Now that the girls are safely submerged in a toasty warm pool, I am going to try and put into words the last thought I mentioned in my previous blog. Warning: this is an extremely opinionated blog that talks in generalizations and makes some sweeping statements. It is my opinion and it is not written with any one or ones in mind. You, as a reader, will have your own opinions and your own choices to make as a human and parent, and you are free to blog about them and your reasoning as well :-)
So today's topic, in short, is: when did we become such a LAZY society?
What do I mean...? Simply put, when did so many people decide it was too much trouble to give a damn about some important things?
In no particular order, and nowhere near a complete list:
1. Personal appearance/fitness - (obviously many of you reading this don't fall into this category).
When did it become ok, or even flauntable, to be rippling with fat?
When did we decide as a society that the effort required to eat healthfully (at a minimum) was too much? We are "too busy" or "too tired" to cook a family meal, so we run through a fast food take out lane or grab the fastest (often least healthful) alternative. Note we are not too busy or tired to facebook or watch our reality shows, just to have a decently planned meal or a reasonably balanced diet of sufficient, not excessive, calories.
When did we decide that the effort to maintain a healthy, or even semi-unhealthy, weight and level of fitness was too much to ask? It's not genetic, it's not lack of time (for most people), it's not lack of access or information - plain and simple, people cannot be bothered to make an effort anymore. No longer do I look around a pool deck full of kids aged 10-18 and notice the out of place overweight kid. Now we look around and marvel at the handful of athletically built kids who don't sport cellulite at 12. How is that possible? I've been at water parks and spent hours searching in vain for the sligtest hint of a fellow athlete, or even a handful of people who give a damn enough to at least TRY.
There is no excuse. There is no explanation beyond laziness. We don't care enough to make the effort to care enough, never-mind making the effort to do something about it. We are too lazy to exert self-discipline or self-control over what and how much we eat and how we spend our time. And more and more, the people who do care and make an effort stand out like circus freaks - look honey, it's one of them tryathelite guys, you know them people thats exerciszin and eatin them weird foods and wearin spandex... Gee honey, why don't you get you one of them pairs of stretchy shorts too?! now git me another beer!
Ick.
2. Parenting - I've written a fair amount about this one. Lazy parents don't want to upset the kids, because then it takes effort and willpower to stand strong in the face of a 2, 10, 22 yo's temper tantrum. Lazy parents say yes because it is easier, they think, than saying no. They treat toddlers like pre-teens and pre-teens like adults and all of them like friends rather than wards. They are too busy or self-absorbed to pay a kid attention, right up until something goes wrong, and then they swoop in yelling and threatening and throwing their weight around to get things fixed. They don't want to have to waste their time and energy enforcing standards so they set none. They can't wait till the kids are old enough to leave home alone, or old enough to drive, or old enough to get a job to pay for gas... Because it is too tiring or boring or much to ask of a parent to be tied to a child or have to drive him to his activities. They buy tvs and computers and small fridges for the kids' rooms because it is easier to stash them somewhere out of the way and let them decide what to eat and drink and do than it is to monitor and teach and guide and limit. They plop them in front of mindless tv shows and computer games from as early an age as possible because, let's face it, it is a lot less work to anesthetize a kid than it is to interact. And, besides, playing dolls or cards or building things with blocks is
B. O. R. I. N. G. compared to all the great websites and tv shows and phone conversations we could be spending our important time on, right?
Being a parent is exhausting physically, draining emotionally, and demanding financially. It has been thus since the invention of infants. It should not come as a surprise to new parents. It is the single most important contribution most of us will ever make to society. Your influence as a parent on your child expands far past the child himself, for everyone your chilc interacts with is then touched by the results of your original influence. Every choice we make in life has an endless ripple effect in the world. All we can control is our individual input into that ripple. How we raise our children causes gigantic ripples. One would think the gravity of that would instill a serious sense of responsibility and honor to a parent. Instead, so many see it as a burden... A weight to be shouldered as infrequently as we can get away with...a responsibility many don't seem to want once they have and many seem to spend their lives trying to minimize.
Society today seems to be wonderful at providing "lip service" to being responsible, involved, consistent parents... But beneath all the talk lies a gaping hole where the actual effort used to be. So many kids seem to recognize this about their parents... And if your own parent doesn't care, why should you? If it is too much trouble for your own parent to hold you up to certain standards of behavior, dress, language, performance, morals, etc, then why on earth should YOU, as the kid, make the effort?
3. Professionally - An anecdotal example: the girls and I were stopped at a light, and an older gentleman was sweeping the ground near the gas pumps at a gas station. The girls asked why he was doing that, and I commented that I had seen him out doing that several times, and that he was very friendly when I stopped for gas one day. I said that it was nice to see someone take pride in their job and place of employment. The girls couldn't understand why someone would care about the general appearance of a gas station, and, wasn't it just going to get cluttered and dirty again anyway?! That spawned a conversation about pride in performance and that, regardless of your position in life, the key to success is to take pride in your world and work. Otherwise, at what point does anything start to matter, and where do you find your sense of purpose? So much of so many peoples' life is spent working - how sad is it to spend that time but take no pride in what you are doing? Yet, for so many people, it just isn't worth the effort.
On a personal note, I know there are things about me that, while very important to others, are not important enough to me to put much effort into - so in their mind, I am lazy too. I don't put much effort into dressing myself, unless there is a damn good reason to do so. I prefer sweatshirts and jeans to anything approaching style. Lazy me. I also don't find much reason to invest energy in having a stylish, tricked out house or decorating style, fancy furniture, trinkets etc. Very lazy me.
Ultimately, I guess we all have to pick what we put our energy into and what is important, and decide how that works out for us. In the meantime, I feel much better having blown off steam writing this instead of swimming. See? Lazy!
...that's my why, what's yours?
No comments:
Post a Comment