Dear Reader,
I often long for the simplicity of my childhood. That was in the time before computers and smartphones. We only had our first TV when I was in high school. And I still remember using a telephone with a rotary dial.
I remember when the family came to visit. We used to play outside for hours, riding our bicycles, playing games like catch and hide-and-seek. And we spend many happy hours in our swimming pool. We were always disappointed when our games were interrupted by nighttime arriving, and we had to go back inside.
As children, we have been taught to respect our elders and many other values like honesty and punctuality. You can find more values on this list of James Clear.
This is what I find the hardest of the times we are living in now. The absolute lack of values!
What I notice the most is the lack of respect. Kids have no respect for their parents and elders. The way people drive – every-dog-for-himself style on the roads, leading to many unnecessary deaths. Always trying to be first, never giving anyone else a gap if they are trying to change lanes. And swearing and showing other drivers the finger for any real or imagined trespasses on their side.
How often when you go out do you see this – people busy on their cell phones all the time. They go and eat somewhere – and everybody is on their cell phones – that is a lack of respect for your partner, friend, children – or whoever is sharing your table!
It seems as if people are chatting with each other more on WhatsApp and social media, than communicating face to face! This leads to shallow and meaningless relationships. It is easy to pretend and make yourself look better on social media – which means people never get to know each other!
I often see this lack of respect on social media. For example, go on Facebook and read the comments on some posts, especially when it is news related. People will come out with the most ugly and mean remarks, verbally attacking each other, and not allowing anybody else the right to express his opinion or viewpoint. Sure, we have the right to disagree, and the right to our own point of view, but so does others. So, if they disagree with you, it is also their good right. You can still express your viewpoint – and respect others by not attacking them personally – because you feel you are “anonymous” on social media. If you are not prepared to say something face-to-face to a person, you shouldn’t do it on social media either.
You also disrespect others by not being on time. It seems as if punctuality is now deemed to be old fashioned. If people are late for an appointment or meeting, it tells me they think their time are more important than yours. I do understand things are sometimes out of your control – like traffic, load-shedding and family emergencies – but show respect by letting people know you will be late or won’t be able to make it. With everybody having smartphones and access to instant messages like WhatsApp, no-one has any excuses for not doing so!
Another value I sorely miss, is honesty and integrity. I believe the leaders of a country should be role-models to the citizens of that country. But what example do you get if it OK for a president to have a criminal record? And most of the government institutions like Eskom, SAA and the Post Office is bankrupt due to corruption? And then they want to nationalize the Reserve Bank?
Is it then a wonder that a lot of people are not living out these values in their everyday lives anymore?
We need to get our values back, as it is the glue that keep society strong and enables all citizens to life a peaceful and meaningful life. Standing together and helping each other, as opposed to the constant fighting, and bickering about meaningless issues.
I believe values will never be old-fashioned or become outdated. Do you still believe and live out your values? Do you teach them to your kids? Please leave a comment or share this post.
Thanks for reading,
Susan
Life Letters 