The country’s financial ills aren’t going to fix themselves. We’ve got friends around the world, especially in Europe, hurting just as bad as (or worse than) us, and we’ve got enemies who would love nothing more than to see the United States crumble. And here at home, frankly, no matter what side of the political aisle you occupy, it’s tough to claim that either Congress or the President is handling the crisis particularly well.

Alas, what’s a barrel of monkey’s to do?

The worst things we could do are throw up our hands, panic, or assume the fetal position. Our problems can’t be wished or ignored away. We’ve got to invest blood, sweat, and tears to right this ship (and I’m not talking about reviving the 1960s rock band!).

  • If you don’t like the economy, what are you doing to fix it? What can you do to put more people back to work? What’s your stimulus plan?
  • Think the government’s going in the wrong direction? How are you letting your voice be heard locally, or at the state and federal levels? How are you offering solutions rather than being part of the problem?

Far too often, we seem to wait around for someone else to fix things. It’s a mentality that seems especially prevalent among younger generations who have grown up in circumstances where Mom or Dad or an employer or a school or even the government always swoops in to make things right. It’s created a sense of entitlement, as though we are all owed the “good life.”

I hate to break it to you, but no one owes us anything—not the government, not employers, not the rich and successful, not even our parents. If we want something, if we want to be successful, we’ve got to make it happen for ourselves.

Growing up, I was blessed with a lot, but my parents (and life in general), ingrained in me the understanding that no one owes me anything. From an early age I realized that if I wanted something, I had to go get it!

From our youth to the top most positions in government, it’s time we started earning our keep. It’s time for Americans to drop the entitlement attitude and get their hands dirty again. It’s what made this country great in the first place.

What are you going to do to change the state of the world today? What can you do right now to make a difference?

ON A MUCH LIGHTER NOTERise of the Planet of the Apes was actually much better than I expected. It’s got great effects, a good storyline, and a bunch of monkeys—what more could you want? Definitely worth the price of admission, says this “King Monkey.” For the uninitiated, it’s a prequel of sorts—a reworking of the classic film series of the late 1960s and 1970s. Can Lancelot Link be far behind?