Sense of Entitlement

“In the mall near our home,” narrated my friend Cely, “senior citizens sit in chairs provided by Starbucks for spill-over customers. At any given time, there are around eight to 10 of them. What’s odd is, they are there as soon as the coffee shop opens, ahead of paying customers.”  

Cely, who is likewise a senior, said this happens every single day—prior to the pandemic and immediately after the malls opened again. The elderly rush to the newspaper rack and start reading or start chatting with his/her companion. Not one orders anything. This must be frustrating to paying customers who want to read the newspapers, too. 

In the same light, there are: those who watch movies during free-for-seniors day and snore there, disturbing their neighbors; those who occupy store's rocking chairs or settees and put their unshod feet up and nap. 

Since the enactment of the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 (Republic Act 9994), senior citizens are now experiencing a surge of respect for the elderly. Younger people allow us to be ahead in queues (bank, toilet, wherever) and offer their seats on a bus. 

Sadly, there is also a surge of seniors having a sense of entitlement. Some demand quick service and preferential treatment, often gesturing authoritatively and not mincing words. If all of these scenarios are replicated in all malls, well, what impression are we leaving the young?  

Seniors are in that enviable stage where we can be role models to all ages below ours. We therefore need to re-enact the good things we taught our children when we wanted them to behave properly and politely.           

The Bible enjoins young and old, “. . . let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:16 NLT)

Don’t laugh, but I am now asking my adult children, and listing their answers in my mind, what were some of the things I taught them about good behavior, before it's too late for me to re-learn them.