Growing up I was brought up to respect my elders. Were you? I am curious about this because today I witnessed something between two people, one younger, one older, that disturbed me immensely. So much so, that I thought that I would write a blog about this issue.
I learned through my life that there is a certain wisdom that a person achieves as one grows older. As a matter of fact I wrote about this in my blog “The Buffalo Side of Double Nickels.” Knowledge comes with age. However, not everyone gets it.
When I was growing up I thought that I knew it all. My parents were wrong about everything. But as I added on the years, while I was not always given a reason why to do or not to do something by my parents or other elders, I began to discover the way of things in the world. I learned and I learned a lot of lessons the hard way. And I learned a lot from folks older than me, which reinforced why I should respect my elders.
One thing that I have learned living the buffalo side of double nickels, is that one does not denigrate anyone in anyway in front of other people. Doing so just makes you a bully. And we have all read plenty in the news recently about bullying. I learned that if you have something to say to someone, and you are not in agreement, or what you have to say is negative, you do this face to face and not in front of others. Doing so will make you appear to be the small person that you really are.
One thing that I do know is this: Listen to what someone older than you says to you. And, think about why they are saying to you what they are saying to you. Are they trying to help you grow? Are they trying to impart the experience of their years to you? Respect their experience! And respect that they are trying to help you from possibly making mistakes.
What do you think?
I look forward to your answers and comments. This poll will accumulate data for a period of one week only.
Life in the Foothills 
Knowledge and experience is, contrary to what we usually say, basically the same thing, you can’t have one without the other, so I think we must respect elders, but it takes an elder to know that 😉
Agreed!
I think that’s something of natural law, I was raised like that and have found the principle in almost all societies I’ve known
One has to remember that you don’t have to agree with an elder to still give respect to the elder. They may simply be passing on experiences they went through in life and, as the blog noted, are trying to offer that experience for guidance.
In our country, I think we respect our elders more than many cultures but less than others. I was brought up to respect my elders and it has served me well. Now that I’m an ‘elder’, i covet the utmost respect!!
I don’t think age is necessarily what determines wisdom. Though it generally helps in that direction. 🙂
Yes, this is why I included that some just don’t get it. Thank you for the comment!