Respect or Lack of it in the News

Respect or Lack of it in the News

     What do you think of when you see or hear the word respect?  I have been thinking about that word.  Some of you old folks are humming to yourself like I am doing right now, the song by Aretha Franklin.  Some may be thinking about the sign in Arlington Cemetery that reads Silence and Respect and what that sign really means.  Maybe you are thinking of the lack of respect that you are hearing on the nightly news.  One such story is of a 30 year old making an obscene gesture beside the silence and respect sign at Tomb of the Unknowns and then posting the picture on her Facebook.  She now regrets posting it because she may have lost her job over this.  It was just a joke she later replied.  Her father was appalled when he first saw the picture.   A lot of the news stories can be related to respect and those having a lack of respect.

      You hear of those to do not respect life, so they just behead an American, those who loot and riot, and kill so called brothers, teen attacking an autistic boy and video recording it, man knocking down a 92 year old woman and dragging her while trying to get her purse, until witnesses intervened.  Then there is the recent story of a man who lured his father to a remote campsite and shoots and killed him along with a man sleeping in his vehicle, or the man who kidnapped and sexually abused the two Amish girls.   I could go on and on about the lack of respect for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  No respect for elders, parents, those who are different, or those in authority.   Am I the only one who has threatened to stop watching the news?  I keep saying that, but I can’t follow through.   One thing positive thing about listening to the news is one cannot help but call on the Lord through prayer for protection and guidance for family, friends, and our nation as we wait for His return. 

     I do enjoy the hearing of the respect stories that some people complain that this is not news.  You know those fluff/feel good stories.  That is one reason that I listen to Diane Sawyer on the evening news because she will end her show with the person of the week story; such as the story of the young caregiver that races from school every day to care for his grandmother, or the cheerleaders who welcome special needs to the squad.  Then the feel good stories on Facebook, yes I love the animal stories and the ones where someone such as a trucker who stops to rescue a woman and young child from a burning crash.  Then there are the stories of those doing their jobs to protect us and our freedoms, save our lives and property from fires or raging floods or those who volunteer to help those in need.  That is respect for elders, disabled, respect for life and property of others.  A lot of these feel good stories never make the news and they do not need to.  They are the personal stories of life.

      The teacher/para of special needs students/adults who are just doing her/ his job, but comes home exhausted and wipeout out due to the stress of encouraging those to be independent, gain social skills in order to get and keep a job, along with the academic skills needed to graduate and survive in the real world. (To the past teachers and paras that I have worked with.) The parents who are homeschooling their children and my precious grandchildren and the work and stress they go through daily. It would be so easy to send them off to school and let that paid teacher teach them about respect for elders, those with disabilities or a different race, respect for life and property of theirs and others.  (Julie I know it is a hard but very rewarding job.)  There are those who are dealing with various lawsuits fighting for the rights of those living in NE and Omaha.  (You know who you are.)  There are those who are overworked, stressed, but love the job of working with children, teens, and adults, who have been placed in their care by the courts and higher up to teach them about respect for themselves, others, and life, along with many other lacking life skills.  (Yes, Angie I am talking about you.)

     I was just talking with Angie about the change of students in her care.  She mentioned that the current teens are coming in with no respect for authority.  She is having a hard time finding those who want to work with these teens that are at risk, not just in Washington DC but in Omaha also.  This got me thinking about the change in students that I have seen over the years.  Why do we have such a lack of respect for those in authority today than in the past?  Please send me your feelings about this.

      I have my thoughts, which I will share.  Could it be the lack of respect for oneself?  Young adults and adults giving away sex without waiting for marriage and love.  Could it be the lack of parenting these days?  Sons growing up without a father figure to teach them about how to respect a woman.  I am back to humming that old Respect song.  Are young ones growing up without knowing God’s word about respecting the value of a life?  Has abortion taught the country not to respect life?  There are those who will damage property for something “fun” to do, are they that spoiled?  Are the schools not doing their job of teaching about the skills needed to get along in this world.  I was just talking to a 1^st grade teacher as she was waiting in line at a Pizza Ranch where I was a volunteer greeter. ( No I was not getting practice for getting a job at WalMart, it would be too hard to read customers  receipts.  I would need the store to switch to 18 + font size, and that is not going to happen.) The lady in line told me education has really changed, she is so busy teaching the skills needed to pass the tests.   The  students have no time to play and learn together like they did in the past.  No time to learn to share and the other social skills needed to become “mature responsible adults.”  I used to tell my students that all the time.  I even caught myself telling that to my grandchild and receiving back that look of what are you talking about grandma, I am only three.  Teachers feel it is the parent’s job to teach these skills and the parents think the teacher is doing that.  That is what I call the gap theory of education.   
    Why is there a lack of authority in the country regarding those who are placed in authority by a badge?  I have to remember the old Berenstain bear story that I used to read to Jocelyn and Katelyn.  They loved the bear stories because they were fairly long and they had been their mother and Angie’s books.  There was one about Stranger Danger or something like that.  Mama bear told her little ones that strangers were something like apples, they may look like a good apple but you can’t tell the good from the bad unless you cut it open.  There are those who wear the badge that are the good apples, but then there will always be the bad apples in the batch.  The Bible calls it our sin nature that we are born with.  Yes, we are all sinners whether we admit it or not. We hear about the bad apples, so it is human nature to not trust the good ones because we can’t tell the good from the bad.  We don’t hear about the good ones due to the bad ones or so called bad ones making the news. 

       We need to realize this happens in all walks of life.  We hear about the bad apple teacher who comes to work drunk and pant less, or those who make the news for their sexual behavior, physicians taking pictures of little ones, government workers stealing from the taxpayers, and those collecting disability who are faking it to collect the benefits, or those on food stamps that can still afford to buy their smokes or fast food, along with hard liquor or pop. One hears stories of priests and church goers that make the news, by breaking the trust of the job; along with those refusing to attend church because of the hypocrites in attendance.  Again I can go on and on, but the point I am trying to make is that, we can’t lump all these together.  We want to hope and pray that the good apples outnumber the bad apples.    

      We need to be on our guard and trust our instincts when dealing with a bad apple, but not be fearful/lack of respect for those in authority.  Not all of us have this skill mastered.  I sure don’t and Angie my daughter reminds me at times, since she has great instincts about people.  She did work as a correctional officer when she was younger plus worked at Long Johns Silver.  I have always felt that working in fast food as a teen gets one ready for life. 

     I feel that what gets in the way of this respect for authority is that those in authority demand the respect without earning it.  I know this will cause some disagreement, so I hope I can explain what I mean.  When teaching I needed to show my students and coworkers respect if I expected that back from them.  I needed to talk with them with respect even in disagreements.  That involves patience and prayer.  I always started my school day off with prayer.  No. I did not force prayer on my students.  It was private prayer for them, staff, and myself plus along with safety for the day.  In the workplace, no matter where you work you need to have respect for those in authority such as your boss.  I had one student that told me that he was going to quit his job at a grocery store because they did not respect him.  I told him that he was not getting paid to be respected, but to work, and do not quit until he had another job.  It does make for a peaceful work environment if there is respect for others.  If not it is a workplace full of gossip and disrespect with no teamwork. 

     Back to the news, those in authority need to be responsible for their behavior.   That is why we have consequences and so called laws.  People in general need be responsible for their behaviors.  If you riot and steal then you should pay jail time.  If you take a life then your life may be taken or life in prison.  If you don’t follow the rules of your employment then you no longer have a job. 

      I need to stop rambling on because I need to watch the evening news.  Please give me your thoughts on respect and authority.