I am putting some pictures in this post of my family; my sisters and parents when we were young and living in "the sticks" as we referred to it!
Having grown up in the 50's, I believe I grew up with an idealistic view of things. We lived in a rural area; unincorporated. We played in the fields and ran up and down the street unafraid back and forth to our neighbor's homes. We made our own butterfly nets and caught butterflies for our collections. We laid on blankets in the grass in the summer and we actually 'played outside'! We took care of each other and neighbors looked out for the other children on the block as well as their own; even taking on the role of teacher and surrogate parents if need be at times. We had a wonderful time as children and things were simpler then. We were also taught the Bible and taught such things as values and morality and respect for adults. Our parents took us to church and Sunday School and sat with us, instructing us on respect and how to behave in church and having respect for the Word of God and the man in the pulpit teaching it.
Many children today don't know a whole lot about make-believe and playing outside. Instead, they'd rather stay inside in front of the TV set playing video games or glued to their DSL's. When they don't get what they want, they demand it and usually Mom and Dad, tired from pursuing their own interests all day or the almighty dollar, give in to junior's whims just to keep peace and not have to deal with the situation as a parent should. I'm afraid most parents have taken the 'easy way out' with their role as parent. Let's face it; letting an electronic device entertain and hypnotize your child is much easier than actually having to BE the parent. Parenting is TOUGH and most parents are so busy today with so many things that they just don't have the time or the energy or the inclination to take on the battle of saying "NO" to junior. So they give in and negate their role of parent. Then that child grows up and has no respect for their parent nor patience for them, just as the young lady I observed in the restaurant with her parents today. Their parents had no time or patience for them when they were growing up and now the parent that is aging and actually would like to spend some time with their child, finds that their child has no time nor patience for them any more.
This is also the generation that is deciding on our healthcare and "go home and make peace with death" situation that we see our current administration adopting today. No respect or value for people over a certain age. They're useless and are not profitable to society because they have no wage-earning potential. It doesn't matter that they earned many wages all their lives and funded Social Security which is not going to be there for them when they need it now and their children, who can't be bothered taking care of them, will shove them off into some nursing home, so they won't have to be bothered with them. I heard a phrase on a comedy show one time that spoke of this, and said the nursing home's motto was: "We CARE-so you won't HAVE to!" How apropos is that?
This came to mind today after we left the hospital. My husband had to go in for his check-up endoscopy. After being given the all-clear from the doctor, we stopped at a restaurant to get some breakfast and coffee!! He couldn't have his coffee before the procedure! He was still feeling groggy but well enough to stop for breakfast. While we sat at our table and talked, I couldn't help but notice an elderly couple sitting at a table behind us (the booth behind my husband).
They sat there with their daughter, who I'd say was in her mid-thirties maybe.
She seemed to be your typical self-reliant young woman of today, who has it all under control. The thing that bothered me, as it always does when I see this, is that she had very little patience for her parents and their ages. She seemed impatient with them whenever they would say something. (They were probably buying her breakfast too!). She seemed to 'talk down' to them as if their age made them less intelligent. I told my husband that the thing that seems to be like a disease among this age group is "ingratitude" or a lack of thankfulness. Whenever I see a young person treating an older adult this way, especially their parents, I feel like going up to that person and asking them, "Just who do you think you are? You are who and what you are today because of your parents!! Show a little gratitude and yes, patience, will you? Just because they're getting older and move a little slower or don't remember everything or maybe even repeat something more than once, doesn't mean they're imbeciles!!" It just infuriates me to see ingratitude or to see the elderly treated with such disrespect when they've lived their lives earning it!
Why aren't parents teaching their children respect or manners today? And I'm not blaming ALL young parents in that age group because I know some very good young parents that will not tolerate disrespect from their children and don't give in to every demand they make. Good for them!! Their children will rise up and call them "blessed" as the Bible tells us!
Another thing that I've noticed about growing up in the 50's is the respect we held for our nation's highest office, the Presidency. We grew up to honor that role, even if the person holding it wasn't our choice at the polls. Today I hear so much disrespect for the President (no matter who it is). Even if we don't agree with the man's politics, he does hold the highest office and is the Ruler of the Free World! That position deserves our respect! If you disagree with him, write him a letter and with courtesy, tell him how you disagree and why. But be respectful!! Respect the office!
I recently bought the book by Ronald Kessler "In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect". I am up to chapter three now and I have to tell you, it's a fascinating book, but it's also a real eye-opener fo rme! I knew growing up in the Nixon years and Johnson and Kennedy years that our presidents at times had indiscretions and were not the highly moral people they should be or that we 'kids' thought they were, at least I did. I remember President Eisenhower. How I loved that man as a child! Reading this book though, tells the truths, as hard as they are to take, about the men that have held this highly respected office of the President. It's sad and disheartening to me to think that such men could have put on such a cover-up personality and have won the respect and votes of our nation's people and then lived the way they did while in office. I am thoroughly disgusted with some of the things I have read about many of these men. That said, however, my respect for the men and women that hold the job of having to 'take a bullet for the President' if necessary has gone way up, considering who they might have to take the bullet for! How disgusted they must feel at times and yet are sworn to secrecy and the beck and call to do whatever he tells them to do and to keep quiet about it, even if it's something the public would be appalled by if they knew! The stories of Johnson were particularly appalling to me!
I've gotten off on a tangent now, but what I mostly wanted to say was that having grown up in the 50's was a much kinder and gentler time to grow up in. Being a child then and being a child now are worlds apart. I don't wish to go back in time, but I sure do wish that parents would start teaching their children to be thankful and courteous again. Gee.... I just wish parents would start being 'parents' again and teaching their children!!
Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Words of wisdom from King Solomom
I'm so thankful I had parents and grandparents that loved us enough to actually BE parents! To teach us values and courtesy and respect for others around us, especially our elders!
I'm thankful I grew up in an era where respect and courtesy was expected of young people!
I'm thankful I grew up in the 50's and was taught how to be creative instead of putting my mind into neutral and allowing an electronic game mesmerize me and dull my creativity and ability to think.
I'm thankful I grew up in the 50's and learned a love for books and reading and nature!
May God help our current and future generations!
Malachi 4:5,6
"Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD;
and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
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