Thankless Children |
Contempt, Not
Respect
Our
religion demands that we honor our parents regardless of their age.
They have raised their children through “thick and thin,” loved them,
protected them, kept them away from dangerous circumstances and hateful,
prejudiced people, and made them proud of their religion, their “Jewishness”
and all of their healthy beliefs, traditions, and actions.
We tell the younger generation to respect the old, to be proud of them,
and to show them the love and attention that they rightfully deserve.
These religious Jewish parents have done without
to help their children with every possible opportunity, often sacrificing to
give to their young ones to help them to succeed. When
the children have achieved their wishes, have become the “bosses,” the
doctors, lawyers, or successful businessmen, they often forget their
hardworking, loving parents who have done without. They are forgotten and are
often ridiculed by those whom they have protected, loved, and helped to become
the “successful” people that they are. Their
children may make fun of them and correct them at every turn, while forgetting
all that their parents have given and done for them. Such
children do not care how intelligent and learned their parents are and how much
they have accomplished in their lives and how much they have happily done to
enable their children to be successful. Remember
that you too will be old, and hopefully respected and loved by the younger
generation, especially by your children! Lehitraot. Dr. Ursula A. Falk is a psychotherapist in private practice and the author of several books and articles, including The American Drug Culture (with Dr. Thomas S. Weinberg & Dr. Gerhard Falk, 2018). |