For 2008 I will eliminate the word "deserve" from my vocabulary

I'm not joking. There is something profoundly disturbing about the word.

We can earn something. We can work toward something. But are we ever truly deserving of anything?

In a world where genocide, and war, and famine still exist how can we still say that we deserve anything good or bad that happens to us?

Deserve

–verb
1. to merit, be qualified for, or have a claim to (reward, assistance, punishment, etc.) because of actions, qualities, or situation: to deserve exile; to deserve charity; a theory that deserves consideration.
–verb (used without object)
2. to be worthy of, qualified for, or have a claim to reward, punishment, recompense, etc.: to reward him as he deserves; an idea deserving of study.

What about people that are dishonest, and crappy to others? Do they deserve happiness, friendship, joy, and material comforts? Some of them appear to have all of that. Do they deserve it?

It used to be that if I worked toward a particular goal, and achieved it, I felt entitled to the benefits that came along with it. After all, I earned it, therefore I deserved it. The two are not the same. I did not realize this until very recently. I've now decided that my thinking was pretty messed up, and symptomatic of a sense of entitlement that has infected society, and that has become a source of profound unhappiness.

So there it is. One of my resolutions for 2008.