Entitlement

word of the day

noun

the fact of having a right to something
• the amount to which a person has a right

New Oxford American Dictionary

the right to guaranteed benefits under a government program, as Social Security or unemployment

Entitle

to give (a person or thing) a title, right, or claim to something; furnish with grounds for laying claim

Random House Dictionary

There's a difference between what you are inherently allowed to do and what people are supposed to do for you or give you.

There is a big difference between rights that are given to you by law and intrinsic rights

The issue is, if someone is given something, should everyone else be given the same thing.
Should everyone have the same access to all entitlements?

Article iv section 2
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

14th amendment
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

late 14c., "to give a title to a chapter, book, etc.," from Anglo-Fr. entitler, O.Fr. entiteler (Mod.Fr. intituler), from L.L. intitulare, from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + titulus "title" (see title). Meaning "to bestow (on a person) a rank or office" is mid-15c. Sense of "to give (someone) 'title' to an estate or property," hence to give that person a claim to possession or privilege, is mid-15c.; this now is used mostly in reference to circumstances and actions. Related: Entitled; entitling.

And to the idea of entitlements being a current generational occurrence
Thinking you have the right to take someone else's land by force is pretty entitled
Thinking you can own other people is pretty entitled
Thinking you can beat and rape your wife freely is pretty entitled
America has been dealing with entitlements since it's inception
It is not a new thing
It's not even worse than it used to be
Original: 2/21/12

Deep Thought

...misunderstandings and neglect create more confusion in this world than trickery and malice. At any rate, the last two are certainly much less frequent.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774)