Why dont young people respect our elderly people?

Question

What happened to respect? I think people dont respect our elderly people because we as Americans has lost control of our children? We stopped teaching our children how to love and how to listen and respect eachother....Our Elders have so much wisdom to give to us if only we would give them our time,love and respect. they are the foundation of this once great country..whom we have taken out our Heavenly Father, and the love of God, and our Elders.....

Answer 1

Well I had to smile at the "Rabbi's" answer. (cute & contains much truth as well) People, regardless of age do not offer respect on any level, young or old. This fact is exceptionally true here in the United States, because our "motto" here is: "What's in it for me?". We will climb over any person to reach the "top", gain the objective, or just get "one rung higher on the perverbial dollar ladder". It has to do with having a "Higher" authority, and here (in the US..especially) there is no One higher than one's self.
In the expression of the day, in our culture: "It's ALL good". And from MANY of your responders you can verify that is the truth about the way they "see" things.
The removal of all "religious" information from our schools, and now from other public forums is inevitable as the downward spiral into the sinfulness & degradation of humanity as a whole, continues.
It MUST be this way as the Scriptures clearly define this type of state towards the "ending of time".
But the issue that keeps ALL Christians in the safety of "Hope" are the Words of our Lord & Savior written in the Book of John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Also remember...
1Jo 4:4 - You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

1Jo 5:4 -for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

Do not "worry" about what the "World" is doing & their lack of respect, keep your eyes on Jesus & Him alone, DO the Works that He Himself has given you to do, while we are here in this worldly mess. Pray for those that you see that NEED Jesus Christ in their lives, do the best you can to help those in need..and God will take care of the rest!
May the Lord bless you in your endevors.

Answer 2

I think you deserve 10 points. It is rare to find a Young person these days who is so caring of the elderly. I have always had respect for the elderly, as I worked with elderly people from a young age and I always remembered that I would be old myself (getting there), and I would hope to be treated well. Keep up the good attitude and have a great year.

Answer 3

You answered your own question really, young people have never been taught to respect the elderly and learn from them.

The west is so youth obsessed, once you get over 40 but especially 50 plus , you're considered useless and out of touch. TV , the media isn't directed towards you, it's all mainly for 12-35 year olds ( mainly male) although the Neilsons will say 12-49. There are no real ' adult' programs on tv any more and I don't mean soft porn. There are no good comedy writers or regular tv writers anymore , most of the stuff on tv isn't funny, isn't insightful, it's crap to put it politely.

Children of today never have to watch tv with their parents and grandparents, they're in the rooms isolated with their ipods , computers and tv .

Having to share television helped us learn about other people rather than just ourselves. We had documentaries and white papers from tv that weren't swayed by corporate policies and corporate owners per se.

Sorry for the rant but I'm a child of the 50s and as I age I realize we boomers may not have been the greatest generation but we are the luckiest generation because for the most part our parents taught us values, discipline and didn't overindulge us so we'd love them more and be their friends. They had their friends , we had our's, but they taught us what love, friendship , respect , dignity and kindness and tolerance was really about.

Answer 4

I feel that I must disagree on this one....its such a big topic, I wouldn't want to generalise. But I have dealings with many young people, through my kids and their friends, and I have to say that I've never experienced any disrespect. I find them quite polite, and friendly towards me and other older people.
The other night, I got onto a crowded bus, and was quite happy to stand, but a young man immediately sprang out of his seat and said, "have a seat, madam", which I found very pleasant.
When my partner and I walk past our local skate-board park, (where you might expect a few unruly types) we've never had a problem, and occasionally a few of the kids will give us a friendly salute as we pass.
I'm sorry if you have had some problems - I guess that a few bad apples can spoil the bunch. I do hope that things improve for you.

Answer 5

I think that young people do show respect. Respect is something that is earned. Kids will always be kids though. Can you honestly say that you have never been behind an older driver and thought "can't you drive any faster"? Many times I have been amazed at the amount of patience that young people have shown toward older folk. Maybe you need to look for the good instead of the bad.

Answer 6

Ya know Aesop asked the same question back in ancient greek time.And it has been asked down thru the ages. Now I have seen a lot of disrepectful kids and young adults myself , but I also have seen more who were respectful. It seems liek there is about 5% who are disrespectful and they seem to stick in our minds more than the 95% who do.I witness kindness/ respect for the elder gen. and a few smart a--'s who don't. And the ones' who are , are like a squeeky wheel and get noticed more

Answer 7

Many kids do respect elders but just don't show it the way we were forced to show it if we felt it or not.
My mom's grand daughter was very disrespectful to her mom, grandma and aunt. She called her aunt by her first name in front of her mother while being told not to, then laughed. She sang Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer time after time to her grandma. That doesn't mean she didn't respect them it just meant she liked irrigating her mom. Now she is 35 and her son is 11 and for her grandma's 79th birthday her son then 9 baked her a cake shaped like a pumpkin, his friend said to give it a scary face and he refused saying "She is going to be 79 you know" He wouldn't want a cake to scare his great grandma to death and never does disrespectful things like his mother did at his age.

Answer 8

I do not agree seniors are out of touch. I attend college, have a smartphone
groove to tunes but I do have interest in all ages and feel that people want to
feel important. That happens by showing interest in who people are as individuals and supporting heir dreams, ambitions and encouraging their
pursuits. Teaching how to keep going when the trail gets tough has to be
encouraged. Perseverance, and tons of interest for all is so important along
with respect and the willing to listen to all ages.

I have learned that the most important skill is LISTEN and really LISTEN. All
people have the right to be heard. Then you share ideas and agree where you
can and agree to disagree and accept each others ideas.
All ages can learn from each other.
Final point ; No age group has the "cap" on knowledge We can learn from
each other and respect each others status in life. I learn much from the
younger generation and can appreciatie their opinions. I do not have to agree
with everything but I am so happy many young people like to listen to my opinions because I can integrate their communication ideas and opinions and they allow me to respond I love all generations Very Inspiring
But we have people who will never want to grow as people and respect each
other. Some times seniors are jjust as disrespectful as the youth.
My opinion

Answer 9

Teenagers have to respect themselves first to be able to learn how to respect others; the elders are the backbone of our society and their wisdom often is not appreciated.
The more materialistic our society becomes the less people respect each other because the Media and advertising don't let us have time for ourselves and we neglect everything and everyone.
This is far from being a perfect society; materialism and morality are definitely not compatible.

Answer 10

You have answered your own question. I do understand what you are saying, there are a lot of younger folks out there that don't have respect. Most of that has come from the fact that they were not taught respect at home.

I always have said treat other folks the way you want to be treated.