How Our Mass Dishonor Of Elders Helps Destroy Society

We must re-acknowledge and respect the role of parents and the wisdom of elders so that we can affect authentic, lasting, positive change in our society.

The 1950s brought programming to America’s living rooms that revered parents, especially fathers, in TV shows like “Father Knows Best,” “Make Room for Daddy,” and “Ozzie and Harriet.” The same decade simultaneously engineered the American teenager, ushered in the exaltation of “youth culture” in music and film, and eroded the reverence of parents and elders.

Over the last 70 years, the glorification of youth-centric culture has exacerbated the degradation of parental honor. Hollywood sought to portray parents as unsophisticated and antiquated in their perspectives, and the entertainment industry successfully communicated this through sophomoric plot narratives and imbecilic and self-interested parental characters.

The 1970s classic “All in the Family” depicts Archie Bunker, the traditional all-American father and husband, as a chauvinist and racist. His more open-minded and progressive family futilely attempts to “educate” him throughout the series.

Similarly, contemporary hits like “Shameless” have brought the media’s attack on parenthood full circle. The show tracks the story of patriarch and deadbeat father Frank Gallagher, who repeatedly abandons his family in search of booze and chicanery while his children fight for survival in South Side, Chicago, mirroring the degenerate behavior of their parents.

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