This, I Believe

Much of my generation seems to have forgotten the simple, but unfailing values of gratitude and respect. Religion is seen as weak, and obedience as blind. Our selfish and lazy attitudes demand instant rewards others have reaped only after many years of hard work. We are immature, and uninformed. I know these faults are not exclusive to my generation, but we have attacked values at their very foundation and our ability to stand has begun to falter. Crime is on the rise. Divorce is on the rise. Bankruptcy has skyrocketed. And we have forgotten our God. I believe in the significance of the basic but most important constants. While clothing fads come and go, gas prices rise and fall, and new meanings develop over time, some values never lose their worth.

I attend a school with at least thirty-four thousand young adults of my own faith; and although religion tends to dictate one’s value system, my standards have been questioned and compromised here as much as anywhere else. I have been exposed to immoral and degrading media content; I have seen absolute and utter disrespect for one’s elders; and I have been deeply hurt by the uncaring egocentricity of others. Even the general state of our nation’s economy can be directly linked to the selfishness of bankers and the need for instant gratification by the borrowers. Many of our government leaders have been uncovered as corrupted, and all future hope rests on the shoulders of a people who do little more than text message and listen to their ipods.

I believe dedication to values would solve many of our world’s biggest problems. Government bodies and reformists must understand that the professed ‘change’ they hope to cause won’t be solved in a White houses on the hill and can’t be bought with large price tags. Change is of the heart and begins in the home.

A lot of lessons are learned within one’s own family. Parents should teach their kids to pray, say ‘thank you,’ and be patient. Video games are not a good babysitter. And Family hugs are important. We have developed such an unquenchable need for the constant go-and-do, we become too busy for these simple but important value-teaching actions. The value of motherhood is lost in the dollar sign, and our kids are suffering because of it.

I can remember learning how to waltz while standing on my dad’s feet; giggling with my mom while the smell of home-made bread wafted from the oven; and walking across a half acre lawn in a foot of snow to feed the chickens and in the scorching summer heat to weed the garden. I’m not perfect, but I am who I am because of the values my parents taught me while in my youth.
Parents, teach your children. Children, listen to your parents. Values create character, and character is the foundation of a better world. This I believe.