English Language II - 2nd Year – ISFD “FAC”

Student: Bordon Héctor Johny

Writing: An opinion Essay

Topic: Young people today have no time or respect for the old. Do you agree?

One of the fundamental elements for a society to work in harmony is respect. Schools and adults
oftentimes teach children that they must respect their elders; however, many youngsters seem to have
a different perspective about to whom they “must” give respect. On the other hand, most elders admit
that they do not treat children and the young with the same respect they treat their fellow elders.
However, it seems to me that this seems to happen only in certain cultures.

Firstly, in the culture where I live, the young think that the old generation lived in a time when things
were different and their way of thinking does not fit the current times. Even though the elders mean
well, the young do not want to accept their advice on certain topics. This frequently leads to arguments
and verbal abuse.

Secondly, in my society, youngsters seem to think that their elders are preventing them to make
progress in their lives. They do not acknowledge the achievements of their elder ones and by the same
token, the elder ones do not recognize the accomplishment that the youngsters attain. This is evident in
situations like when speak about jobs and relationships. How many times have we heard the phrase
“you are too young to understand”, “in my time we had real jobs” or “that is too much old-school for
me”? Many senior people would not accept the fact that today’s society is becoming more and more
technological day by day. For instance, they do not think that “a professional gamer” is an actual job,
even though these gamers make handsome money with it; or becoming an online private teacher. They
think it is just a hobby.

Finally, the opposite seems to happen in other parts of the world where societies are much more
traditional. In some countries the young still seem to keep the elderly as the highest authority. They
would not even dare to contradict their parents if they choose a husband or bride for them. They would
not dispute if their parents decide what jobs or field of study they will have. In these societies, the young
still give up their seats to the elderly on buses; or they still seek the advice of the oldest person in the
village when they want to decide something of utmost importance.

All in all, respect is given to the elders in the same manner as in the past, but only in certain cultures;
whereas in the society where I live, respect for the elders seems to have decreased over the years for
some reasons. Although the reasons to give and be given respect appears to vary according to whom we
speak, fortunately, not every form of respect is lost; we still maintain certain respect towards one
another, regardless of our age. After all, our society still works.