11/30/2007: "Disrespect"

Many parents out there have told me that we live in somewhat of an "I" generation. Where the most important person to all of us is ourselves. I typically state in reverse being somewhat of a compassionate and generous person that this simply isn't true but I also was still born in the last year of what is considered generation X and not Y. I can't say for sure if their assessment is correct or not, however I have also seen articles in business magazines of which people have suggested that employees that are graduates also have an inflated sense of value to themselves, almost like a higher ego of which implies they are this generation of entitlement as if something is owed to them.

In growing up out of the two siblings I had and myself we didn't always do as we were told like many children. But of us three kids, only one of us was disrespectful to our parent or single mother. The other sibling and myself were not. I don't ever remember telling my mother or father anything ridiculous like, "I hate you". Which I know and they know is a lie and is foolish.

As I alluded to above though it seems as if this generation is different like the others have been and it seems disrespect and not giving any heed to our parents guidance, discipline, or warnings has landed a lot of us in trouble. Whether it be single parenting of our own, drugs, or criminal problems and behavior, you name it, we've done it. Many love to state how when they leave their parents home they intend to lead a better life than they're parents but it seems this generation more often than not seems to actually be duplicating the life choices and mistakes some of their parents made.

For the kids out there, there is many times I can tell you that you will be told by your parents the answer you don't want to hear. You're grounded, no you can't go, I want you home at this time, etc., but nearly in all of those cases while you feel they are infringing on your rights as a human being, you don't realize that they are trying to protect you from bad decisions that could affect you later in life dramatically.

Hindsight is something cute that was created to make everyone feel bad for all the choices they made that didn't turn out well, as if there ever was a possibility that they would have done something different or made a different choice. Instead of risking future regret and your life being messed up by bad choices try to see your parents side of view. I'm not a parent, and while that makes me no expert or fool just the same, I have no bias in this discussion. But since hindsight attacks friends of mine and myself from time to time, there is nothing more I can tell you except to really give your parents the benefit of the doubt sometimes and see what happens if you do obey. Who knows, they might see more responsibility in you for not making a scene and may choose the opposite decision in your favor in the future.

Parenting isn't an easy job, it wasn't on my parents and it probably isn't for anyone. But parents could make their job a bit easier if they spent time with their children explaining issues rather than just saying no and walking away leaving the child to stew with anger. For the kids, being a parent is tough, you'll most likely find that out someday yourselves, with that said sometimes you can argue your point as honestly, not all social events are bad. But sometimes you need to just listen to your parents and trust them, as it's quite obvious they've made it farther than you have in life.

Exodus 20:12

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you."