed her life to insure her children could grow up in a better world. My dad had to quit college and work in a sweat shop to support his family in the other depression of 1920.
But todays youths do not know the meaning of the word "sacrifice". They have been raised to believe everything should just "come" to them; that they are entitled. We have seen it in the riots of Greece, France and now the UK, as youths believe they should get a free ride at the expense of others, and demand that it continue.
Todays youths have no desire - or intention - of sacrificing anything.
And that is where we, as a society, have gone wrong. We allowed them, even encouraged them to believe in entitlements.
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