More on entitlements

Some 25 or more years ago, I managed a small team of system administrators, developers, and tech support folk. We had beepers and everything.
A supervisor in one of the groups that we supported wasn't happy with our service. We were, he told me, so focused on our way of doing things that we creating more problems than we were solving. We were, in his word, obstructionist.

As you can tell, I took that criticism to heart. I didn't (and don't) always remember to apply it, but I learned something important that, when remembered, makes a big difference in my life and a bigger difference in those around me.
I marvel at good parents. Two traits that I most often observe are

1. They speak in full sentences.
   The parents have given enough thought, if only a second or two, to give a considered response.
   
2. They're more inclined to say 'yes' than 'no.'
   The parents are more interested in what the kid is doing than in their own fears that things will slide out of control. In the end, good parents save the 'no' for important stuff.
   

These themes of obstructionism, impulsive responses, and fear are showing up in a lot of places these days.
It's in ...

• the administrator at a local college who says that it's against his religion to work too hard.
• the hour-long technical presentation that uses the first 40 minutes to describe the approval process used by the corporation to let the project go forward.
• the various unions and individuals who, in the middle of a crisis, are more vocal about their own real or imagined losses than they are about the people they serve (and, in some cases) protect.
• the folks who complain that, because the cost of living isn't going up, they won't be getting their Social Security cost-of-living increases.
• the senior administrators in service agencies who lay off the front-line workers so that the public will feel the maximum pain, all the while ensuring the permanence of their own jobs and compensation.
• the radio and television personalities who misread and/or misuse history to toss another cupful of gasoline on the fire.
• the companies who make their money by way of patent extortion rather than building new products.
  

I can go on, but it wouldn't aid anyone's digestion. And, if I had an answer, I'd be living it.