As we see that our media say that are youth do not respect their elders we have ask why or is it true?
Now the first I noticed is when did the next-door neighbour becoming Johnny or Molly? We would never refer to our next-door adults, when we were kids, by their first name but as Mr & Mrs. When we saw that creeping in should we have read the tea leaves and seen what was to come? Or this generation would probably google it and get some fancy over qualified professor to express his opinion of the youth of the day while living in mansion where the gardener keeps the lawns manicured all year round. And his own sons who lay idle by playing with their computers and the 5000 imaginary social media friends.
Now when we were growing up, we played outside together. Imagine that young readers! we played with real people! Went to youth clubs, youth discos, had real girlfriends not reality girlfriends. We learnt about life and we had a lived experience, be they good or bad, when it came to, lets just call it the birds and the bees. Today! OMG, it’s full on porn and movies that would make Debbie from Dallas blush! and then Saturday nights where the boys think that’s what the girl wants and the girl this is what she must do to keep little Johnny happy! and then when Johnny discovers the little blue pill, he thinks he is the big hard man on the prowl.
Have we stood idly by while we watched standards drop? Or was it because we were told the old ways were not the right way to raise our kids. Now how many of us can remember the red cheeks we got for stepping out of line, hence the phase your face looks like well slapped arse. Now to day if little Mary has a nervous breakdown in the supermarket when she can’t have the popcorn, fizzy drink, or Heineken 00, which is the best example, probably. You have to reason with the child, talk to her /him in calm and low voice of comfort and listen to try and understand the poor 3 years state of mind. Well, Good Holy God, as the man who sells duck eggs in Glenroe might say, and I am sure he and Miley had numerous hearts to heart talks when he wanted a Giftie bar in Micky Macs shop on the main street of the village! Are yah having a laugh? his arse would more scorched than the faces of our young troopers on their ‘Reward Holiday’ for getting through the leaving Cert, in Ibiza, after night sowing their wild oats and now asleep on the beach praying for a crop failure.
Now not all are as bad as I have been making out. I see many a young man or women who are a credit to their parents and the way they have been raised. I understand the issue of slapping a child does seem a bit aggressive, or grounding and making them help around the house with daily chores. Discipline is necessary. And yes, at the right level. But also, is growing up, becoming mature. Now if we continue to molly coddle our younger generations we will have graduates with more letters after their name that have never worked a day in their life , even part time, and as was reported recently could not figure out the change for a pint when handed a tenner without using their mobile phone calculator.
I admire the young third level student who takes a part time job in a local Supermarket, Hotel and Restaurants as they save for to help their Parents to cover the fees and moreover the accommodation costs. That’s initiative, and initiative is what all business need, to know you can work remotely and without day to day supervision as remote working is looking like becoming the office of the future. It helps personal development. By parents promoting these activities is preparing them for when the finally leave the nest. That cohort will ring Mam and Dad and invite them over for dinner while our molly coddled generation are probably ringing to ask Mam over to do the washing up and Dad to explain why there is no light from the bulb in the bedroom because it has always worked?
In closing I don’t want to sound to hard on the younger generation but I do believe we do have to many do-gooders’ who because it is not right for their child., their opinion and believes are now what is required by Law. That’s a slippery slope. Do we want a certain group of parents telling us that because a book is not suitable in her opinion for her children, no other child can read it? We see the cases in Florida where school libraries have had their books removed. Teachers afraid to suggest, read a passage from a book, in fear of losing their job. Recently it came to Ireland and now we have local Politicians seeing this as a way to get publicity and some national attention.
I remember reading once the following
‘People burn books, and that they ban books is, in a way, a good sign. It’s a good sign because it means books have power. When people burn books, it’s because they’re afraid of what’s inside them… ~ Marcus Sedgwick.
