"Getting old is hard. I should convince my father to give up his license because there is a chance he will get into an accident if he drives. How pitiful old people are!"
Have you ever made a decision like this?
Everyone has their own way of feeling happiness, and it has nothing to do with age. I am often reminded of this by my parents' generation. As a parent with children, I am now stepping into the middle-aged generation, and by looking at my own children, I sometimes realize that thinking about the family is directly connected to thinking about the problems of Japanese society.
I am participating in an art activity as an interpreter. It is a project to support the reintegration of marginalized minorities into society through the power of art. Although the project does not necessarily target only the elderly, as I work hard to support those who are trying to reintegrate into society, I sometimes wonder if we ourselves are the ones who have created marginalized people, such as those with physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities, shut-ins of social withdrawal, delusional people, people who suffer from stuttering, and people with gender identity disorder.
I believe family values are as important today as they ever were. There may be some exceptions, but in most cases it is the family that loves the children the most. However, the love is sometimes a kind of hinderance when it is too strong and creates pressure and obsession in children. Children who have parents who are too strict or impose excessive expectations on them, or who grow up in a home with domestic violence, are more likely to become withdrawn in the future. If they are deprived of belonging, respect within a loving environment and stable mind from the beginning, they would simply get confused.
Values change with time. It is no longer a guarantee of happiness to study at a preparatory school, enter a good private high school or an elite university, and work for a large company until retirement. Such was the case before the 1990s, when lifetime employment and seniority guaranteed annual wage increases. Nevertheless, the structure of Japanese society, which emphasizes an academic background and stifling meritocracy, has not fundamentally changed for more than 30 years.
What's more, children can see and read loads of malicious information or fake news on the Internet. They are vulnerable to flux of information and lose perspectives for living in society. They have to think what is right, but when their morality is wrong or when a child's moral compass is inflexible due to the upbringing he or she received from adamant parents, they are more likely to feel like an outcast, just because of slight difference from others. And they tend to blame their parents for this: "If only my parents hadn't said those horrible things to me, I would be more confident in my life today." "I don't even want to be alive. I'm afraid to go outside, so I'll stay in my room. It's easier that way."
Each of us is different and we don't need to live someone else's life. It is more important for us to stop thinking of things in terms of competition and create a society where diverse people can live together in harmony.
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