When Did It All Change?

Perhaps I was away when it happened.  Or caught up in a good football game.  Or on the can.

At some point in time Americans became whiners.  Case in point: a Dr Pepper commercial, wherein young, college-aged people bemoan the difficulties of paying for and getting through college.  Yeah, I know.  You want to know how I know?  Because that's what I did:

• I didn't know how I was going to pay for college (but I went anyway and found ways to make it happen)
• I had to work 5 or more days per week (I didn't have scholarships or grants - but I knew how to make a pizza)
• I did NOT attend college for altruistic reasons.  I wanted to make great wadges of cash.

So it's discouraging to see these young people looking weepily into the camera saying they don't know how to pay for college and have to work.  It's also discouraging to hear them talk about how much they want to help their fellow man.

Let me explain that last bit.  I may have wanted college for free and I am earning decent-sized wadges of cash.  But by having to work hard for my degree and income I learned a great deal about myself and what matters in life.  What really matters is that I help those closest to me.  The absolute best reason to attend college, even when it's difficult, was so I could be a good husband and father.  What better way to contribute to your community than to have a strong family?

So when did we become a nation of whiners?  Is this the result of so many years of participation trophies?  The second something isn't just handed to a young person they stare back in disbelief and ask, "you mean I have to work for this?"  When I was young, hard work was expected for anyone who wanted to achieve something, be it serving the community or supporting a family.