Entitlement

I have been thinking over this idea that we deserve or are entitled to things. Somehow human beings in general have gotten on this trip that their existence makes them deserving of....wealth, love, acceptance, unlimited choices with no consequences. I look around and I'm just so stunned at the gluttony and the "freedom" people think they have. There is a great irony in this country that we are so "free" and we can have all of these choices but so few are really happy. The problem and the solution is that there are so many choices, so many paths. I think our times are the hardest to live in because of our freedoms, because of things like social norms and acceptance of behaviors that in the past would have brought condemnation. Somehow there is a general feeling that work is bad, money is great and that settling for an incomplete life because you just want to is fine. I'm reading Atlas Shrugged again. Its interesting that my point of view has changed quite a bit since I read it the last time. I've changed a great deal. However, I still love her ideals. She really hits the heart of what is really great and special about humanity. Our capacity to create, to grow and to acheive. We have this innate ability to create, it is in our nature because it is in God's nature. The things that Ayn Rand has really missed is that connection to our greatness isn't because we ourselves are great but because God is and we are His offspring. She portrays these individuals as gifted, special and beyond reproach and leaves no room for the assistance of deity. This is another great irony of truth. To be truly great we have to realize how ungreat we really are. This is humility. Giving the credit where is belongs and recognizing that we don't deserve to be saved, we don't deserved to be loved and yet we are and we are saved and are blessed. Despite the evidence that we are a loathsome people. In so many ways I love that. I see the truth and the honor in being humble creatures and in so doing open up the possiblity of acheiving anything. Ok, I'm off to read some more. I haven't read any fiction in a while. I've realized its because I get so absorbed I cannot think of anything else.