So here's a bit of a bend to the general musings of cattle and farm life I think....lately, due of course to my current situation, I've have been so burdened by the seemingly countless broken homes and broken families and the unfortunate casualties .... the children.
You see, when I was growing up, parents were the bastion of stability. When our parents chose to marry and have families, they understood it was work at times, not always fun, but ultimately the best for the FAMILY as a group, a unit, a herd. I do not recall seeing much selfishness or self-centeredness in my home. In fact, I don't recall hearing much of "Ï" or "me"or ""I'm not this..." or "Ï "want/need that..."
We were taught (mostly by example) as children to put others first, empathy, care and respect for others.
Today's adults, parents in particular, seem more interested in the "me" instead of the ""us", or benefits, of the collective; aka: "family unit""
. Calling it as I see it, this generation of adults, in my eyes, is the most self-serving selfish group (and I am talking about my generation) that ever was.
My cattle stand in the pasture, several generations, grouped together, grooming each other, calling for each other, standing collectively together, because they know they are so much better off as a group than on their own. I have never seen a calf or young cow wandering off by itself, cast out or forgotten. I have never seen one of my cows or bulls ignore a family member, or abandon its young. I have seen and heard the grief-stricken calling for days after a still born calf, or a separated calf at weaning.
Tell me, why is it animals care so much for each other, simple as they appear to us, and yet we, as humans, so superior in our capacity to think and reason, do not?
This is a great mystery in my mind, as I see young men set out of their homes, wandering the roads, sleeping in barns, nowhere to go, no fathers to shadow. I see it with the young girls and women, whose example of father is a man consumed with lust, driven from home and family, caring only for the next new thing or thrill. I see mothers leaving their husbands and children behind, restless, looking for new excitement....until that new grows old, and the cycle repeats, over and over, leaving broken spouses, broken homes, broken children, and financial devastation in its wake.
Broken has come to my home as well, as most of you who follow this blog know, and the cycle continues, repeats and goes on. My two teenage daughters struggle with a father that is no longer there, and look to other men for validation and comfort, which, as you can well imagine, is a very dangerous road to be on. I see the children of other broken homes, homes ripped apart by selfishness, an entire generation of young people set adrift. These are the young people who will someday be taking care of us as we grow old and frail.
What will we have taught them? What will we really expect from the generation of children who have seen self serving and self gratification as the ultimate goal in life?
How do we expect the next generation to care for us, if we cannot even be bothered to care for them long enough to see them to high school graduation?
I shudder at the thought.
