Where's the respect in American society? General people to people respect ended in society some time ago. When did it cease? I'm not really sure. But it starts with children, and overall there's a lack of discipline. Parents want to be their child's friend so badly, earnestly await their child's praise, their child's respect. My history teacher said, "As a child, I feared having my teachers call home. My parents would discipline me. Now, as a teacher, I fear calling a child's home because I'm afraid I'll get sued." Isn't that the story? Not my child's fault.
I am 17 years old and I listen to people in my classes laugh about how they drink and smoke and have sex with their friends and boy/girlfriends in people's garages, basements, basically anywhere. And they giggle about how naive their parents are. I am shocked. My parents would know if I were drinking, smoking etc. almost immediately. And there would be discipline. I would be grounded until I was 30--no joke.
So how did it get like this? Why is it parents are so blind to their child's faults--and in the process raising a disrespectul, petulant child? I think it has to do with popular parenting styles and the fact parents feel guilty about working while their child spends hours alone. In Europe, parents work too and there are probably children as disrespectful as America's, but the majority aren't. In Europe, especially France and Germany, unruly children aren't tolerated. Children under 9 aren't allowed into restaurants because adults would like to dine in peace. Children are treated like adults and expectations are set high. I think they've got the right idea.
I think to correct the problem of disrespect in the U.S., parents can no longer play their child's best friend, but rather their parent. It certainly won't correct everything, and we'll be a long way from Europe's society, but I think it would solve one of soceity's huge problem: disrespect.
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