It doesn’t make sense when you’re young … but the older you get, the more you realize that everyone is just making shit up as they go along.
It’s made me realize after a long life that my parents were no smarter (or no dumber) than me.
It’s just that as children, we look up to our parents and think that they should be smarter than everyone else but in reality, they never were. It doesn’t mean that they were dumb either … it’s just that people are people, including your parents.
alvvayson@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I, too, thought a lot about this.
Having kids now and reflecting on my childhood, it’s extremely obvious that my parents truly had the best intentions and tried their best.
But they, too, are fallible and made mistakes.
Some of those mistakes were due to a lack of knowledge or bad advice they received. I think that nowadays, thanks to the internet, it’s quite feasible to get much better advice. On the other hand, there is also a lot of disinformation.
I am optimistic that each generation will get better, because knowledge tends to accumulate and humanity tends to improve over time.
But perfection is still far away in a distant future.
PeleSpirit@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I thought this too but then it didn’t in a lot of ways and did in some. If we do our best and try to spread that to our kids and our circles, that’s the only way. I never in a million years thought we would go so far backwards on so many issues like civil rights, abortion and worker’s rights. I know it would be a roller coaster but I didn’t think the dips would be that far down.
alvvayson@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Yeah, but that’s not because of generational progress.
Many civil rights in the USA weren’t properly arranged for through democratic laws, but by Supreme Court decisions.
They were always at risk. Once you achieve the same level of progress through electoral majorities, they are much more stable and secure.
As for workers rights and inequality, there is a similar story. Between the great depression and globalization there was a time of great progress, but it was never sustainable.
It only occurred because two world wars and a great depression left the world in tatters and destroyed the power of the wealthy, while the Western world still fully enjoyed the fruits of colonialism. Western Middle classes suddenly had all the power for a brief moment in time.
Now, we will have to figure out how to create real equality, without exploiting other countries and without relying on war and depression to break the power of the rich.
PeleSpirit@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Those are all great points, but being young and naive, I didn’t think we the people would actually let all of the backwards things happen. I agree about the real equality. Is this a human thing to take everything for granted, go backwards and then have hope to change it to a place where we’ll take it for granted again? When we look at the MIddle East, I kind of think it is. But it can be a super quick process or a slow process, depending on what you’re born into.
YellowBendyBoy@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I’m convinced that the intentions you have don’t mater that much. It’s how well you’ve managed to solve your own problems that determines how fucked up your kid is going to be.
Very_Bad_Janet@kbin.social 1 year ago
This is why I appreciate therapy. It's a tool for better parenting, in a way.