Modeling Disrespect

I would like to think I am not the only one appalled by the lack of respect young people show adults including their parents.  Kids start talking back as soon as they can talk. No correction is made. I am not talking about corporal punishment although I may be in the midst of changing my mind on that as well. I am talking about parents exerting their parental authority.   The kind that says "NO because I'm the Mommy (or Daddy) that's why!"

I've come to think that respect is a foundation of a civilized society. Without it, what remains is a slippery slope to chaos and wide spread aggression.

How many times my friends and I have witnessed rude or disrespectful behavior and we all say the same thing: we wouldn't even THINK of saying that! I think any of you over 60 and reading this blog know exactly what I mean.

A very wise friend of mine pointed out one day what possibly might be a large contributing factor to this decline in respect.   Have you noticed when you watch TV that the children in the TV series are either in charge or at least allowed to talk back, disrespect and generally poke fun at their stupid, bumbling,barely making it parents?

It is the norm now not the exception. What really has me ranting is a recent commercial for V8 juice that depicts a 3-4 year old little blonde girl in a stroller smacking her Mommy on the forehead to illustrate the signature. "Smack! I coulda had a V 8" that has become so familiar to us over the years!  But really? It's okay for a little kid to hit their mother? It makes me sputter!  It's like all the adults have left the building!

I imagine that where ever this writing- for- TV took place when this trend started it must have been a large room with a bunch of perpetual adolescents gathered around throwing out ideas .  Dissing the parents back then probably met with a lot of nervous laughter initially .  Laughter that was mistaken for a sign that it was actually funny. Any adult involved may have decided that TV ratings were worth whatever it took to get that laughter. Then the adult left the room and has yet to return.

So parents,teachers, authority figures of any type are fair game for disrespect, derision

and now even aggression.  I' m not sure how this can be turned around. I think the "radical right" might have this issue on its agenda somewhere but it gets missed by the

craziness of the politics.  I should think schools might be trying to teach respect. I am not sure it's working. If teachers try to exert their authority and demand respect, the parents get involved. Parents complain about the teachers. It seems these parents  don't respect authority either. 

What a mess!