Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Parents. They are the ones who gave us life. They are the ones who raised us. They are the ones who guided us as we were being developed intellectually and emotionally. Who dares disagree? We, children, are the products of procreation between our parents. However, that does not in anyway prove that parents know best. We may be the immediate descendants of our parents, but that does not show that parents know what we want in life. Respect will be given when respect is due. I am not saying that we should not form any sort of rebellion against our parents, but what happens in the instance whereby a child is in fact more intellectual than the parent? What happens when a child truly is a aware of what he or she is dong? Simply because parents have spent more time in this world than us, does that really show that their actions are ultimately the most beneficial for us.
Many of us have the mental stereotype of the fact that parents are at least twenty years our senior and therefore whatever they say is right. This is where i disagree. What parents say are merely what they think is morally correct. However, at the end of the day, everything comes down to each and everyone of us being an individual, with our own set of morals, in many occasions, a set that has been influenced by our parents. Where is the individuality in us when are just following what our parents instruct? Where is the sense of originality in us when we are simply imitating our parents? It is said that those who outstand are the one that progress. With the current mindset of the fact that all parents know best, what progress will each individual make in society?
Do you communicate well with your parents? Well, at least five out of every ten children in Singapore do not. I believe that communicating with your parents is not an issue of whether or not you have the time, but whether or not you are willing to do it. I am sure that we all spend at least an hour everyday with our parents be it at the dining table or in the car, but honestly, is there interaction going on at these times? Most of us dare not or are unwilling to approach our parents for advice. Why is this so? Possibilities are that our parents may get suspicious of us sprouting a very random question out of no where, or perhaps we are guilty conscious of having done something without seeking our parents' advice beforehand. As a result, many of us fail to see the fact that what has been done has been done, and that we cannot turn back upon it but instead we should use it as a learning point. Yes! I know, the sentence i just used sounds awkwardly familiar, almost as if someone of the previous generation used it once. It is a condolence that every parent would want to use on their child when he or she has made a mistake, but how are they supposed to offer any form of encouragement when we do not even approach our parents to plead guilty?
In actual fact, every parent cares for his or her child and would definitely want the child to strive for the best. However, it so happens that sometimes when decisions are made, by our parents in particular, the right decisions may not be favourable to all, but the popular decisions may also seem to be going against our moral values. So, towards such problems, is there a solution that will benefit everyone?
-Darryl Ong
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