The Archangels Address Both
Entitlement has become a very negative word, and I’ve thought about it a lot lately. I’m a pretty vocal person, and I rarely lack an opinion about something. The only time I don’t have an opinion is when I opt out of sharing it when I don’t know enough about the issue for an opinion to be valid or shared. I know opinions are not factual in nature, but before I make or share an opinion on something, I want to know the facts surrounding it on both sides. I think it’s important to base our opinion on facts to the best of our knowledge, which these days, is a challenge in itself in terms of finding factual information we can trust. I think we all have a responsibility, however, to know what we’re talking about when we share an opinion.
In any case, although entitlement has certainly earned a negative connotation, I don’t think it’s all bad. For example, some jobs just come with perks, right? Years ago, I used to work at Walmart (I still have nightmares about it), and as an employee, I got a 10% discount on my purchases there. Regular customers didn’t receive that discount, only employees did, as we were entitled to it since we worked there. It was part of the deal.
Other perks aren’t as easy to embrace. For example, people who know the bartender sometimes get free drinks, or if you know the owner of a restaurant, maybe that affords you a table ahead of other people at a time when all reservations are booked. Is that fair? Maybe you know someone who works at the entrance of a club or show, and since he’s your friend, you can cut to the front of the line and they’ll take your ticket without you having to wait in line like everyone else. Or of course, there are those people who know someone at the front of the line who let them in front of them. That, to me, is aggravating, but not much more than that. I wouldn’t do that, but I know a lot of people do.
Then there’s the heavy-duty entitlement that has sparked anger in a lot of people, which in many cases is very understandable, in my opinion. These include parents who think their child should be given a passing grade for a class, even though they didn’t complete the work that was assigned, because, well, they’re their child, and they don’t want them to fail. Politicians who made sure their sons were not drafted during wartime; is that a perk of the job, or is that unfair? Or when someone breaks the law, but they’re filthy rich, so they get off with a slap on the wrist, if that.
My daughter used to be a cheerleading coach, and her cheerleaders had to sign a contract that stated they had to have passing grades, good behavior, and be able to perform certain stunts by a certain date to stay on the team. One girl couldn’t learn her back flip, even after an extension was granted, and her parents went over the coach’s head and convinced the district to overrule the requirement. My daughter resigned over it, because she didn’t think it was fair to all the other girls who’d buckled down and complied with the contract. As a mother, I think the parents did their daughter a disservice, but that’s just my opinion.
Anyway, entitlement has been on my mind lately, and I began to wonder whether or not entitlement and equality could exist in harmony. There are all kinds of shades of grey here. If you go to college, are you entitled to make more money than someone who doesn’t? These days, that’s no longer a guarantee, but some talented people are not considered for a job without college credentials. When my dad was climbing the ranks as a firefighter back in the day, every time he challenged a test for a promotion, he went up against men who were former military, who were granted an automatic ten points extra on the test due to their service. My dad wasn’t ex-military. He dropped out of school after the eighth grade to support his family and work fulltime after his father took off. Was that fair? Shades of grey. I asked the Archangels what they thought about entitlement and equality, and their answer follows.
Question: It occurs to me that equality and entitlement are opposites, but entitlement can be sneaky in terms of labeling it. Can entitlement be fair? Also, there are those who think they’re entitled to have their own way in things, simply because it’s their way or belief. What about that kind of entitlement? Can you please comment and guide us regarding entitlement and how it affects equality?
Answer:
This is a very fitting topic to discuss today, because although entitlement has a negative side to it, there is also a positive side to it we would like to discuss, as well as the very human temptation to want your own way and practice your own preferences and have them not only accepted but promoted as better and best. This ties into the 3D mindset of competition, which is in the process of changing over to cooperation.
Obvious entitlement is both frowned upon and coveted. The person who cuts to the front of the line is often criticized and resented, however if some get away with it, they are often admired in a sense. No one likes to wait in line, and as much as they disapprove of others cutting to the front of the line, they often wish they could, too. They resent and covet these kinds of actions at the same time.
Those who believe they are better than everyone else are often easy to spot, and they are not usually well received, but there are shades of entitlement we wish to point out. Some are easy to identify, and some less so, but they all fall under entitlement. Consider the following scenarios and thoughts:
- The belief that any set of rules that apply to others does not apply to you
- The belief that it is acceptable for some people to be around you, but not all
- The belief that some people are more valuable or worthy due to education, religion, place of origin, culture, race, gender, income level, etc.
- The belief that some people should not be allowed into public places
- The belief that one set of religious beliefs should be taught in public schools over others
- The practice of prayer in public places that is attached to a particular religion
- The belief that social status should guarantee you special treatment in any given situation
- The belief that anyone should defer to your opinion without facts to back it, simply because it is your opinion
- The belief that God loves some people more than others
- The belief that you should be treated better or differently than someone else
- The belief that you should receive help, products, or service before others
- The belief that your actions should be accepted or overlooked, even if you are out of compliance
- The belief that you should be treated better than others due to your income level, background, accomplishments, education, race, religion, origin, etc.
- The belief that some people do not have what it takes to be considered equal or to be treated with respect
- The belief that you should be able to do what others are not allowed to do
- The belief that others are beneath you for whatever reason
- The belief that backgrounds tell the whole story
- The belief that anyone can have the life they want today if they work hard enough
- The belief and support of hierarchy
- The belief that some should be able to control, decide, choose, and limit others
When some items are only available to those who can afford to pay for them, and there is no real way for those who do not have the money to earn it if they are willing to do so, that is entitlement. When people do not have any way to be able to pay for basic necessities such as food, water, shelter, clothing, medicine, and medical treatment, the society in which they live is living under entitlement.
There are many who think people living under such conditions have only themselves to blame for their predicament, but in most cases, this is not true. Do you not think everyone wants to survive? Do you believe people choose to spend their lives living in abject poverty? Most do not. Most either do not know how to get out of their situation, or if they do know how, they do not have the resources to do so. Those who are born into poverty did nothing to earn that position any more than someone who is born into wealth earned their position.
Equality does not mean that everyone should live in identical housing, driving the same cars, wearing the same value of clothing, eating the same food, etc. Equality means that everyone should be considered of the same value and worth and have the same opportunities as everyone else. It means that if someone wants a particular lifestyle, they are able to develop the skills needed to access it, including the kind of education and employment needed as the people who enjoy these positions have had. Equality does not mean handing over what is needed other than basic survival items, but it does mean that everyone has the same choices available to them, and the world right now does not work that way. People should earn their way, but if there is no option to do that, there is no equality.
You are in transition right how. You are working toward a better way, a better world. We see this in the division regarding how to handle societal problems. Consider the problem of homelessness, even in developed countries. The old, 3D way is to sweep away the problem as people are swept away to places where they are less likely to be seen by those who are not homeless. Out of sight, out of mind.
Now, however, people are attempting to find ways to help the homeless, whether it is providing more shelters, offering rooms in exchange for labor, or assistance in finding employment or temporary basics as people find their way out of the predicament. Instead of thinking, “What are we going to do about them,” the focus is changing to problem solving on a more permanent level and providing assistance that will end, rather than extend these problems. People are seeking solutions that will ensure the homeless will find their way out permanently. People are beginning to see that things like homelessness, poverty, and hunger are everyone’s problems, not just those who suffer from them. We will tell you that this is true. All members of a society that is an effective, equal society, should be able to find a way to thrive. If thriving is not an impossibility for all, the society is not equal, and there is entitlement in place. For more and more people, this is unacceptable.
Equality does not mean everyone has the same things. Equality means everyone has the same choices and opportunities to pursue whatever things they wish for in life. Also, it is enabling people and supporting them to do this.
Just as many of you are adjusting to different ways of viewing the world and those around you, feeling a new sense of connection, you are also reconsidering your own lives and what is truly important to you. As more of you adjust your priorities and how to reach them, you will also want and hope that others will find the joy and peace of mind that you seek. You are beginning to include the wellbeing of others into your own hopes and dreams.
No, you do not have all the answers or solutions to your own, much less the world’s problems yet, but you eventually will. You are making the shift from “How can I make my life better,” to “How can life be better for everyone,” and you will see as you move forward that it is not entirely self-centered as it was in the past.
Many of you are looking for ways to use your gifs in ways that will help you and others. You want a better world, and that desire is not limited to you only. You want better lives for everyone. It will take time, but you will find better ways of doing things, and many will benefit until equality overtakes entitlement.
Entitlement will change to a positive, rather than a negative concept. Rather than the idea of entitlement being reserved for a few, it will eventually encompass all people. All people are entitled to the same choices and opportunities, as well as to everything they need to create the life they desire. They will need to do the work to reach their goals, but the way to do so will be clear and available. Just as important, people will still want their own way of doing things, but they will realize that, while their way is best for them, it may not be best for others, and they will see that all are entitled to find their own best way.
We send all energies of Love and Light.
Final Thoughts
There are those who have enjoyed entitlement in the past who are crying foul now, as more people are given opportunities they’ve never had access to before. I live on the border of the US and Mexico, and when I was a public school teacher, I taught many students whose parents were in the US illegally. There were always grumbles about whether or not these kids should be allowed to attend school, and I always thought the people who suggested they shouldn’t were very short-sighted. Whether here legally or illegally, through no choice of their own, as they came due to their parents’ choices, they were indeed here. Since they were here, I’d rather see them in school, where it’s relatively safe, where they can eat, and where they can learn. If they weren’t in school, where would they be? On the streets? Getting into trouble? Most found ways to stay in the US, so I’d rather they receive an education, so they can support themselves, hopefully, rather than be illiterate and not be able to support themselves. I grew up here, so I was always guaranteed a free, public education, which is great, because my parents could not have afforded to pay for private education for five kids on what a firefighter and a secretary made.
There are so many areas of concern when it comes to entitlement and equality. Some are simple, and some are complex. I remember attending a district wide meeting for teachers one year, and one of the school board members opened up the meeting with a prayer. She ended it with “In Jesus’s name, Amen.,” which happened to be the way I prayed at that time. Maybe she had good intentions, but when she used a Christian prayer in a group of people of mixed religions who all worked for the public school system, she basically told every person there that if they weren’t Christians, they weren’t as good or as welcome or as accepted as those who were.
That’s a sneaky form of entitlement, and it didn’t belong in that meeting, any more than Christian prayer belongs in public schools who host children and teachers of various religions, any more than the Creation story belongs in the science classroom, any more than setting a requirement that you must be Christian in order to hold a teaching position or any other job. It sets a precedent, and it’s disrespectful to all non-Christians, yet people do things like this all the time, because they think they’re entitled to promote and display their own beliefs, religious or otherwise.
We need to get away from pushing our own beliefs onto other people. We need to make sure that everyone feels equally accepted and valued, because we are all entitled to things like dignity, respect, and the freedom to make personal choices, whether they are agreeable or acceptable by others’ standards.
Blessings, all.
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