"If youth only knew: if age only could." Henri Estienne (1470 - 1520)
Respecting our elders would seem to be a universal value and a moral value that one would have been instilled from a very, very young age. After all, respecting your parents (an elder in their own rights) would have been mandated.
As you grow up and entered school, you were thought to respect the "words" from older people and to remain "reverend in their presence". You would have been thought to pay attention to what they say and most of all, leave whatever snide comments that you have to later. You were thought to pay attention to these elders even though what they say may be preposterous and go against all the laws of science ( I once had a hearty conversation with an old man which thought he served in world war one, which would have made him a 10 year old soldier. Right…).
Yet, how is it that you can confer such respect to these people and not have the dignity to give up your seat to them when all laws of science and logic point to the fact that they need the seat more than you?
This issue was spawned from my daily commute back home from work. My bus stop is at
Last week, when the bus stopped at
Instead of giving up their seats, (as appropriated by the sign) they continued to sit as the two elderly couples stood there, their frail hands barely hanging on to the railings as the bus lurched onwards. This couple hung on for the entire length of their journey and got off a stop before me, visibly battered from that ordeal.
Two themes come to mind in the aftermath of this event. Firstly, the apparent lack of respect and compassion the youths of my age have for their elders. More importantly, the theme of personal apathy and desensitized behavior. As much as I was shocked at the youth, I was even more taken aback at my nonchalance about it.
In the new scientist article titled "Respect for elders 'may be universal' in primates", the article illustrates how primates are similar to us human being and how these primates will pay respect and pay special attention to their elders. Unfortunately, this episode has made me rethink that notion.
Perhaps we are not as similar to primates after all. At least they respect their elders.
From that episode, I decided to research if this incident was just an isolated experience or one that was recurring in our daily lives. Upon talking to my friends and reading demographic reports, I realize that these cases were not remote. They were rather rampant, to say the least.
However, let us move on to the more pressing issue at hand. How was it that I could stand at on the bus and stand (no pun intended) for such a behavior? Where was Human morality to tug at my brain and give those “young punks” a good chiding?
I think the answer to that boils down to one thing; indifference. As much I would have liked to ‘tell them off’, I just did not have the strength to do so. I adopted this, “let me mind my own business” attitude. Unfortunately, upon reflection, I realize that I should have done something. It would have been the right thing to do.
Many a times in life we bear witness to situations in which we are clear about who is right and who is wrong. Yet, many a times, we choose not to intervene. We choose to ‘close our eyes’, hoping that the matter will slip by and aligning ourselves to a state of “forced oblivion”.
We do not want to meddle in other people’s business. We want to remain neutral. Unfortunately, we CANNOT remain neutral all the time. We need to interfere when the situation calls for it. As a youth in
And so the mantle has been passed onto us to address this. Be it a moral obligation, a societal obligation, a need to express your true emotions or just Karma, I think being standing up to address these issues is crucial for the betterment of everyone’s lives.
Although I cannot spell out the benefits to you, I can tell you that by expressing how you feel. You will not live to regret it later.
So, the next time you are commuting or any where else and you see an act that goes against your conscience, remember to tell that little bugger off. Who knows, we might live up to the expectations of our species after all.
XOXO.
