One of the downfalls to living in this country is the sense of entitlement that so many Americans have. In some circles there is the belief that just because they are a citizen it entitles them to what they want…whether it is a job, a house, a credit card or welfare.

As we get ready to celebrate what is a national holiday, Christmas, my hope is that we lose sight of entitlement and gain instead what is the true spirit of this time of year. It is a time of giving. We all like to receive, sure, but giving is a true tenet of unselfishness and integrity.

Here is the thing about giving, however. It must come from the person’s heart. It isn’t truly giving unless the person chooses to give. That is much different than feeling obligated to give or being forced to give, as the government would love to enact.

Speaking of government, recently our illustrious Vice President Joe Biden attempted to drag morality into the issue of taxing the wealthy. I am not among the wealthy but I do have to wonder, am I entitled to receive what others have worked hard for? If I were wealthy would that mean I am immoral for not allowing myself to be taxed to death?

I recently heard that heirs of large sums of money don’t have to work for it so why shouldn’t they be heavily taxed? Have we lost sight of the fact that it’s likely money that was earned within the family? Why are others entitled to it?

Raising taxes on the wealthy, in my humble opinion, is yet another attempt to grasp that sense of entitlement we have in America. We can’t force the rich to give out of the abundance of what they have. It is their choice. Some do and some don’t but who am I to call them immoral if they don’t?

I can only make personal choices. I can only give out of my own means and of my own time. My family recently did this when we participated in a community outreach to a poor area of the city I live in.

We provided to several needy families an opportunity to receive a free Christmas portrait of their family; a delicious, hot meal of pancakes and sausage; free entertainment and bags of Christmas presents to take home. We gave because it was in our heart to do so.

They didn’t feel entitled to receive what they did. They felt privileged and grateful. No one should be forcing “giving” on anyone. That is not giving. It is time that we as Americans get off the high pedestal of entitlement and get down to the level of personal choice.

Young Americans who feel entitled to get that expensive education they can’t afford or families who feel entitled to live better than the Jones’s so they rack up their credit card. Teenagers who feel entitled to work someplace “better” than McDonalds…these are all mindsets that have infiltrated our country and have no place here.

Entitlement in America is nothing more than a case of the “gimme’s.” Let’s celebrate Christmas with a desire to give of our own freewill.