Legend’s VIEW
Elders are not wise in all matters
It is ingrained in many cultures around the world to respect one’s elders, and we should certainly seek the wisdom of those with a greater amount of life experiences than ourselves, especially when tackling issues we are unversed in. Take anything that someone tells you with a grain of salt, however, especially when it is subjective opinion rather than objective fact, and even then verify that the facts they provide are true through your own methods if you intend to rely on said facts. There are many issues, concepts and modes of thought that were once commonly accepted that are now outmoded; archaic ideas that are better left in the dusty past.
Less than 100 years ago some members of society were not treated as equal, and there are still many alive today who think that a return to those bad old days is preferable to the progress we have made to get where we are now. Many of us have had those awkward, candid conversations with someone older who is woefully unaware of the social mores of the modern day, who decide to speak thoughts that are abhorrent to say.We may attempt to mollify them, to placate rather than react in incensed disgust, because we understand that perhaps they just come from a different time when such ideas were more acceptable than they are now.
Maybe they are family members who are beloved, and who otherwise are kind and gentle, that just hold some views best left unsaid. Whatever the case may be, perhaps addressing head-on what has been said would give everyone a chance to grow; we could have the opportunity to enlighten and perhaps change a skewed perspective, while also articulating the positive attributes of the positions we hold. Perhaps we might even learn that what they say is truly superior to our own paradigm on a particular issue; just because something in society has changed, doesn’t necessarily mean that the change is for the better. We should be willing to have an open mind, but also the will to stand by our convictions and disagree in response when bad ideas are propagated, no matter who is stating them.
