By TINA MANGOS
Guest Columnist
Imagine the world your grandchildren will live in if disrespect and lawlessness, based on ignorance and bias, prevail.
Grandma Pelosi sent a message to her grandchildren: “It’s OK to be disrespectful and disruptive if you don’t agree with or like someone.” Her grandchildren will learn to brazenly disrespect their coach, their pastor, their boss, and even their president.
Democracy and a civilized society cannot solely depend on “laws,” but on our everyday behavior based on morals, ethics and civility. A productive, peaceful country begins at home. It begins with the daily lessons we give our children about everything from school to sports to family to society.
If grandma’s overt acts of disrespect are the lessons to live by, then of course, her kids will learn bad behavior as the norm. If they get stopped for drunk driving, they’ll mouth off to the police. If they lose to an opposing team, they’ll give the winning coach the “finger” as they walk past. Then when they get a job and their CEO is up for an award, they’ll walk out during the acceptance speech because they, themselves, didn’t get the promotion they expected.
Take it a step further: When one of these children becomes an ER doctor, he might choose to give less attention to an incoming injured patient because that person is wearing a T-shirt with a slogan he doesn’t agree with.
I think of times while teaching in a Chicago high school (which I left not too long ago) where a student stormed out of the room, yelling “F___ you B____” because he didn’t like the fact that I had to reprimand him for something, or a student refusing to stop in the hallway to show a hall pass, mouthing off, “Man, you’re not even my teacher … I ain’t showing you sh__.”
And, sadly, when calling a parent in for a conference, I quickly realized where the student got this behavior.
Teach your children good citizenship. Shame on you, “bad grandma.”