There probably has never been a generation that didn’t look on following generations as having a total lack of faith and values from when they were growing up, and many times this could be true. Other times, it could be that faith and values are evolving with cultures and so they are not missing but rather changed due to cultural and even political influences. In today’s world, there seems to be two extremes we, as parents, are dealing with. There are the zealots who create dissention and havoc no matter where they go and then there are the apathetic beings who simply seem to exist with no sense of direction, no motivation and for lack of a better way to explain it, they seem to lack faith and values.
Dealing with Zealots
Perhaps one of the hardest lessons to teach your children is how to deal with zealots. These are not always religious people but they can be over the top on literally anything they do or say. These are the people who have a ‘cause’ they are living for and if you don’t fit into their world-view, they are on the attack. Teaching your children to deal with zealots is perhaps even more difficult than explaining why some people seem to have no goals, no drive and are simply floundering about like a fish out of water from one day to the next. Here is where parents need to teach their kids how to handle the situation. Do you fight back, word for word or do you simply take the passive role, letting them spout off their platitudes so that you can avoid controversy?
Where Religion and Politics Have Merged Over Time
Never before has this stark line of demarcation between over-zealous activists and the portion of society that has become apathetic been more distinct. Look at the just-ended presidential election and you’ll see zealots at work. They spout hate while accusing the other side of being haters and are promoting violence and intolerance. This is much like the ongoing controversy between creationism vs evolution. Those who ‘believe’ in science belittle the theological belief in creationism while the opposite also holds true. Religious zealots will decry the concept of evolution and there has been much friction because of these opposing views.
What You Teach Your Kids Is What Counts
Some would say that it is better to teach your kids to have strong feelings rather than no feelings at all. At least they believe in ‘something’ which drives them forward. However, this can be extremely dangerous as we have seen just how volatile opposing factions can be. As a parent, you need to guide your children to follow the direction of their own choosing, but hopefully the way forward will have a clear-cut path towards what they feel and believe. We need to help them understand that by our very human nature we all have varying degrees of belief in something and not to let someone else’s zeal interfere with who we are and what we believe.
It’s still the role of a parent to teach their children faith and values, even if that ‘faith’ is in a being or belief system we don’t share. Belief in something is far better than dying the slow death of apathy. Remember, you don’t need to make your children clones of yourself but you do need to teach them that faith in something is fuel for the soul that can carry them forward throughout their entire lives
