The World Doesn’t Owe You Anything

Mark Twain may not have said it first, but he certainly said it best: “The world doesn’t owe you anything. It was here first!”

It’s ironically insane how the winds of opportunity, wealth, success, and greatness have shifted in our direction as a society, only to be blown away by overwhelming feelings of entitlement among today’s people. In a hundred years, it wouldn’t be surprising if we are remembered as the generation of entitlement—one that believed the world (whoever “the world” may be) owes nearly everyone something just for existing. Through this entitlement, we are slowly but surely undermining the liberties that previous generations never once took for granted.

Perhaps Northland College principal John Tapene captured the truth perfectly when he addressed a large group of students, quoting an unnamed judge who works with teens. Though his words were aimed at teenagers, they apply to all of us who think for a moment that the world owes us something:

‘Always we hear the cry from teenagers “What can we do, where can we go?”
‘My answer is this: Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows, learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons, and after you’ve finished, read a book. Your town does not owe you recreational facilities and your parents do not owe you fun.’

‘The world does not owe you a living, you owe the world something. You owe it your time, energy, and talent so that no one will be at war, in sickness, or lonely again. In other words, grow up, stop being a cry-baby, get out of your dream world, and develop a backbone, not a wishbone. Start behaving like a responsible person. You are important, you are needed. It’s too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something someday. Someday is now and that somebody is you!”

Many attribute today’s sense of entitlement to the cushioned upbringing many children have received over the past few decades. When you consider the United States—one of the so-called “most prosperous” nations in the world (despite our trillion-dollar debt)—it becomes clear that things are changing. Nearly half of its citizens are on some form of welfare. Years ago, no mother or father would sit idly by and wait for someone else to feed their child. They would flip burgers, even with a college degree, to provide their kids with a meal. Today, however, this is no longer the case. Many are waiting for others to do their part while they sit back and expect handouts. This attitude, which reflects the basics of socialism, is based on the belief that the world owes us something for our existence—whether or not we make any effort. And today, we don’t even need intention, desire, or ethics to ensure we are provided for. People operate on the assumption that the world owes them a hot meal, a bed, shoes, smartphones, and everything else simply because they exist.

People today don’t want to work, and if they do, they don’t want to work too hard. They don’t want jobs that are beneath them or outside their personal interests. As a result, we see unemployment rates at all-time highs, while immigrants in the United States work more regularly than many of the country’s own citizens.

Children today get trophies just for showing up, lest we hurt someone’s feelings by admitting another child is better at something. Kids are not allowed to fail; we no longer differentiate between the intelligent and the less intelligent, and we’re pressured to ensure everyone fits into the same mold. The world also faces a bullying problem that can no longer be solved by playground brawls, while the overwhelming influence of political correctness in our interactions has diminished the chance for honest communication.

In many ways, people today are living as victims. They’re giving up their right to choose, to succeed, and to create their own destinies by sitting back and waiting for the scraps that are left behind. And then, with audacity, they feel entitled to complain about what they’ve been given.

The problem of entitlement is not going away anytime soon. The truth is that we, as individuals, owe the world something. We owe it our talents, our skills, and our efforts to care for the planet. We owe it our energy to make the world a safer, happier place. Until everyone—big or small, black or white, male or female, rich or poor—recognizes that we all have a responsibility to the world, things will only continue to worsen.