The concepts in "This is Our Due" have been rattling around in my head the past few days.  Americans' attitude that we are owed bigger, better, faster... without reflection, hard work, or care for consequences.  It's a kind of selective blindness that troubles me.  I see it in our students' desire to be graded on how hard they feel they worked on something (rather than quality of output or process).  I see it in the political process, when people vote against their best interests because they haven't the inclination to investigate each candidate and rely instead on campaign ads and weak journalism to tell them which candidate they'd rather have a beer with.  It has become a pervasive aspect of American culture.  I am particularly vexed when I see it in myself.  Oy.