There Is No Generation Gap in a Happy and United Family - Essay Example

There is no generation gap in a happy and united family A happy and united family needs elders who understand the problems and different issues surrounding a family. The aspect of generation gap must be shed off once and for all since the elders taught the adults what they direly needed and thus the same is being passed on to the younger generation. Times change but the respect and dignity of elders will always remain. Generation gap is just a phenomenon that deserves no recognition. What is important is that love cultivates within a family with each passing day. Philosophy teaches mankind that every action and behavior must be brought forward by the amalgamation of logic, reasoning, education and understanding for each other. Relationships unfortunately do not manifest the very same logic that one speaks of in the larger context. Thus whilst making pertinent decisions with respect to differing relationships, it is necessary to take care of reason more than emotion itself as the latter could mean having decisions which are based on intent favored for a particular party or person so to speak. (Giancola, 2006) Thus it would be wise to state here that reason has got more weight when the comparison is made alongside emotions and feelings, all of which come under the jurisdiction of a couple in marriage. This is because emotion could mean favoring for one particular side while the other side might just lose out in a balancing act which seems to be the missing link in such a scenario. One needs to be fair on all counts before making a decision that has a number of different consequences in essence. Emotion within treatment of one another in marriage could prove to be a decisive factor at times when devising pertinent decisions but then again it cannot be compared with the importance that reason and logic brings to the table. Thus in the time and age of today, there is absolutely no basis for having a generation gap since both the old and young have meshed in properly with each other and understood the virtues of each of these in a fairly good manner. (Shafir, 2004) The generation gap issue arises when there are technological misunderstandings, where the young know more than the old and where the old just do not seem to care about the progress thus made within the relevant ranks. The aspect of generation gap also stems in within the different controversial issues surrounding the adults’ lives. One such is the subject of divorce within a family. An elder within a clan would never approve of having a divorce in the first place yet the youngsters have hot blood within their bodies and thus end up making decisions which are irrational and have long lasting negative consequences. (Hughes, 2005) Thus the generation gap issue crops in all of a sudden when the elders are unable to make their point apparent to the youngsters and mature adults and this creates a sense of animosity within the same house. Speaking solely from the generation gap perspective, one must understand that the older generation has invested a great deal of time having their own individual experiences. They believe in sound logic and reasoning more than anything else. They are of the view that perception and experience go hand in hand whilst age is a barometer of one’s experience that he has attained all his life. They usually do not buy the theory of divorce and thus all related things that come along with marital tensions and break-ups are rejected forthwith. Thus elders remain pretty strong as per their understandings and they do not like to change their stances on different issues, more so when the talk goes out loud concerning marriage issues and family bonding subjects as well as the world under which these aspects are spoken of. For them, living in a broken world of relationships is full of madness and divorce is something more insane than that. (Wright, 1999) This is because they have worked all their lives to attain what they are today and they do not believe that breaks in relationships and ultimately a marriage could come anywhere close to love, lust and commitment towards human basis in life. Their belief is pretty valid in the related scheme of things but then again divorce issues have their own perspective within the lives of the young people as well as the grown up and mature adults. Staying together as a family is one of the most beautiful things that a child can ever have within his life. He derives happiness seeing his parents and siblings interacting with him as well as each other. His source of strength is the bond which exists within his family members. Now any step taken to thwart the oneness of a family leaves a lasting impression on the young minds since they never envisage their family to break up into pieces. They expect a lot from their family and their parents’ divorce is the last thing on their mind undoubtedly. Divorce and constant rifts destroy the fabric of any family. These are elements of mental destruction that happen between families and children seem to be the worst affected in the whole scenario. (Schmitt, 2006) They store pictures of torture and fights within their memories and this is one feeling which is pretty difficult to get rid of. Psychologically, it affects them more than the persons who were in a marriage before they decided to forego the bond itself – the bond of marriage, now changed into a divorce deed. In such a case, it is best to have elders living within the family so that they understand the intricacies involved in relationships. They instill love and sincerity within the adults and give them advice which is not only sound but also based on pure logic and reasoning. One should believe that staying together for parents is essential for the eventual well being of the family. However this would be negated in the wake of differing problems that are marred by financial, cultural and socio-economic aspects. These problems arise due to a family’s standing within the society that it is a part of. The family undergoes trouble at the hands of meeting its financial needs, has distortions in its planning phases with respect to issues and subjects of common interest and so on. These troubles cause a great deal of stress on the eventual well being of the said family but what it does is to prepare the individuals for the worst that could happen. It also brings them close with each other and they start appreciating each other’s company as compared to what was the case in the past. They start believing in their oneness more than their individuality which is a sure sign of unity and wholesome basis that one gets to know through a family. Family values do not grow on an overnight basis. They happen with a sense of calm, patience and understanding on each other’s sides. The topic of generation gap could remain aside since the young and old should mesh in with each other and thus build the fabric of a home – a place where they share their happy and sad moments, together. (Jennings, 1999) Thus a family is incomplete if there are no elders living within its realms. The issue of generation gap completely goes out of the equation when the family is happy and contented with its undertakings. The relationships matter in such circumstances and generation gap is a foregone issue. (Smith, 1998) The rational adults focus more on the goodness that the elders bring to their homes and forgive the mistakes of their elders since they realize that they themselves were full of mistakes and sins whilst they were growing up and those elders helped them immensely. It is the duty of the adults to comprehend how best they can arrange a particular family and what needs to be done so as to properly address the underlying issues in the wake of the generation gap philosophy. (Day, 1988) On a personal perspective, I agree that a happy and united family does not have a generation gap problem at all within its ranks. What it considers most is the well-being of one and all and not emphasize a great deal on the lack of understanding the present day nuances, mostly on the part of the elders within the family. These elders act as saviors for the adults when they have a bad day at office or trouble understanding their partner’s actions and behaviors. They act as fruitful trees – always ready to give free advice and emotional assistance as and when needed. I am lucky to have one such family where elders are on the same level as my parents. I speak in a very easy and cordial manner with them and look after them. We do not believe in the tangent of generation gap and focus more on educating our elders what we have learned ourselves, with each passing day and without any shame. We know we are made for each other and this aspect makes us proud at the end of the day. Bibliography DAY, Michael. (1988). Bridging the Generation Gap with School Computers. T H E Journal (Technological Horizons in Education), Vol. 15 GIANCOLA, Frank. (2006). The Generation Gap: More Myth Than Reality. Human Resource Planning, Vol. 29 HUGHES, Kate. (2005). The Adult Children of Divorce: Pure Relationships and Family Values? Journal of Sociology, Vol. 41 JENNINGS, Marianne M. (1999). Whats Behind the Growing GENERATION GAP? USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Vol. 128, November SCHMITT, Mark. (2006). The Progressive Generation Gap. The American Prospect, Vol. 17 SHAFIR, Gershon. (2004). People out of Place: Globalization, Human Rights, and the Citizenship Gap. Routledge SMITH, George P. (1998). Family Values and the New Society: Dilemmas of the 21st Century. Praeger Publishers WRIGHT, Caroline. (1999). Changing Family Values. Routledge Word Count: 1,533 Read More