Ok, I was watching "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" tonight (I DVR it because we bowl on Sundays). One phrase caught my attention - Ty usually starts off the show by saying that this family really "deserves" a new house. Now, I'm not saying that they do or they don't, but what exactly do you have to do, or go through, to deserve a new home? Does going through a life-altering tragedy entitle you to a new home any more than someone who has scrimped their entire life to save for one? That must sound really unsympathetic, and I really am not saying that these families shouldn't benefit from the show, but do they DESERVE a brand new 4000 square foot home?
I guess what got to me about this phrase is that it implies everyone should have what these folks are getting, that a big hous is something we all should want to attain. Personally, I do not want a 4000+ square foot house (and some of them on this show have been even bigger). It's almost considered abnormal to NOT want the material things that society says we should want. When I first started watching this show, they would remodel an existing home and the owners would be thrilled. Then they started tearing down houses and putting up nice ones - and now it's progressed to tearing down houses that really could be remodeled (which just seems like a total waste to me) to put up these huge houses that often look completely out of place. What started out as a neat concept seems to have snowballed - now they have to do bigger and better every week. I guess what bothers me about the entire thing is that there are probably plenty of people at home thinking that they have had a rough life and "deserve" this too. When you feel entitled to something, it seems easier to get angry at not having it than to work to get it. Maybe I'm just being really pessimistic here. It just seems that a feeling of entitlement gets in the way of knowing you have to work hard to get what you want.
Disclaimer: I am NOT against giving a helping hand to those who are really in need (this show in particular seems to chose very grateful families who make a difference in their communities). I just wish they could present a more realistic view of the "American dream".