The Next Generation

When I was growing up my parents always taught me to respect my elders. When my parents were visiting with friends children were told to not speak unless spoken to, unless of course you had something important to say. I'm sure when they used the word important they meant unless you were highly educated and/or an exceptional conversationalist, things like someone just stole the car or the back yard is on fire. Needless to say I stayed quiet. My parents didn't take respect lightly. You were given consequences if you didn't follow the respect rule. This would range from a scolding to an all out get a switch and meet me behind the wood shed type talk. Respecting your elders also meant that if you were in a room with limited seating when an adult came in the children from youngest to oldest gave up their seats for that person. The reason I bring this up is due to a doctors visit I had today. I have arthritis so the doctor is see is a rheumatologist. This means that most, if not all of his and his associates patients have the same disease. I admit to being one of the younger patients that visits their office. Needless to say that there are the occasional patients that are being brought in by much younger family members. Today while I was sitting in the office, which was already crowded when I arrived, I noticed that an elderly couple came in and had paperwork to fill out. There weren't any chairs for them to sit in side by side, or even in the same area so the gentleman gave the lady the chair to sit in while he stood. This meant that he would have to bend over to help, what I assumed was his wife, fill out her paperwork. Even though I wasn't very close to his partner I got up and told the gentleman he could have my seat. The others sitting in the same area looked surprised but started moving over so that they could sit together. I stood at the door because there were others coming inside and I saw no reason to take a seat that I would just have to move from eventually. Don't get me wrong this is not something that I felt quilted into doing, this was something that I was raised to do because it was the respectful thing to do. As I stood there I looked around and there were a couple of men younger than myself, but none of them ever offered to give up their seat or did they offer to let me sit down. When the lady left to go inside to see the doctor I took her seat and was sitting beside the gentleman I had originally given my seat. 

I know this sounds like a petty thing to some people. To me this shows just what our world is starting to be like. I heard on the news last night that there is a family in our state that is opposing corporal punishment in our schools, even though is is voluntary. This is a personal decision and there are people that I know will not agree with me, but if you allow someone the opportunity to spend the entire day with your child and teach them, why would you not allow this same person to control your child and also teach them that there are consequences to their actions? I only received one spanking in school. It was by my first grade teacher Mrs. Godfrey. I won't tell you what I did, but I will tell you I remember it, and it taught me never to do it again. As a side note, the spanking my older brother got when my mother found out where I had learned this particular action, taught him there were consequences also. People no longer spend the time with their children that our parents did and because of this children are not being taught respect. We won't let our children be punished in schools so they talk back to the teachers, cuss in the classrooms and show no respect to authority. This is why our jails are full and children that have respect for their elders and people in authority are being bullied to the point of committing suicide. We give our children cell phones at younger and younger ages and let them use social media. Yet we can't find the time to sit down, ask them about their day or check out the people they hang around with or where they go. Ask yourself how often when you give your children the keys to the car do you know exactly where they are going? I would like to say that I trust my children without a doubt, but that would be a lie. I would love to think that I would never have to be called and told my children aren't where they told me they would be, or that I have nothing to worry about. This is would be a gift that I could only dream about. I have driven by my children's friend's homes at different times just to see if they are where they said they were going. Yes, this may sound like I don't trust my kids, but they are kids. I am older and wiser. Not wiser than my parents at this age, just wiser than teenagers give me credit for being. Most of the time I have been proud to say that my kids were right where they told me they would be, but there have been times...let's just say I haven't got a wood shed but I do have a switch tree. My backside saw a good number of switches from my parents growing up and I haven't robbed a bank or shot up a parking lot full of people because of it. I have to say that because of it I am a better person. Now my father could accomplish more with one of his talks than my mother, but I knew my mother would get a switch after my bottom half and then I had to deal with Dad when he got home from work. What a concept some kids would have to wrap their minds around today. If we don't have time to talk to our kids no wonder we would think they don't need discipline. 

I saw a quote the other day that said, David killed Goliath with a rock so why not outlaw rocks? When I grew up parents spanked their children, teachers spanked their students and when kids got mad at each other they fought with their fists. There were still knives in the kitchen and most of our fathers had a rifle, but you never met anyone who killed their friends with them. Now we are outlawing guns, taking spanking out of schools and putting parents in jail for punishing their kids. I have actually overheard a child telling a parent if they spanked them they would call the department of human services on them. 

I guess what I am trying to say is this, if we want our kids to have respect we have to take back the principles that our parents used. Times may have changed but respect is respect in every generation. If you are going to outlaw spanking you might as well let your children run wild. This is what they are headed for anyway. I know we can't go back to the way things were, but can't we at least let the people that spend the most time with our children teach them right from wrong? Because if you aren't there to do it and you don't have time to find out who they are hanging around with I am afraid of what kids are going to be like as I get older. Families have stopped putting God first in their lives. We need more days in church teaching our children about the bible and less time in courtrooms deciding what weekends we are going to have with them. You can't tell your children that it is wrong to cuss people and disrespect elders when you don't walk the walk yourself. Just remember, we are having children later in life and these are the people being raised to take care of you when you get old. Do you really want someone taking care of you when you don't know who your own family members are, that has not been taught that you are worth that care? When I can no longer stand around in the waiting room and need the seat that a younger, healthier person is using can I count on someone having taught that young person to offer up their chair? I would like to think that today, in that waiting room, my mother looked down from her heavenly seat and beamed with pride in knowing she taught me how to respect my elders. I know I can expect that from my children. Can you expect that from yours?