Don Pedro Chavajay Quiacain (85)

In the initial interviews, as I mentioned in an earlier post, a consensus appeared that there had been a loss of respect among young people for their elders and for the tradition of greeting them in the street.  So we modified the question to acknowledge this and ask what the causes were.  A surprising (to me) number of people have brought up education as a cause.  They say that students think they are better than their less educated parents and grandparents, so they don’t respect them or their advice.

We worship rock stars because they are there in our adolescence, speaking to our fears, understanding our angst and pain, whether it be that first breakup, our political awakening, or just the need to throw our cares to the winds and dance.  Whichever rock star is there in our moment of need is imprinted on us in such a way that decades later, we can still go back and visit that feeling.

Our parents and grandparents are rock stars on an entirely different level.  They are there throughout our entire lives, also understanding our angst and pain, because they felt it too.  They may not communicate to us through the escapism of popular music, but what they have to offer is much more substantive, and what they give us through the course of our lives is much more profound.  Take the time to listen respectfully.  You may not take their advice or agree with their perspective, but they have decades of knowledge and experience that you can learn from.