Friday, March 09, 2007

obedience...

When I was little, I use to think that we should do everything the adults say... After all they have been through life and know what's good and bad for us. So it's only logical to be listening and following the instructions of the adults...

But as I grow older, and perhaps due to the education that I've been getting, as well as becoming more understanding of how the world works... I'm not saying I'm an expert, but base on whatever experience I have, I feel that it's not a one way traffic anymore.

No doubt we should still be respectful of the teachings of the elders, because they are saying things and doing things for your own good.

However, one should use their own discretion too.

Adults have their own issues too, they can't be right 100% of the time. As I've seen and heard stories... Even as parents, they can be doing it the wrong way. A very good example would be Jack Neo's movies, I not stupid I and II. Parents often over look the well being of their children, deciding on behalf of their children what's good for them. But they are not them, how can they know explicitly what's appropriate for the child.

I don't know if this is a good analogy, but Parents are like MSN ver. 6, and kids nowadays are like MSN ver. 10... They try to bring up their kids the way they were brought up, but the society is constantly changing.. and with globalisation, westernisation become a blatant feature of the present society. The old method doesn't work as effectively as it once did. Children these days think very differently from children of 1960s...

It doesn't mean that Parents shouldn't discipline their children... and I make that very clear.

For me, I would think that I'm pretty obedient as a child. Perhaps too obedient sometimes, which caused me some regrets when I think about it. But... these are all history. Nevertheless, I still strongly believe that coming from a traditional chinese family, filial piety is a virtue that we should uphold. Parent's words are royal edicts... that should be carried out once passed.

But at the same time, do things with reservations and apply my own discretions. At this age, there are many things that can be reasoned, I suppose... Parents can be more liberal than you think they are. I spoke to an Aussie yesterday, he said that the generations before us, tend to be less susceptible to new ideas. They tend to be more narrowly focused on certain issues that they have set their mind on.

I totally agree with him...

Posted by Piglet at 1:38 PM

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