Remembering our World

Remembering our World

As parents we often have that same old conversation of how the world is so different than when we grew up. We remember what the world looked like as children and then talk about what the world looks like to our children. My husband and I just had this conversation this morning and here is what we talked about.

When we were children it didn’t matter how messed up your family was there was still a sense of family pride. We always got together, even if it was just to see who was going to be the first to get drunk and act stupid. When there was someone in need the whole family rallied, even if they bitched and complained about it, they always stepped up to the plate and bailed each other out. Mothers and daughters would spend hours talking on the phone, just to stay part of each other’s lives and Fathers and sons got together to go fishing or hunting, just to continue family traditions. Brothers and sisters had each other’s backs, even if they were fighting among themselves, besides family could say whatever they wanted to each other but don’t you dare say something if you’re not family. Kids always respected their parents, even when their parents were acting like jackasses. You always knew they deserved a certain amount of respect just for putting up with us acting like jackasses.

In today’s world it seems like the only family gatherings that exist are when there is a death in the family of when someone gets married. Special occasions such as Christmas or birthdays can get families together but what happened to a good old fashion barbeque just because. I find more and more people saying “ I don’t want to hear about your problems because it puts too much stress on us” and “ you got yourself into this mess you get yourself out of it”. Mothers and daughters rarely talk anymore and most of the time it’s not a good old fashion phone call but a text message or an e-mail. Fathers and sons have forgotten about tradition and spend more time disagreeing about who is right or who is wrong. Brothers and sisters move on with their lives and seclude each other and than when they do try to talk nobody knows what to say. They let all the little differences and arguments from the past separate them, and their families never get to know each other. Cousins don’t hang out any more and half the time doesn’t know each other. Children have very little respect for their parents. They often have an attitude that because parents make mistakes that gives them the right to hold it against them for as long as they want. Respect has a new meaning these days more often than not people say it but never show it.

The world we grew up in was full of neighbors helping neighbors and strangers helping strangers. A man’s word meant something and if someone did you wrong you chalked it up to lesson learned. You didn’t stop living because life happened; you worked even harder than before to make it right. People in general were eager to lend a helping hand and grateful when someone leant it back. We were thankful for what we had and were happy for those who had more.

Today neighbors usually don’t know one another and helping a stranger is out of the question. The trust we once had is gone. Instead of a man’s word we have to get contracts and lawyers and have credit checks and background checks. If someone does us wrong we take them to court or stop doing business with them. People will still lend a helping hand if there is something in it for them. People have forgotten what it means to just be thankful and just appreciate the good in their lives. They often focus more on what’s not right.

Remember when you would turn on the television and watch a good old fashion sitcom with the family. Now days we turn on the television to a reality TV show, mostly focused on how drunk you can get or how many people you can sleep with.

I also remember having dinner with the family and catching up on the day’s latest gossip. Now when we sit down at the dinner table, which isn’t very often, we spend the whole time replying to texts or e-mails that just can’t wait. Usually they look like this: Hey, What’s up?, What are you doing?, or Guess What?, . Yea dinners have changed.

I know I’m speaking in general, not everybody has lost touch with reality, but sometimes it feels like it.

There’s much more I could say but I’m done for now.