It’s no secret that our country’s got its fair share of problems. Our economy’s on the rocks, healthcare is a joke, we’ve still got tens of thousands of troops overseas fighting a war they never should have started, and so on. One problem that seems relatively minor by comparison, but still presents a serious threat, is the culture of entitlement that too many people seem to be growing up in.

This goes beyond your stereotypical “spoiled brats.” It’s a much more widespread issue, in which a large number of children and young adults are raised to believe that they’d be provided for, would always have the best opportunities, and that everything they did was right.

The greatest stand-up comedian of all time, the late George Carlin, once called out this nonsense as an outgrowth of the self-esteem movement, in which people were led to believe that “all children are special.” Put simply, all kids are treated as if everything they do is perfect; we see this kind of bullshit when “participation trophies” are given out to sports teams and the like. Even when a kid loses a soccer game, it’s fluffed up and practically brushed away, and they still get a trophy! Guess what: losing is part of life, and you often lose much more often than you win. That’s how you learn, and it’s also gives you something to aim for.

I know people who work with children on a daily basis, and the horror stories they’ve told me are staggering. These rugrats can barely take care of themselves, not to mention their temper tantrums, ignorance of personal responsibility, and lack of basic learning skills! The kids aren’t completely to blame, of course; the parents who create and support this behavior must be targeted, as well as the broken educational system that just pushes kids forward from grade to grade instead of helping them to overcome failure, rather than glossing over it.

It gets worse when things extend to the workplace later in life. Many college grads are part of a “narcissistic culture” where they expect great opportunities, even with entry-level work. For example, there’s been countless cases documented where new hires are upset that they don’t get sent on business trips, handle big-name clients, and so on. They don’t understand that experience earns you these perks, not education or upbringing.

This false sense of entitlement stands to do serious damage to our culture as a whole if not stopped. Not every child is special, people, and losing is just as important as winning, if not more so.