Broken Promises and Joyless Institutions

When we were young, our parents taught us not to swear. They told us not to say an assortment of words marked "taboo" because of societal implications, and, if our parents were religious, they certainly taught us not to take the Lord's name in vain. It is rather interesting, the concepts of words, made by man, introduced into society by man, and deemed so vial, so undignified, so basic as to be declared "swear-words", "curse-words", and altogether, "bad words", could possibly exist in a single language. Instead, they are tucked away like nuclear arms, never to be used, for fear of starting a war between two potentially disastrous forces. Cuban Missile crises, anyone?

What even more intriguing is that they are in every language known to man. 

But, as we grow up, we learn one truth, one fundamental truth, which unmistakably corrupts each and every single one of us at the hands of those we trust most: family. More specifically, parents. We, as children growing up, all remember a time when our parents accidentally mentioned a certain four-or-five letter word in a bout of anger or frustration, and how we eventually came to realize that our parents don't play by the same rules they make us follow. Parents, watch out. I would have to say that this is where you cause the torrential maelstrom that is the teen-aged years. You tell us to treat everyone equally, yet we watch your true motives slip under the cracks. You say you follow a faith, but we watch you incessantly fail to live out the lifestyle of a believer. You smile for all the world to see, yet moments ago we watch you commit a wrong, and all we want to do is expose you for the seemingly two-faced spineless individuals you raised us to dislike. In a sense, you undo all the work you put into raising us, and then wonder why we take pot shots at your weak spots. 

But this isn't just a grill for the parents, however. I'm not up at four am to talk about how evil my mother is for some obscure reason which is only a symptom of another problem. Teenagers across the western world must realize one thing: we are quickly becoming our parents. It may not be so obvious now, or maybe you know exactly what I'm talking about. However, we are failing to do what is necessary to not be like them. For those of us who had the fundamentals instilled in the days of before the great anatomical change that is puberty, we do not treat everyone with respect. We tease others and take advantage of those closest to us, rather than looking to bring out the best in others. We keep secrets from our loved ones, and we do not forgive those who have wronged us, while there are usually good reasons for us not to. However, the more that we do so, the more we  lose. If our parents are liars in our eyes, then we are usually a lot worse in the residual effect, only because we feel so betrayed by them. The longer it takes for us to forgive them, the farther behind we fall in becoming the person we always wished to be. It would be tragic for that to happen to us, seeing as that is how we would be exactly like our parents, in the worst ways possible.

Jesus of Nazareth said never to swear. To let your "yes" be "yes", and your "no" to be likewise. We break promises and commands, but that is only because we are human. We make mistakes. Carrying a scoreboard around can ensure that when the final buzzer rings, everyone's a loser. Sometimes, awakening the future requires we lay the past to rest. 

Goodnight, dear readers. Oh, And do take care to forgive the broken promises of your loved ones, less the institutions of family and friends turn into joyless ones.

With love,

Atticus.