Despite what my television tells me night after night, I believe that there is a ton of beauty in the world. It’s not buried under a rock or hidden deep in a cave, its right in front of our very eyes – if we’d only take the time out to see and appreciate it. And yet there is also a need for much improvement in our society. At times it would almost appear that we as a species are going backwards rather than making progress. I took a vacation recently and learned one of the most important lessons of my life. This is a true story…partially.
I was listening to my ‘inner Drew’ advising me that it was time for a break. “You have been burning the candle at both ends and you need to get some ‘R&R’” he said to me. “Now we can do this one of two ways: we can get in the car and hit the highway for a few days or we can get a nice cozy room in the hospital’s ‘stressed out’ wing.” I opted for the drive. Almost immediately I felt relief wash over me. After several hours on the road I found myself driving thru a small town named Cityville. It looked decent enough to me so I decided to pull over and grab a bite to eat. I located a diner, and went inside to enjoy a meal. Though the food was unremarkable, the atmosphere in this place was full of flavor. It was utter chaos. Children were in the next booth dialoguing in a form of language historically reserved for sailors. Two women were in another booth arguing loudly about which of them had become impregnated by a gentleman named Chucky; who sat between them with a proud expression on his face. Further down the aisle, a parent was barking out a stream of directions and expletives in the direction of two young children who were either hearing impaired or just didn’t care. As I watched these children run amok in the diner; ignoring their mother’s half-hearted attempts to control them, one of the kids bumped into an elderly man who was slowly making his way to the door with the use of a walking stick. The older guy fell to the ground and dropped his packages. I jumped up to assist him and was completely floored to see that everything proceeded as if nothing even happened. Conversations continued, the children kept running and the mother continued half-ignoring them.
I paid my bill and left that diner feeling very discouraged. That is until I got to my car and noticed that my window had been shattered and my car stereo had been impolitely removed. Now my disappointment turned to outrage. I stood looking at the crowd of people who lined the Main Street sidewalk where my car was parked. Their faces held every shade and variation of the same expression: “I didn’t see anything.”
I left that town in a very unattractive state of mind. As I hit the highway, the unfolding ribbon of asphalt coaxed me into a contemplative mindset. ‘What is wrong with people today?’ The question repeated in my head over and over again and then faded into a long and peaceful silence which I relished for several minutes and many miles. Then it came to me: Education is the key! How can we expect our next generations to behave accordingly when they haven’t been properly educated in the areas of parenting and social skills? How can we be expected to teach them if we ourselves haven’t been formally educated?
I thought about my own upbringing and could quickly recall learning that a certain little boy chopped down a cherry tree and did not lie and that the capital of Washington State was Spokane (I think) but I could not remember anyone teaching me the importance of respecting my elders and the great wisdom that they possess. I can’t remember which class instructed me in the fine art of treating others in the manner that I would prefer for myself. Was it my science class that demonstrated the correct technique of parenting that would increase the odds of a well adjusted child and a society with a stable future? Surely it was P.E. class that taught me the importance of voting and participating in the process of government? Or maybe it was ‘Home-Ec’? Or maybe it was my television. Maybe this is the case with far too many people in today’s society. Has the big screen become a surrogate parent to our nation’s children? Are music videos and radio teaching our children about sex, love and respect (or lack of) for the opposite sex? Are Hollywood blockbusters and the WWE teaching our little boys how to be men; molding impressionable minds into the belief system that clearly states that ‘might equals right’?
Up against forces like these, does the future of our society even stand a chance?
The most important battle ever fought rages on and the stakes are our children and our future. There is no draft for this war but we need more soldiers to join the fray. Count me in… when I get home I’m throwing my television out the window and reading my kids a book.
DrewPillow.com 