New Contempt Citation

Ned wonders why many Americans behave like petulant, spoiled children. Is it because they are told nearly from birth that they are unique? Special? The greatest kid that ever was? Was it because they were protected from criticism as children themselves? Was it because they were given a prize for anything they did? Were they repeatedly dropped on their heads while infants? Or is it because as Americans we expect to be offered "incentives" (paid for by someone else) to do the right thing, rather than be told to do it because it is the right thing to do?
From today's Letters in the NYT comes a perfect example: a writer petulantly takes Obama to task for having the effrontery to suggest his staff get in shape and eat wisely.
Here's a quote from the letter (for best effect, read in a high, whiny, nasally voice): "I do not doubt the purity of President Obama’s motives in strongly urging members of his staff to use his trainer and to eat sensibly, [but] there is an element of coercion in this that made me really uncomfortable." Ned wonders what in a newspaper article, describing people she cannot possibly know, about events the details of which she could not possible grasp, and not involving grievous bodily injury, mental anguish or even loss of money, could make this person "uncomfortable" and why, moreover, she should be so narcissistic as to think that anyone could possibly care what she "feels" about the topic?
Moreover, no one disputes that obesity and poor eating are the cause of much disease and perhaps a third of deaths, and is the source of hundreds of billions of unnecessary health care expense. So why in the hell, except that she has been made to feel that her opinions are more important than ANYTHING else, should we be burdened with her ridiculous letter?
Not being a psychologist or sociologist, Ned cannot say. He only wishes such persons would go away and not inflict their trivial concerns on the rest of us.
So, Ned awards this Nancy person today's richly deserved Contempt Citation.