Topic > The importance of respecting elders

Growing up in a traditional American family, I was instilled with the golden rules for living better: "eat your vegetables", "tell the truth", "take care of your family ", and other precious pearls of wisdom. One of them, “Respect your elders,” was a special credit to me growing up. They are our elders who brought guidance to us young people when we were lost, knowledge when we lacked it, clarity when we were confused – hell, our very existence wouldn't be possible without at least two of them coming together to create us. I know that I would not be the college student I am today without building on the foundation that my parents, grandparents, and past generations have built to secure my future. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay But as I've gotten older, I've found that a golden rule is sometimes fool's gold. What if the elderly person in question came from a sexist and racist era that brought such sentiment into our modern, “politically correct” time? What if young people brought the most canine obedience to an elder who continues to deny their humanity and rewarded them with reproof? Or the crude type who goes around demanding whatever desire comes to mind, demanding it instantly without patience or gratitude? These are all characteristics deemed reprehensible and punishable in children – but why are older adults accepted and even culturally taught to be forgiven in modern American society? By no means am I saying that total disregard for elders should be the new norm of American society? culture – without the elderly a good part of Americans would not have a solid foundation on which to build themselves. What needs to be changed, however, is the teaching of absolute adherence to the golden rule to every elder, regardless of their background or the behavior they act upon. This vomiting not only promotes negative behavior in the elderly, but also interprets ethics in the eyes of the young and promotes similar behavior when they also become the elderly class. As every good parent would say (along with the denials of every bad parent), it indicates how much the child has acquired his own habits and characteristics, those of his siblings and his parents. Rejection of this by an adult is sometimes irresponsible and even offensive. Professor Barry Checkoway, of the University of Michigan's School of Social Work, said that adultism (the absolutely extreme view of an adult taking precedence over a child in thought, action and morality) could lead to child to “question their legitimacy, doubt their ability to make a difference”. (Rorrkychand, 2012) With the golden rule in place, a child who is trying to appease that rule would find several adults who frankly don't care or think about them. The confused child would wonder what exactly he did wrong after following the golden instructions, causing self-doubt and instigating a mean-spirited view of himself for not understanding the “whys” as to how such a treatment could occur. Or in another case, the child resents the rule, seeing how it cannot be applied to everyone and ends up abandoning it completely due to constant mistreatment by the elders. In any case, the child is influenced for the rest of his life by following one of these two negative views which would not only influence his view of himself but also the way he treats others he encounters throughout his life, making his unhappy life together with that of others. of those they come into contact with. Many argue that the elderly).