Respect? Where?

Have you noticed the latest trend of disrespect? Whether you are out dealing with the public or at home, the amount of disrespect is increasing at an alarming rate! Even among family members, there seems to be a disturbing lack of respect, and it's so many different families being affected.

Children have zero respect for their elders, and where do you think this comes from? I personally believe it is a multi-layered problem. As parents, we aren't allowed to discipline children anymore. I believe this is the core problem. Kids today know that if they are misbehaving, they will not get paddled...as the schools and child know-it-all doctors have decided that spanking children is not only abuse, but will crush their "identities." Yeah, ok! Another issue is that these disrespectful children typically come from disrespectful parents. Parents, who also deserve to have a good paddling! Having seen this aspect first hand, it really angers me to see and hear how children treat others. To this day, I would never intentionally disrespect my elders...and I wasn't ever paddle...but was taught right from wrong!

Adults are a whole other issue! As we get older, it is assumed that we mature, understand being respectful, understand responsibilities, and common courtesies. Do people even understand these three aspects at all anymore? I am beginning to think not. Just one example, have you been to a Wal-Mart lately? People are rude, ignorant, pushy, lacking a respect for they way they look, and then they either don't have the money to pay for they items they are purchasing, or they pull out their food stamp card and their iPhone at the same time. Now, before I get maimed for being critical of government assistance, I have no problem with those getting a hand up after being knocked down. The problem I have comes in when the government assistance becomes a way of life, and is a hand out! So, back to Wal-Mart. My last trip there was no exception! A lady walking around without a bra, wearing spandex pants that were about 5 sizes too small, then she gets to the register with a cart full of groceries and misc. stuff...only to have a $300+ total and only about $120 cash. So, being that it was Wal-Mart and there were only 5 registers open, we were stuck waiting for this lady to weed out over $200 worth of items. After waiting 20 minutes, she finally checked out...only to find out the person with the cart full right behind her, in front of us, was with her too. Another cart load, of all groceries. This cart load was also $300+. This one went a little smoother with only about $20 to eliminate and out came the food stamp card, iPhone, key ring to a newer vehicle(it had the alarm, door lock/unlock, and wireless remote starter). To say I was mad, was an understatement. We do not use government assistance for anything! We drive a 1991 vehicle that you have to manually start, lock and unlock. There are times we have to postpone a bill so we can buy groceries, or only buy a few groceries so we can pay a bill...it's called RESPONSIBILITY!

To me, holding a door for someone coming in right behind me, helping pick something up when some drops something, helping any way possible is a common courtesy. It becomes disrespectful when any of these issues is ignored. When you see someone trying to reach something on a shelf that is obviously out of reach, you help! If someone drops something, you don't step over them and keep going. Too many people have become too rushed and disrespectful to pay attention to anything besides themselves.

The world has become I want it now, and I it doesn't matter who I have to step on to get it! It wasn't that many years ago, that life was different. People used the government as a hand up, respect was shown, maturity actually happened, people took their responsibilities seriously, and common courtesies were a normal way of life. I am not that old, but the changes I have seen in the 20 years I have been out of school are really scary! They aren't good changes!

As our family has ventured in our own homestead, we are considered the weird/not-normal people. That itself makes me laugh! We decided many years ago to stay with the values of the past. We teach our children respect, we actually teach our children, we grow/raise most of our own foods, we believe in family first, and understand that the bygone years actually held the best lives, with a lot less material stuff. We have little debt in terms of the national average, and don't spend excessively. We only buy what we absolutely need, and believe that most technology is a waste of time. Now, we aren't cut off, so to speak. We do have cable, internet, and cell phones but we don't do video games, we don't have to purchase all the latest tech stuff, and we still believe that sitting down for meals at the table as a family are the most important times of our days.

I am extremely saddened by so many stories that I hear. Families that scream and yell at each other, are conniving and cruel to each other, and those that feel the need to lie to each other. I know it's my own past that has brought me to this stage in my life. I believe that through good and bad, families stick together. We may not always agree but we never criticize or throw another family member under the bus. We stand tall in the face of adversity, and we do so as a united front. We talk, disagree and even argue respectfully with each other. We never degrade each other for our beliefs, and encourage each other whenever possible!

I guess today was my day to vent. During the days of my grandparents, seem to be more and more appealing to me. Moms were really moms, dads were the bread winners, children were respectful, and neighbors helped neighbors. Thankfully, I may not be able to change the world, but I can change my family, and inspire others to change theirs!

~Salli~