What do Witchcraft and Weight Loss Have in Common?

I like to frequent some Witchcraft forums, as well as some Weight Loss forums. In some, I am fairly vocal and others I am merely an occasional lurker. Though the topics generally have little to do with each other, I have noticed a trend.

1) Everyone wants it fast.

They don't just want to know how to lose weight, they want to lose 60 lbs in 3 weeks for the start of school or their sister's wedding or family reunion.

They don't just want to learn Witchcraft. They want all their dreams to come true. If not tonight, tomorrow is good.

2) They want it easy.

They don't want to have to read all those books and can't imagine finding a half hour a day to meditate; education and mental discipline? For magic? Puh. They just want all the really cool spellz we're hiding that "really work."

They don't want to have to eat vegetables, exercise or count calories. They just want to know what miracle pill or magic potion all the skinny people have been hiding from the fat people.

3) They don't care what danger they have to face to get it as long as it comes without any serious effort.

Sell my soul to Satan? Puke until my internal organs shut down? Take a pill that ups my risk for cancer about 1000%? That's fine... fine... I'll cross those bridges when I come to them, just gimmie gimmie gimmie what I want, like, NOooooooOOOOWWWW!

What? You Big Mean Ol' Meanie! What do you mean you can't help me? You're just selfish. And jealous. You Suck. I'll find someone else who promises better things, faster and easier. I'm willing to do what it takes as long as I don't have to bother with anything or change.

Basically, I am wondering, is this evolution in progress?

Is this what it comes to when a species no longer really has to worry about survival?

Is this the natural mentality that develops when everything is mass-manufactured, pre-packaged, ordered on demand and sent to your doorstep with rush delivery?

It seems with every generation in the last 100 years it just gets worse... there is just less and less value placed on effort, hard work, perserverance, patience, and just plain doing the right thing.

Fast. Easy. At any cost except the cost that requires time and effort.

Does anyone else see the irony?  

I realize we have it easier than generations that came before us, but there are things they had that I envy and long for.

They had to work all spring, summer and fall to produce food which they canned for the winter and had to savor. They had to pump the churn for hours to turn their cream into butter and wait for the dough to rise before they could bake the bread. They sent a letter and had to wait weeks for a reply even if it was sent out immediately.

It's so strange... how everything seemed to take them so long to do, and they had to wait for everything, and work hard for everything, and we get everything so fast and easily, yet we seem to never have time and complain that everything takes just too much effort.

I don't know where I am going with this except to say I can see why we're getting to the first generations in centuries that are not doing as well as the generations before them... it's not based on what is hard or easy, or what is fast or slow, but based on attitudes and work ethics. We don't value the right virtues anymore... and we are losing them.

And I guess seeing it in others reminds me that it's not what I want for myself... or my kids.

This is one of the things I like about homeschooling and working at home... I feel like we've got a little shield from the proverbial "rat race." This is something I'm going to keep in mind over the next few weeks and work on in our lives. I don't think I'm that bad, but I think I could be better.