By Deanna Othman

 

In this digital age, where most of the interaction we have on a daily basis is with a screen of some sort, it is rare that something as commonplace, and even as irritating, as an email forward, could be the source of thought-provoking material. However, sometimes it takes a trivial occurrence to remind us of things we often do, but shouldn’t forget.

 

Recently, I came across a forward that related the story of two middle-aged brothers. These two men were confronted with an arduous, but not uncommon, situation—caring for an ailing parent. If one were to think about our contemporary culture, where stories of parents sent to die in nursing homes, or even worse, parents neglected and abused while in the so-called care of a child, the outcome of such a story might be expected to be somewhat appalling.

 

However, this story was shocking for another reason. It related the court case of the two brothers over their mother. The brothers did not battle over who would be forced to take in the frail old woman, nor did they quarrel over who would bear the financial burden of supporting a sickly person in need of medical attention. Rather, these two men fought over who would be granted the honor to care for a needy parent. The men did not seek to run away from their duty toward their parent, and their Lord, or try to desert their mother in her time of need. Instead, they each equally hoped for the privilege of nursing their mother back to health, although they recognized that even by doing so, they could never repay her for all that she devoted to them throughout their lives.

 

We all know that the veracity of email forwards often remains questionable; however, whether or not this story is authentic remains beside the point. The lesson imparted by this anecdote reminds us that our parents deserve our time, affection and obedience. Respect for parents, and elders in general, seems to decrease with every generation. We are all guilty of this transgression, at one point or another. However, it is important to emphasize this value in our youth, as many children seem to believe they are entitled to behave and operate as equals with adults. Teenagers don’t seem to grasp the concept that their parents, aunts, uncles, teachers, etc. deserve a certain level of respect just because they are older than them. Their philosophy seems to run something like this: if you can argue your way in a conversation, and hold your own, you should be treated as nothing less than an equal. Adults don’t automatically deserve your respect. They need to earn it. You know what they say, age is just a number.

 

My experience as a teacher has proven to me that it is a very difficult task to explain to a teenager why it is wrong to behave this way. It is a value that must be instilled in a child by their parents, beginning at a very early age. If we do not embody the ideals we hope to pass on to our children—respecting elders, caring for parents, speaking appropriately with others—then we can be sure they will acquire their values elsewhere. Though it took an email forward to bring such a fundamental topic to my attention, not all forwards contain such inspirational bits of wisdom.