To the Editor:
The opposite of gratitude, I think, is not resentment but entitlement. Some people think: It is right and proper that I have an income of $400,000 a year, eat at fine restaurants, live in a large house. I deserve these things. I will do whatever I must to protect these rights—for instance, by fighting against higher taxes.
Speaking for myself only: I have a warm, dry bed to sleep in every night; plentiful, tasty food; clean water at a touch; my local public library. I am glad to have these things. I try not to take them for granted. I am grateful — to whom? To the gods? No, to the many people who make my style of life possible. I consider it my duty—which I fail at, unfortunately—to take action to spread these good things to everyone. If that means political struggle against the entitled, then so be it.
JOHN PLOTZ
Hayward, Calif.
