When my son was 4 years old I took away his mattress and forced him to sleep on the floor every night

When my son was 4 years old I took away his mattress and forced him to sleep on the floor every night.

If he did his chores, I closed his window.
If he got straight A's, I gave him a blanket.
If he got in a fight at school and won, I wouldn't force him to take his shower cold.

One day, he asked me,
"dad, why is that no matter how hard I work, I can't seem to earn a bed?"

I slapped him, first - every question carries a price - then responded,
"son, you can work as hard as you can in this world, it doesn't always mean you're going to get what you want."
Then I asked him,
"is there a bed in our house?"
He answered,
"yes, but it's yours, isn't it?"
I punched him again - for the question - then told him
"yes. If you want a bed, you need to fight me for it."

Our president is 80 years old.
The average age of our senate is 64 years old.
Young people expect the older generations to give them everything, they are never raised to fight for and take what they want, so they deserve nothing.

Waking up to my 7 year old with a blade held to my throat was the proudest I'd ever been.
As I slept on the floor, shivering that night in the cold (he also took my blanket and broke my window), I rested soundly, knowing I'd taught him well.