By now, you’ve heard about the commencement speaker in Massachusetts who told graduating students, “None of you is special. You are not special. You are not exceptional.”
The Internet was ablaze with comments, most of them positively gleeful. Many people believe that the speaker revealed harsh truths and deflated the younger generation’s supersized egos.
Of course, a lot of the adults who cheered the speech are unhappy with how their own lives turned out, which is why they got off on a guy sticking it to a captive audience of teenagers.
In any case, the graduates who most needed to hear such a message (i.e., the arrogant, haughty ones) are the kids most likely to dismiss it. When he was done, they flipped open their cell phones and said, “Some bitter old man tried to step on our day. Whatever, loser.”
The larger issue, of course, is whether kids today have been so pampered and coddled that they all believe they are “special,” regardless of what they have actually accomplished. But it’s easy to pile on young people. The truth is that plenty of American adults exhibit a sense of entitlement that far surpasses Millennials.
For example, we think we’re special if we were born in America. We’re better than those immigrants, especially the undocumented ones.
We’re special if we received a good education and grew up in a neighborhood where crime was non-existent.
We’re special if we didn’t get downsized, or hit with a horrible disease, or suffer some other random calamity beyond our control that sent us into poverty.
The sum of all this specialness is that we think we have accomplished everything on our own. So, we not only ignore those who might need a little more help, we actively loathe them. They are not special. We are.
But of course, many of these special adults have accomplished nothing of great significance. They probably started in a better position than other people did, and they mistook this for achievement and the right to disparage their apparent subordinates. They confuse good fortune with rugged individualism. And that displays a much bigger sense of entitlement than some teenager who whines that he didn’t get a new iPhone for graduation.
Now, everybody is guilty to some degree of feeling pretty pleased with himself or herself for imaginary successes that are, in reality, more about luck than anything else.
After all, many of us Latinos think we’re special if we’re lighter skinned, or are taller than the average Hispanic, or speak unaccented English. Some of us believe that we’re special just because we avoided joining a gang or getting knocked up when we were younger. For that matter, how many of us think we’re special just because we’re la raza?
Before you answer that, here’s one more question. Do we think we’re special if we write articles that incite angry comments?
About Daniel Cubias
People who beat the odds are special and sometimes unique.
Yes there is a sense of entitlement among all classes in America, but generally the media floods us with examples of the entitlement beliefs by the upper class entitlement and lower class.
Finally, if you overcome the odds, (bad neighborhood, single mom, poverty etc.), and achieve greatness then yes you are special and should be celebrated. For example, Dr. Ben Carson. His book “Gifted Hands” should be mandatory reading for poor children in single parent homes across the US.
“Now, everybody is guilty to some degree of feeling pretty pleased with himself or herself for imaginary successes that are, in reality, more about luck than anything else.” – You sound like the family drunk attempting to justifying his shortcomings in life than a writer who should be encouraging Latinos to succeed. We make our own luck. One day you will regret having written this tripe.
many are too entitled
Yes. and its a shame.
A lot of Americans have a sense on entitlement. But not all.
Depends on how you see it. This generation pays way more for way less: education, health care, and other basic necessities. In many ways the reaction here is of righteous indignation and it’s not “entitlement.” You go to college and rack up loans because the previous generation didn’t think education was important, you expect a job because you have to pay it all back, you get sick, you expect to be able to go to the doctor, etc. As for those kids who whine about not getting an iPhone, that’s another form of entitlement that can’t be compared with the desire to contribute positively in society, but not being able to because you’ve been set up to fail by the previous generation.
It has in some way but there will always be the few that think otherwise! It’s usually the kids that go through all the hardships though.
When I was active duty in Europe I thought I was special because most Europeans disliked Americans & my friends were poorly treated specially in restaurants. so when I hung out with them & someone from the country we were visiting asked our nationality I jumped up & said I’m Puertorriquen. Most spoke Spanish with no fuzz… I felt special, but after reading these articles, I guess I was just lucky kuahahaha
I see it everyday when a kid graduates from high school. Parents get all proud. That is the problem. Finishing High School is nothing. It means nothing. Yet kids and parents celebrate as if they just graduated from Harvard Law.
^ ok and what makes graduating from Harvard Law an accomplishment and graduating from high school not?
^ Have you ever tried getting into Harvard Law? lol Or any law school for that matter…
Yeash! NO! Absolutely NOT are you special for beating the odds. Why? Because it is beneath us. As Latinos, we like to set up silly little non-existant “bars” by which to measure ourselves (youth pregnancies, gangs, no education, no jobs…etc). We should NEVER measure our accomplishments based on these substandard markers. Once, a man tried to tell me I should be celebrated for not getting preganant in high school. For real? That should be an accomplishment for me??? Bull! I have higher aspirations and enough fuel to will myself forward to accomplish all that my little heart desires. I do not need further validation of a life well-lived. I feel a person is special if they are driven enough, competitive enough and focused enough on what they want. Entitlement? I feel people get what they deserve–no more no less. I should mention, one cannot fake value–that is, we only truly value things we work hard for, why do you think there exists depressed wealthy people? Never forget all the parenting, education, motivation and guidance it took to get you to where you are. It’s not where you come from it’s where you are going–anyone strong enough to make it there–by virtue of the investments of all those supporting them–are special. So you graduated H.S, College, Grad School….etc… so what? What you do with your credentials, talents, virtues…that is what really makes or breaks you. chuch.
I m from europe, living in north america since 2 years and i agree 100% with the article. i ve never seen kids with such a big sense of entitlement like here. i ve been working in a school here and i m really shocked about what s going on there. Frustration threshold: zero, gratification delay: no ability at all. ability to focus, concentrate and sit quietly for 45 min. without disturbing: not at all. BUT: big sense of entitlement without achieving anything. AND: being praised by the teacher for nothing or even bad outcomes:-(