It's not funny
"Where have we gone wrong?"
The question lingers in my mind. It echoes off the halls of our school rooms, bouncing down hallways into the offices of our workrooms. It lingers in the alleyways, and then shoots into the prisons of our nation. It can be heard in the courts and hospitals everywhere, in the political debates, "What happened to decency, justice and good sense?"
From all sides we hear the answer: the parents, the schools, the teachers are the cause. The society, the media, the economy is to blame. The lack of religion, materialism, it is all to blame. Technology has moved forward at such a fast rate, it is also to blame.
We have a free society, and have not shirked from allowing our children to grow up learning what freedom meant. Does this mean they say whatever comes to their mind, kind or mean: our nation becoming "I'll be cruel to you and you be evil to me!"
Does Freedom mean our children get everything for free, because we hand it to them without asking them to earn it?
Do children age into their rights, without the training of what is the responsibility or the consequences of their behaviors?
Would you give an automatic gun to a 3 year old, then wonder when they destroy everything in sight? Giving children cameras with the access to the Internet and wondering that they transmit harmful photographs is as dangerous. They have not been trained or properly educated. They should not have unlimited access to a possibly harmful media. We do not allow children to drive cars without training, or do we?
Whether or not a child is ready to drive now depends on the age of the person. They take a written test and a driving test. What if the person is of age and passes the tests, but not mature or responsible? Parents should not permit their child to drive. A person must be mature to understand the consequences of their driving behavior, which does not always correlate with their age. Enabling immature young people to drive, by buying car insurance, gas, providing a car, all help put unsafe drivers on the road. It is too easy to go along with the standard rule, driving at a certain age, and not make a wise decision for the individual. That is where we went wrong. We did not stand up for being different. We went along with the crowd.
We have laptops, we have cell phones. We think they are super convenient. Did we teach our sons and daughters how to answer the phone, or how to speak politely to some one when they called? They text, they communicate with friends. The next thing we know, huge arguments, cyberbullying is the problem.
We handed a child a dangerous weapon (their own cell phone/camera) and are surprised when they took it into the bedroom to exercise their understanding of Freedom. What did we think? Did we teach them the consequences of what they held in their hands, what would happen when it "exploded", and how they could not take back what they did? Did they really understand what "Freedom" meant?
Parents say, they wish they had a book and a test to prepare them for parenthood. The same should be true for what could be dangerous growing up.
Often letters (that stand for words) are used to communicate ideas when texting, another unfortunate consequence of technology. Instead of understanding each other fully, we mistake what the other person is really trying to tell us, and errors are easily made. Words and full sentences would correct the ideas to help people communicate. Relationships built on short phrases and letters are not able to convey the full meanings of innuendo and depth of what we really say.
I don't know where we went wrong. Communication is so much easier these days. Why then do I feel so isolated, that these words are echoing in a cave empty of thinking minds? I hear whirring machines, and miss the babble of conversation. Would like to lol but IDK its just not funny.
The question lingers in my mind. It echoes off the halls of our school rooms, bouncing down hallways into the offices of our workrooms. It lingers in the alleyways, and then shoots into the prisons of our nation. It can be heard in the courts and hospitals everywhere, in the political debates, "What happened to decency, justice and good sense?"
From all sides we hear the answer: the parents, the schools, the teachers are the cause. The society, the media, the economy is to blame. The lack of religion, materialism, it is all to blame. Technology has moved forward at such a fast rate, it is also to blame.
We have a free society, and have not shirked from allowing our children to grow up learning what freedom meant. Does this mean they say whatever comes to their mind, kind or mean: our nation becoming "I'll be cruel to you and you be evil to me!"
Does Freedom mean our children get everything for free, because we hand it to them without asking them to earn it?
Do children age into their rights, without the training of what is the responsibility or the consequences of their behaviors?
Would you give an automatic gun to a 3 year old, then wonder when they destroy everything in sight? Giving children cameras with the access to the Internet and wondering that they transmit harmful photographs is as dangerous. They have not been trained or properly educated. They should not have unlimited access to a possibly harmful media. We do not allow children to drive cars without training, or do we?
Whether or not a child is ready to drive now depends on the age of the person. They take a written test and a driving test. What if the person is of age and passes the tests, but not mature or responsible? Parents should not permit their child to drive. A person must be mature to understand the consequences of their driving behavior, which does not always correlate with their age. Enabling immature young people to drive, by buying car insurance, gas, providing a car, all help put unsafe drivers on the road. It is too easy to go along with the standard rule, driving at a certain age, and not make a wise decision for the individual. That is where we went wrong. We did not stand up for being different. We went along with the crowd.
We have laptops, we have cell phones. We think they are super convenient. Did we teach our sons and daughters how to answer the phone, or how to speak politely to some one when they called? They text, they communicate with friends. The next thing we know, huge arguments, cyberbullying is the problem.
We handed a child a dangerous weapon (their own cell phone/camera) and are surprised when they took it into the bedroom to exercise their understanding of Freedom. What did we think? Did we teach them the consequences of what they held in their hands, what would happen when it "exploded", and how they could not take back what they did? Did they really understand what "Freedom" meant?
Parents say, they wish they had a book and a test to prepare them for parenthood. The same should be true for what could be dangerous growing up.
Often letters (that stand for words) are used to communicate ideas when texting, another unfortunate consequence of technology. Instead of understanding each other fully, we mistake what the other person is really trying to tell us, and errors are easily made. Words and full sentences would correct the ideas to help people communicate. Relationships built on short phrases and letters are not able to convey the full meanings of innuendo and depth of what we really say.
I don't know where we went wrong. Communication is so much easier these days. Why then do I feel so isolated, that these words are echoing in a cave empty of thinking minds? I hear whirring machines, and miss the babble of conversation. Would like to lol but IDK its just not funny.
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