Posted by
on Monday, June 25, 2007 9:48:02 PM
I may be beating some sort of dead horse, but I really feel like I need address a very important issue. The generation of kids that are just below me, the ones that are in their awkward phase now: high schoolers and middle schoolers, get unfairly judged. I would argue that mine did too, but we are now old enough to either perpetuate or negate that belief. I work with these kids on nearly a daily basis. Now, I don't get a fair sampling of kids, although I do see a disturbing trend. These kids just need care and attention!
Now for some of you that are parents of kids this age now, I know that your child is perfect, and I am clearly not talking about them! Get a clue! We wonder why sexual activity among teens continues to rise, we wonder why kids are increasingly withdrawn, and frankly have no respect for authority, but no one is willing to look at what could be a cause. Well, lets all look in the mirror. Why is it that we as a people allow trash to enter or households through TV on a regular basis? Have you watched what is on TV these days? I could pick on MTV, but that just isn't fair. Its everyone. Even I, a young adult who was very vulgar at one point (not so long ago) in my life, find this stuff repulsive. Now, I am not naive enough to believe that kids are they way they are because of TV alone. Rather I would argue that TV is only a result of the neglect kids face daily.
How many of you have taken the time to take a kid you know out just for the fun of it. Just to be a positive role model. It is sad how few people actually care enough to do this. Parents, you are included in this. Americans (I can argue this because I have lived in other cultures, both affluent and poor) have become so driven by status, money, and image that they will allow their true legacy, their kids, to turn into a failure. Check that, the children are not the failures. The parents are, the family friends are, and church families are. Get up, be a role model, make someone's life better besides your own. After all, you will fade into history some day too, and the only things you will have left to tell your stories are the people you impact that are significantly younger than you. Think about it.