What kind of culture is this? - II
| Date :31-May-2020 |
IT WAS terribly long ago that parents, elders and teachers would tell youngsters the virtue of discipline in every thing -- getting up, going to bed, bathing, dressing, physical exercise, entertainment, studying, meeting friends, spending time with peers, reading good books, achieving good handwriting, achieving other good habits ...! And the general experience was that youngsters would listen to those words and make their lives meaningful. One does not know now whether the elders do not tell all those good things to their wards, or the youngsters just don’t bother to listen to the elders’ good words. Those details apart, what is seen mostly in the larger society is that the youngsters seem to live as if they have not heard the word ‘discipline’ ever.
There certainly are exceptions to this, but those are terribly small in numbers. As a rule, which the exceptions prove, most youngsters are content with behaving in an indisciplined manner, so much so that many of them do not even bathe every day and make a mess of their personal hygiene. The current coronavirus pandemic might have made a positive impact on some youngsters all right. But there also are youngsters in massive numbers, having developed a strong immunity to good word. They are irritable. They are willing to argue with elders senselessly.
They are willing to waste a lot of money for no justifiable reason ...! This is a painful aspect of the young generation today! That makes one wonder if the elders have given up on their young ones! Or, in other words, the youngsters just don’t get bothered about the good word from their elders! This is not a standard wail, however, as if coming from an ever-complaining elder. Much to the contrary, this is a grief of someone who has seen a lot of youngsters conducting themselves with a tremendous sense of responsibility and restraint and discipline. They make the difference.
They crack not just the top examinations like UPSC but also crack riddles and mysteries that life often presents. They get into various domains and make a mark for themselves. So, one does not wish to whine all the time about how youngsters waste their youth. But one also does not wish to forget what Oscar Wilde said famously about the young people - Youth is wasted on the young. This is a scathing comment suggesting that the young people do not know their power and therefore waste their youth in stupid, senseless things.
This is the grief one wants to express and share with others. Thus, this is in an altogether different category -- stemming from an innate wish to help the young people not to waste their youth, and eventually prove Oscar Wilde wrong. But that is exactly the thing that does not happen in good measure, giving us an impression that we are harbouring a wrong kind of culture in our homes and families.