The family system in our society is deteriorating; siblings do not see eye to eye with each other, they do not agree with their parents on family matters, and they do not respect their parents who spent their entire lives working to raise their kids and provide them with better lives. The irony is that youngsters often feel that they are more intellectual than the elders of the family and seem to decide family matters independently as they believe the elders do not know how to deal with matters effectively in the modern world. This leads to ungratefulness as well as petty quarrels and disastrous decisions.
The question is: how can this situation be handled? How can young people become obedient to their elders, appreciate their values and learn from their experiences? There is no alternate of experience. One can learn something from an aged and illiterate person who has lived his entire life in a village provided that one should be a good listener.
Teachers, motivational speakers as well as clerics should play their parts and pay more attention to address this issue through their advice so that youngsters may comprehend that they have to be obedient to their elders and abide by their decisions, but that they can and should offer their own advice as well. They should never neglect the elders of their family in trying to enforce a decision. The more you remain obedient to elders, the more you become successful — but on the other hand, elders should also take youngsters of the family on board and seek their advice as well, so they do not feel neglected.
Faisal Ansar
Karachi
