
Let me see now, what am I missing? I remember being raised to ‘Honor Thy Father And Thy Mother.’ I firmly believe in this Commandment. Don’t you? I mean, who in their right mind would disrespect their parents? I can guarantee that none of us came out of the womb and decided to dishonor our parents.
As a father, I know the gold standard for raising children doesn’t include a section titled ‘Look The Other Way,’ when my child did (or does) something wrong. Some books may include a chapter on ‘Punishment,’ or ‘Tutoring Your Child When They Do Something Bad,’ but certainly does not include a chapter called ‘Do Nothing.’
With this in mind, please help me understand. Where did we get this attitude, and when did we deviate from what our parents taught us to believe? When did we lose our innocence?
Who was it that taught us about right from wrong, honor, and dignity as we developed into adulthood? Wasn’t that our parents or some other responsible person in our lives? Who taught us to be courteous, to open doors for ladies, and not to run with the bad crowd? Didn’t anyone teach those to us when we went to school?
What about church? I don’t know about you, but I was taught to ‘turn the other cheek,’ instead of running out, buying an Uzi and blowing off someone’s head. What part of the Bible did that come from? Oh, and what about ‘be kind, don’t smoke, don’t do drugs, and mind your manners?’ Where did those lessons start, and where did they go?
The Golden Rule
Here’s one: ‘Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You,’ was how I was taught, not ‘do unto others, then run!’ Despicable!
Looking at how I was raised, I can’t remember a single time when someone taught me it was okay to rob, or steal, or hurt people. ‘No hitting,’ was the rule in our household. What about yours?
My Mom and Dad never cursed in front of any of us kids. Why? Because they wanted to set a good example.
Nowadays, ten-years-old freely use four letter words they don’t even know the meaning of when they’re talking to others.
How is it these negatives get spread throughout the entire world so quickly? That is perplexing to me!
I understand that poverty plays a big role in denigrating our principles. But, nowadays, if I see a child ignoring his parent’s instructions or, even worse, see a parent ignoring horrible behavior, I have to do what most of us always do: I pretend I didn’t see it! That keeps me/us alive to fight another day.
We have become a society that does nothing in the face of tyranny, oppression, racism, genderism, and many other ‘-isms’. Why is that?
I tell myself it’s because I don’t want to get involved, for fear of being beaten or shot and killed for not minding my own business!
Tell me, when do we turn ‘enough’ into ‘ENOUGH!?’ When will the time come for us to unite as one, to mind others’ business when it violates our freedoms, our lifestyle, our laws, and our political consciences? Will there ever come a time when our world has battered hatred and abuse?
Where are the answers?
Thanks for reading this! Visit me at Medium.com/@kasey721.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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You may also like these posts on The Good Men Project:
White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism |
Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box |
The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer |
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Photo credit: Goashape via Unsplash License
White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism
Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box
The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer
