Would you believe me if I told you there is a solution to all this turmoil going on? It’s really a simple one. Although the answer might offend some.
One word, RESPECT.
I know I was raised in a different era but I was taught to respect others. We were taught to respect our elders, teachers, law enforcement, basically anyone in authority. Granted there was a little bit of fear mixed in with that respect to keep our behavior in line but mostly we did respect them. Whether you agreed with their view-point or actions you did not argue the point with them. If you went home and complained you thought a teacher had treated you unfairly the first response you usually got was “What did you do?”. If it was deemed that you had indeed been treated unfairly the parent would have a “respectful” meeting with the offender. I emphasize respectful because that is the way things were done then. No one went in calling names and threatening law suits. It was handled.
When children are not taught to respect then chaos takes over. We see it in the classroom, on the streets and interactions with law enforcement. Chaos is what we have now. The fix is not in policing the police or tying the teachers hands even further. The solution is in the home. That comment might offend some because we have allowed our society to become the “unaccountable.” It is somebody else’s fault. We are all in control of our own destiny and the choices we make.
No one is held responsible for their own actions, there is an excuse to be found to justify all the wrong doing. We are not being fair to children when we allow them to think in this manner. You can not function in society or in a job if you do not respect the chain of command and the rules that are in place for everyone not just some.
So to sum up my solution I would say this:
- Teach your children to be respectful and lead by example.
- Teach them it is okay to disagree with someone else’s views but to also respect the other’s right to have their own opinion. We all do not have to have the same opinion.
- Teach them that name calling those who disagree with them is not appropriate. Agree to disagree or walk away.
- Things in life are not always fair, you either work with it or move on. You are in control of you.
- Last but not least, teach them to respect themselves. When we respect ourselves we monitor our own thoughts and actions.
Sounds like an easy fix to me but I am a writer so I live in an alternate world and not everyone agrees with my world but it’s a happy place.
