Listen to and Respect your Parents, but….

When we are children, of course we are going to listen to our parents, because if we don’t, there will be consequences to pay, and we trust our parents to lead us in the right direction and teach us well. Children of course should also always show respect to their parents, even if they disagree with what is being told to them or asked of them. Once a child becomes an adult, they will begin to use their own senses of what to make of all of the things that was taught to them, whether that teaching has to do with religion, relationships, or just life lessons taught and learned along the way. Adult children will at times challenge the lessons and teachings of their parents, and even at times teach their parents things that are new in society that they themselves have learned when their parents had not. Sometimes I have to ask my children for advice on how to navigate a new cell phone, or maybe some software on a new computer. As generations pass, so too does past knowledge and new knowledge comes into light. Many customs and traditions can sometime be altered or improved upon, or certain thought and certain teaching will not be looked at the same way as it was with the parents. Somethings maybe be an improvement, while other changes may not. If you look at for instance religion. New generations have a lot more access to different ways of thought, or more access to the knowledge of material, compared to other generations where the source of the information was very limited, and simply passed down from family. The children who are now adults can decide if music is evil and should be done away with, or if gay people are sinners and should be condemned. They can decide if women need to be subservient to their husbands and not have the same rights as a man, or that a women cannot wear the clothing that she wants to wear or express herself the way she feels she has the right to. Adults can decide if they should be able to vote for who they want to and also have the ability to criticize their political leaders without fear of prosecution. Adults can decide to live peacefully around different people then themselves and that they can respect and tolerate people of different races and religions. The children of parents who are now adults, can still listen to, respect, and love their parents, while still having the ability to become an adult and see the world in a different way if they choose to. Our parents will definitely teach us while we are young, but sometimes, we need to teach our parents when we are now adults.

It is our turn to shine and be our own person, while still loving and respecting our parents, who taught us how to be us!