What an insightful article by Brother Kenneth Hoagland.
As one who grew up during the ’60s, I was strongly influenced by the words and actions of my parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles.
I was taught to respect others, appreciate what you have and let your actions speak for themselves.
While no one can say that all families act like those referenced in Hoagland’s letter, all you have to do is to witness the behavior of some families in restaurants, movie theaters and especially at sporting events to realize that the following are pretty prevalent today:
– Having an entitlement attitude.
– Wanting to be noticed.
– Rewarding just the participation versus actual accomplishments.
– Showing little respect for others.
While we certainly seem to be a society that is more affluent than when we grew up in the ’60s, it also appears that we’ve lost some of the basic values that helped make us who we are.
Let’ hope that we can learn to put our personal agendas aside, begin to take responsibility for our actions versus blaming and suing others for our poor decisions, and recall the lessons that we learned from the Greatest Generation.
In the long run, our children will become better prepared for the obstacles that life throws their way.
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