One of the constant themes from my guests on the Art of Fatherhood podcast is that parents are looking to teach their kids to be positive people. These dads want their kids to be kind to everyone. They look to instill the golden rule where you treat others the way you want to be treated. All of this sounds very elementary. Yet, I feel like we as a society are not modeling this behavior like we used to. It is sad to see friendships and family ties get lost in this country based on political views and ideologies. I wish there was an end in sight, but I feel like the divide gets larger and larger each day.
The Division That Keeps On Increasing
We are bombarded each day by what is happening in our society. There are so many news outlets and social media handles vying for your eyes and time. The more salacious the headline, the more people gravitate to that outlet. There is another battle line drawn to where you feel forced to take a side. Your political leanings have now taken over your whole identity. If someone doesn’t agree with you fully, you feel the urge to make seven to eight social media posts on why you are right and why others are out of their minds. There is so much negativity, where we created words like doom scrolling. Even though we are aware of these terms, we are still controlled by what outlets want us to think and how to treat others who have a different viewpoint on a certain topic.
The concept of the golden rule is thrown out the window with no regard or hesitation. We need to be right all the time. Those who don’t think like us are radical. This is not helping anyone. Especially not the way we are raising kids. We can tell them to be kind, but if they don’t see us follow our own words, they will not listen to us. We need to do better for our kids so they don’t grow up in a society we are currently living in.
Letting Go Of The Idols
Even while you read this, you might start to get upset. You can say that it is the other people that need to change. You are in the right, while other people are not seeing things the correct way. I hope that is not the case. I am asking for you to take a deep breath. Ask yourself if the news and social media sites you check out daily are helping your mental, emotional and physical health. With 24/7 news outlets and now social media sites luring people to believe their ideology, it is hard to put the phone down or turn the TV off.
I would encourage you to ask yourself this question after taking in all of the news and social media sites you got to each day. What are the messages those outlets are telling you? Would you teach your kids to speak and act the way that person or influencer conducts themselves? Before you say yes, think of the impact you would have on your kids if you turned off the TV and not get consumed by social media and political idols. Not only would your kids benefit from that, but you would too. I feel like if we pay more attention to these idols in the news that want us to blindly follow them, we are hurting ourselves and others around us, including our children.
Be the type of person you would want your kid to be. Accept everyone. Care for others. Listen more. Talk less. Spend time with friends and family. I know if we tried to do this, the divide would not be as great as it is today. Be kind to everyone.