When I was a child, I never had to ask my parents what any of their views were. I just kind of figured it out. Never did the time come when I sat my parents down and asked for a detailed list of their morals, religious opinions, or political outlooks. These things came to me from watching how my parents acted or spoke to others.
I knew that my mom loved to help anyone (even those of the not-human variety) when we stopped on the side of the road to help an old, blind Labrador retriever get out of a hole he had fallen in. It took what seemed like forever, and we had to lift this heavy dog. All the while, my mom was determined and her compassion was something unparalleled to what I had ever seen before. I think this is one of the things that makes my mom one of the greatest healthcare workers I and many others, as I’ve been told, have known.
I also knew that she was religious when she told me that there was no reason for her not to believe in something. I think that went a little like, “If I’m right, then awesome for me. If I’m not, then what do I have to lose by being a good person while I was here?”
I knew that my dad was mostly conservative by the way he watched news channels and made comments under his breath – it also didn’t hurt that the only news channel he watched was FOX news. I knew that he cared about war veterans by how vocal he was about his service and how he still works hard to make people aware about the struggles that veterans go through even today.
I have not once felt like I needed to be what my parents are, to think how they think or believe what they choose to believe.
Something I’ve learned from my family that I treasure every day is the ability to make decisions for myself. My parents have never dictated how I should act or think. They have never once told me that my opinions are wrong or that they aren’t proud of me for being an independent thinker.
In the South, I have found that it’s suffocating, both with the heat (it’s ridiculous here) and with how much we are expected to uphold “Southern traditions,” including some beliefs that I really don’t agree with. A lot of the time, when I’ve encountered someone with a strong opinion, they tell me their parents raised them with the “correct” set of beliefs.
What does that even mean?
Parents, I think it’s an injustice to teach your children that your way of thinking is the only way. Are you seriously going to stop loving your child if they aren’t in the same political party as you or if they decide to convert to another religion?
Why not encourage them to explore different beliefs on their own and love them because they are independent and want to create their own set of opinions? My parents have done this for me by not shoving religious beliefs or political thoughts down my throat and telling me to swallow them and learn to deal with it. I know that I’m a better, well-rounded person because of it.
Will your kids share your system of beliefs or opinions?
Maybe not, but I think it’s more likely for them to accept something that they haven’t spent their whole lives being told they have to believe without question.
