When I was a child, we were taught that we should strive to do our best and that we should hold ourselves to high standards.  Sometimes, we failed and felt bad about it, but then came the self-esteem movement to rescue us from those bad feelings.

The psychologists said that it was most important not to hurt children’s feelings – that all children should be made to feel good about themselves, regardless of their performance.  So, to avoid bad feelings, the standards were removed. 

Instead of receiving letter grades that clearly reported the quality of their performance, children began receiving report cards that not even their parents could understand. Standards even disappeared from many children’s sporting events, with scores not being reported, nobody being allowed to lose, and everyone receiving a big trophy just for participating. 

This elimination of standards put an end to the bad feelings that used to result from failure, but it also put an end to the pride and excitement that used to come from true achievement – the pleasure and satisfaction that came from struggling to overcome hurdles and achieve success.  So, instead of the good feelings that had been expected by the psychologists, the result was just “blah” – a dullness and lack of enthusiasm about life.  In fact, many young people even became depressed.

Sadly, that is where we are today, with many of the products of the self-esteem movement having become jaded and unenthusiastic about life, if not suicidal.  They hold themselves to no standards, have an “entitlement” mentality, take no pride or pleasure in their work, and are disappointed when they are not rewarded handsomely just for showing up. 

Having been taught that there are no standards, their highest value is tolerance.  They believe that the people who strive to uphold traditional moral standards are a bunch of chumps.  They think stealing is OK, especially if it is stealing from a large, impersonal corporation.  They think having sex with anyone at any time is OK.  They think lying and cheating are OK.  In fact, they think just about everything is OK.  They have no worries about the consequences of their behavior and feel no need to plan or save for the future or for a rainy day.  Their idea of sin is to smoke, to eat transfats, or to fail to recycle their trash. 

So it should come as no surprise to find that these products of the self-esteem movement are maxed out on their credit cards, expecting to get all the rewards without having to work.  It should come as no surprise when they take “shortcuts”, like the executives at Enron or those who promoted and took advantage of the lax lending practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  It should come as no surprise that they are unhappy and depressed or that they expect to be bailed out by the government, even if it means taking the entire economy down with them. 

Is there any hope for improvement in the future?  Can the products of the self-esteem movement ever face reality, overcome their entitlement mentality, and become excited about working hard and achieving?  Will they ever experience the good feelings that come with striving for excellence and striving to live up to traditional values like honesty, hard work, thrift, and respect for other people and their property?  (i.e. the values that are essential to a healthy, thriving society.) Will they ever take pride and pleasure in exercising self-discipline and self-control?  Or are we all doomed?   

Yeah.  Sure.  No Problem.  Whatever.   

"If an American is to amount to anything he must rely upon himself, and not upon the State; he must take pride in his own work, instead of sitting idle to envy the luck of others. He must face life with resolute courage, win victory if he can, and accept defeat if he must, without seeking to place on his fellow man a responsibility which is not theirs." --Theodore Roosevelt