Today, everywhere we turn, it seems as though we are engulfed by a swarm of ‘The Entitled’ – those members of our society, who, for some reason unbeknownst to everyone else but themselves, think the world owes them. Unfortunately, this breed has managed to slither its way into the upper echelons of the halls of power worldwide, much to the detriment and well-being of the planet’s population, both present and future.
‘The Entitled’ have descended on us like a living nightmare, shedding their initial charming facades, which disguised their real dysfunctional personalities, once they have attained their long sought goal, power. Ultimate power. Once entrenched, when it dawns on us that we have been had, their attractive masks, which lured and seduced us, vanish. Their favoured tools of trade, manipulating lies – which, quite often, they perceive as reality – become bolder and more pronounced, their deception laid bare for all and sundry to witness. Their fickle weak enablers, who cling to their coattails, are nonchalantly tossed aside like broken kitchen utensils once their usefulness has expired, or worse, they do the unthinkable, question or challenge, the ‘Entitled’ one. Even more confounding is the line-up of replacements, supposedly educated persons, wishing to fulfil the master’s outrageous demands and fantasies.
Why have we allowed these self-centred characters to climb to the uppermost limbs of power in our society? These clever chameleons are smooth operators, who quickly envisage the easiest pathway to the top, and have no problem whatsoever of not adhering to rules and laws, which they oft interpret as not applicable to themselves. The warning signs of their manufactured personas were always there for us to scrutinise, yet we chose to ignore them. Superfluous claims of outstanding achievements in academia or business, which cannot be readily verified or proven, coupled with the absence of participation in sports whilst growing up, are red flags which we bypass. The latter activity, which lays the groundwork for the appreciation of rules and regulations, respect for authority (umpires and referees), fair play, and the development of camaraderie with one’s peers, is a priceless missing piece of the puzzle, whence it comes to embracing the concept of winning and losing. ‘The Entitled’ are the sorest of losers, and will complain bitterly about every aspect of any defeat whilst never accepting responsibility for it.
Psychologists have offered a few explanations for this selfish and delusional behaviour. Children who have been pandered to throughout their upbringing by doting parents, given everything they asked for without having earned it, continue to expect similar treatment as adults is one theory. Other plausible reasons are the ‘Entitled’ are suffering from mental disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder or antisocial personality disorder. These disorders give rise to the belief that they should be admired and respected. We often witness their lashing out at everyone and everything when they don’t get their own way, or when questioned about their actions or weak decisions. Another source of this sense of entitlement can originate in childhood neglect or maltreatment which can lead to attempts to compensate for past hurts. Whatever the root causes of this disturbing scenario, we find ourselves being led by persons with skewed views of their self worth, i.e. considering themselves the sharpest person in the room and entitled to make the final call on every important matter even when it lies outside of their area of expertise.
Curbing the increase and rise of the ‘Entitled’ is a difficult proposition in today’s society where the
interpretation and application of rules and laws are not applied across the board in a uniform manner. The non-existence of a level playing field in most areas of life and the ease of social media for the spreading of misinformation provide the ideal platforms for the ‘Entitled’ to manipulate their targeted audiences, voters in elections, or members of social organisations. Sadly, the global landscape is littered with ‘Entitled’ persons ruling the roosts mainly for the benefit of themselves – always first – and their cronies. Solving the dilemma of the ‘Entitled’ who are entrenched in (and unsuited for) public office is not going to be easy.
