Bad Parenting: Root of Society’s Loss of Civility?
Civility, by definition, means perfunctory or formal politeness. Unfortunately, this politeness is something that we are seeing less and less of everyday. From Rep. Joe Wilson’s rude retort during Obama’s speech to Kanye West’s stunt to upstage Taylor Swift at an awards’ show, it seems that American culture is indeed losing civility. The origin of this problem must be uncovered or else the future generations of our nation are in grave danger. Just imagine a chaotic world that has no definition of respect. Ultimately, violence will conquer every nation and basic human values such as respect will be unheard of.
One of the real reasons behind America’s lack of civility is failed parenting. For so many parents, this fact can seem unacceptable or preposterous. However, the truth is that parents are responsible for the growth of every future generation. A recent incident that occurred in a school bus is a perfect example of how children today are rapidly losing their civility. A teenager was unexpectedly beaten up over a place to sit on the bus. What’s shocking about the video is not just the unprovoked violence, but the apathy of most of the other passengers who just sat and watched. Some even encouraged the fight.
In cases such as these, one cannot help but think that parenting and the home life of a child are the factors to blame. Everyone knows that the smallest organization in society is the family. Families are the foundation of every nation. Almost every single member of society has his roots in some kind of family. Every politician, scientist, teacher, student, doctor, nurse, business man and news reporter that make up a society all hail from their own families. We need to understand how important parents are and how each individual’s attitude in life is molded at home.
If you are a parent then you obviously have your work cut out for you. Do not hesitate to act now because there is no better time than the present to instill good and humane values into your children. Not to do this basic parenting task would be a crime toward your family and toward society in general.
“Family first” is a phrase that you’ve probably heard and read a million times before. We’ve done the talk, now are we ready to do the walk? Are we ready to make drastic changes in the environment that we create at home?
Creating a good home life for your children is not as hard as you think. The ingredients of a good home are usually loving parents who are good role models for their kids, children who are respected and are in turn taught how to respect others as well as open communication lines between parent and child. A child who came from a home where respect is practiced will usually reflect the same value in society. On the other hand, an individual who has been exposed to a chaotic home life where rudeness and violence are a daily part of life is likely to carry out these attitudes outside the home.
However, there are still some parents who insist that factors outside the home such as peer pressure and pop culture are the main culprits in today’s lack of civility. What do YOU think?
Desperate Housewives Lawn Service
Alright so I may be a Desperate Housewife, but I realize I don’t live on Wisteria Lane. I understand my street is not always going to look like the burbs on tv, but what am I going to do about my neighbor that feels no need to maintain their property the way the rest of us do?! We all spend way to much money on landscaping, toxic chemicals to keep our lawns green, and seasonal flowers that we mostly just forget to water and kill, but hey, at least we are adding value to the neighborhood and respect the community as a whole. However, there is one neighbor (isn’t there always one in every group?) that for some reason does not feel the peer pressure we feel to do the same. Look, this isn’t a trailer park : frankly this is not a cheap place to live. If you can afford the house (and the INSANE TAXES) you can CERTAINLY afford the lawn service. But these jokesters have had a random pile of wood, an lawnmower and a children’s chalkboard just chillin’ on their side lawn like it is part of the landscaping. I don’t want to say anything because 1. I know we can at times be loud, our dogs/kids/drink relatives are sometimes on their property, 2. it is always possible at some point our property will not look as great at does now and I wouldn’t want to hear a word from them, and 3. because I hate any form of confrontation. I really don’t want to cause any bad blood or a problem because we have to LIVE here, and I hate any weirdness. So for now, I just stare at their house, seething with annoyance, and pray they move soon… Is that the wrong way to handle it?
