So Now It’s Our Fault

Jeffrey Zaslow, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal has a follow-up today to his infamous column wherein he approvingly cited an author who blamed today’s culture of self-entitled young people on, of all people, Mr. Rogers (of "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood." The premise being that Rogers telling kids they were special lead them to believe they deserved special treatment as adults.)

In today’s column though, he tries to lay the blame on advertising, citing two fairly innocuous slogans of yesteryear which have clearly damaged the psyches of our nation’s youth:

Meanwhile, advertising fosters entitlement. Consider Burger King’s slogan “Have it your way.” Tim Curran of Omaha, Neb., believes it encouraged rudeness and selfishness, leading people to become “unglued over minutiae,” such as burgers that arrive with unwanted pickles.

FedEx began as a service for packages that “absolutely, positively” have to get there overnight. The slogan helped cement the idea that everyone is entitles to instant gratification, argues Jonathan Spira, CEO of Basex Inc., a business research firm.

Talk about digging yourself in deeper. Zaslow’s columns, however, were one of my inspirations for The Toad Stool. I mean I figured if people were willing to read what this guy has to say, then they'd find me absolutely fascinating.

I’m just saying…