Happiness is an emotion that we all strive to feel. Those of us who don't feel it- and struggle to feel anything OTHER THAN PAIN- are in a constant battle with themselves and those that love them. That is why it is so easy for us to take the psychological abuse from those that claim to love us but, sadly, are in constant pain themselves. Given last month's gay teen suicides as a result of peer bullying, our society was faced with an issue that is embedded into our society from the day we are born: What is the meaning of love? Americans fall in and out of love at the drop of a hat. Our celebrities - who let's face it, are our role models whether we wish to admit it or not - throw extravagant weddings that could pay for a child's education in a third world county only to go through a nasty divorce costing them double the money. This is America and we have the right to spend our money on a ceremony that will be despised and regretted a few years down the road when Farve decides he's bored and wants to send dirty pictures of his genitals to a woman other than his wife and mother to his children. Are these Americans happy with themselves? Do they really love others or are they knee deep in hatred for their own lives and insecurities?
It has come to my attention that the issue is not only with the public figures we see in the papers and television. The issue of the lack of love in our society is the result of a lack of love and respect from our parents. Yes. I just called out all you pathetic parents. Just don’t get offended so quickly. I am a mother too. And I am sad to call out myself as well. As parents, we have the most tedious task of raising another human being into a good human being. But, sometimes, we strive so hard to do the opposite of what our parents did for us that we fuck up our kids even worse! The only thing we can do for ourselves as parents is love ourselves first. You cannot love another person if you do not love yourself first. And if you don’t love yourself then bite your tongue. We need to stop spewing judgment and start fostering care. Instead of verbally disapproving of your child’s decisions, try listening to your child’s words. Take the time to listen to their thoughts, their feelings, their opinions, their fears, their likes and dislikes. Take the time to find out who your child really is and you’ll slowly realize that your child is a wonderful person who reminds you a lot of yourself when you were their age. As children, their minds are not fully developed yet. In fact, the decision portion of our brains does not fully develop until we are well into our twenties. I am sure that if we fostered love and respect in our households , that our children will go out into the world and love and respect others the way America is supposed to be.
