What ails our society isn’t a political issue, it’s an issue of a broken moral compass. Or yet, one that is not being crafted fully from the very early years. This falls on all of us — not just parents. Every adult plays a role in shaping our tomorrows, much like we are all reaping in this country, right now, what we’ve sown for more than decades.
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The most broken among us are wielding weapons and shooting people as a demonstration of their outrage. It’s happening weekly, sometimes daily. How have we created these monsters; raging at the world about their own pain or misguided perspectives? Perhaps it is more about what we have failed to do.
What ails our society is that we have replaced our natural inclination to be empathetic, with the drive to have personal notoriety or success. We care more about being noticed, being special, and being our own entitled selves than we do about the simple things that teach empathy. To even begin to rectify this, we need to get back to kindergarten, or even earlier.
How Can We Have a Better Society? It Begins Early.
In the early, formative years, we can instill empathy and respect in our children, both for others and for the environment. If we were to work harder to reward these core principles that build a more peaceful and functional society, address mental health issues as we would any other illness, and teach respect, then we have fought half the battle already. It begins with three core principles:
- Respecting oneself and others
- Careful and healthy management of our emotions
- Respect and care for the environment which we all share and live in
Let me be clear: People that have a deep understanding and committed application of these core principles in their lives do not go around destroying things or destroying other people. They don’t take a gun to a public place and mow down dozens of their fellow citizens — nor would they even want to. They understand the value of life, not just their own, but of all things.
Teach Children to Respect themselves and Others By Demonstrating It
Research shows that babies can show empathy as young as 6 months of age, meaning that if we are living in a society lacking in empathy, we are programming this out of our children. We can do better.
Value Kindness and Demonstrate it to Our Children
From very early on we tell our children that their performance matters to us. We reward learning, progress, accomplishment. True empathy often goes unrewarded. We thwart “overly emotional” responses to anything and replace those natural instincts with a drive to succeed.
Society could not function properly without empathy, kindness, charity. Every major religion addresses compassion as a core principle, offering verse and guidance. Laws prevent violent acts toward one another. Volunteerism and charitable organizations press us toward charitable acts for one another and for society. But teaching compassion begins with our children, right in our home. What we value, we teach, even if it is merely by example.
Want to raise children to become productive and useful members of society? Teach them the value of human emotion; when well placed makes our world spin a little more smoothly.
Thanks for reading today and I wish you all the best in your life. While I may not have all the answers, I try to put kindness and hope out into the world as much as possible. I like to think that every little bit helps.
For further reading:
The Real Deal on Gaslighting
It’s Not Your Job to Fix Broken People
5 Signs Your Relationship is Fizzling Out
5 Reasons Why You Are Taking the Blame