Here’s a current train of thought. No conclusions, just
speculation.
It seems to me that for several decades we’ve been
neglecting to instil into kids a sense of, and aspiration to uphold, standards.
Those responsible for the education of children, from parents to schools to the
government, are so obsessed with the attainment of status and ‘success’ that personal
standards are being overlooked.
So here are the questions. Would it be reasonable to suggest
that standards form the foundation on which self respect is built? Not self
confidence; that’s different. Self respect. And would it also be reasonable to
suggest that without self respect, a person is unlikely to have respect for
others? Not the law, or morals, or the Establishment. Respect for the needs,
rights and sensibilities of other people. And isn’t that just what we see
happening so much now?
If I’m right, the next question would have to be: who or
what should be the arbiter of right standards? I certainly wouldn’t be happy to
entrust it to the Church, the government, the educational system, the media, the
self-obsessed arts establishment, the self-serving capitalist establishment, the
smugly self-certain conservative establishment, or the near-fascist liberal
alter-establishment.
So who? Don’t know yet.
3 comments:
I whole heartedly agree with you on this!! If a person has no respect for themselves, then there will be no respect for others. When I grew up, it was the parents responsibility to instill those standards in the children. Even when my children were little, it was still the responsibility of the parents. But that practice seems to have fallen by the wayside somewhere between then and now.
Not really sure how to go about resurrecting it either.
I agree, Jeanne. It starts with the parents - the personal touch, the fundamental level. But how does a modern parent fight a system that constantly tells them that life is all about material achievement at any price?
The parents have to have a strong set of standards themselves in order to 'buck the system' and not become part of the materialistic culture we now live in. The parent can then pass on those values to the children. But it's such a shame that the majority of parents/people these days are "sheeple".
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