ENTITLED

     "Why can't I have that? I want it."
    That seems to be the mantra of most people today, not just kids but adults as well. What one wants is what one gets for after all, one is entitled. It appears to be the thinking that what one wishes for one  gets and there is no reason why not. As a result there is almost no value placed on whatever one wanted after a short time and why? Because there was no investment in obtaining that item, no personal achievement, just an indulgent parent or an indulgent self. On the other hand, what one works for, puts in sweat equity, one values.
     This attitude of entitlement goes all the way to the top. We now have leaders who think that they are entitled to a respect they do not earn, to  fear of them due to their power and are entitled to use that power to indulge every whim they have. And the result - a society that is falling apart, that is riven with suspicion and hatred, that frowns on personal achievement and self control and demands instead whatever it wants, sensible or not. The result, in other words, is the situation we have right here in CV and the situation we have in this country and the world in general.
     What David wants is what David should get. That is his mantra. There is no thought in there of what exactly is what the Village needs and exactly what is the most important, has the highest priority. No, for the determining factor is the desires of David Israel. Hence we now have the mess of Atlantic Broadband. It is a contract worth millions of dollars being spent on a technology we do not need, a technology which will be outdated long before we are fully connected, a contract that will have our Village being dug up for two years at a minimum, a contract that will have our poor roads undergo heavy truck traffic, all the better to erode its remaining life and look quick, because there goes your money into the pockets of AB, into the greedy pockets of CSI and what goes into other pockets is your guess as good as mine.
     The AB contract is a prime example of how business is done here in CV. Contracts are presented to the delegates in one of several truncated manners. One can be given out during a DA and the instruction is to read it during the same time interval as reading the minutes, printed in teeny tiny print, difficult to read and demanding time. There is no time to reread, to think, to formulate questions and best understand it. Nope, for that would be inherently dangerous to David's plans for he wants, he needs that contract to go thru.
     After approval, David then adds in or deletes clauses that are inimical to his true desires and does not bother to point any of this out. Nope, for he is busy, on with the next wasteful project. Time and again he brings up another huge undertaking that is not necessary and while some are  blocked as in the DSL one, others are not. Yet the opposition and the sensible keep on truckin' for that is the proper thing to do. David Israel is NOT entitled to whatever he wants. Not in a million years.
     David, as does our other 'esteemed' leader, Trump, believes he is entitled to smooth sailing all the way, and his ideas touted as the best ever. When people do not do exactly as desired, here goes the pouting, the tweeting, the emails, the sullen statements, the attacks, the personal attacks on the opposition. It seems that the entitlement of these two and others of their ilk are ranked as the determinate factor over and above all else.
      Personally, I, along with many others who are speaking out more and more, are alleging that these people are off balance, plagued by mental issues, have persecution complexes and in every which way one can think of, are most definitely not fit for office. Not fit to be leaders. Not fit to determine the needs of the Village or the country.
     There is no more civil discussion and civil disobedience is treated as treason with police forces encouraged to use their pepper spray on protesters. The extremists are encouraged to come armed to rallies, rallies that should never be as they are cesspools of hatred, of poison, of a nastiness such as we have not seen for many a year. The echoes of the terror that others have undergone frighten survivors, frighten students of history and we all ask just how did we ever get here. What have we done or not done?
     We have treated our societies, the Village and the country as payback for our years at work. We deserve to be pampered, to be allowed to play bocce and pickleball and whine about the courts but we are not required to  put in work on the matter. Nope, we are entitled. And the same for the country. We are entitled to democracy. We are entitled to our thoughts and we are entitled to say what we wish to say with no impediment between our brains and minds and our mouths, no thinking required. We are entitled. We deserve them. We are entitled.
     But if we have no sweat equity, as it were, invested in this, then no, we are not entitled. Some fought for it and we owe them our interest and action to safeguard what they fought for. We need to participate and where not allowed, as in ahem, when David blocks some people because he is afraid of their minds, their brain power, their altruistic interest in the Village, well, take another path, forge on despite the trash that comes one's way. Hence the Messenger. Hence this blog. Hence those people who stand up by the mic and speak the truth, raise questions, despite all the garbage that comes out of that Chair's mouth. That is what we are entitled to. To work hard, to value what we have and make sure it remains with it.
     All we get in this world is what has been determined elsewhere and by what we put in to achieve our goals. Some are luckier than others. There is and always will be a difference in society, with some wealthier than others, but money wealth does not determine happiness, joy, value, love. No, for that is what we get when we value hard work, input into society and above all, value people. That is what we are entitled to. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Nowhere does it say that we are entitled to it all or to achieve to the levels we desire. But we are entitled to go for it - as long as we do not run over others and violate the rules of society, take away what other are entitled to as well.
     Think about it.