When we were young children, this question incessantly bothered me. Does power and authority essentially give the power to control the life of others. The question started in the family. When we raised any issue or questioned the pertinence of a decision or were deliberately kept away from decision making, were made to feel small and unimportant, this question was invariably born in the mind, 'what gives the right to even do wrong?'Do parents get an upper hand in dealing with children just because they are the bread earners? I don't know if such questions were ever born in the minds of children, but they always came floating into my mind. And the answers was a 'NO'. The source of power and authority should be lying in the judiciousness, fairness and righteousness of people faced with issues irrespective of whoever is the bearer of such virtues. Sometimes it is seen that children surprise us with their sense of justice and fairness and the extraordinary frankness and honesty with which they view a situation. We shouldn't ignore them just because they are children or they are yet dependent, hence , automatically dispossessed of the right to meddle in the affair of elders.
This question again came to mind when I heard a young daughter complaining to her ever-nagging mother as to whether she had no right to speak her mind just because she was younger. Do the elders possess the right to even do and speak wrong things because they are older? Are the young ever to be played down just because they are dependent?
There was a time when submissiveness before parents was considered a virtue. But didn't it amount to perpetuation of wrong at times if the parents were arbitrary, tyrannic or autocratic in their action? Nowadays, equations have changed in parent-children relationship. Children don't hesitate to raise their voice against parental excesses. Speaking the other way, parents consider themselves a harassed lot too.But isn't it a new world of their own making in the way that they fulfill each and every demand of the child.
Handling children has become an extremely delicate affair for children nowadays. Parents are to act more as friends, philosophers and guides rather than exercising control. They are more to lead by example rather than preaching and sermonizing. Punishments cannot be eliminated altogether, but the nature has to be changed from direct and harsh to subtle and emotional. The questions in the young minds are too well pronounced today, so answering them has become too important. And answering them honestly is the only way to earn their love and respect.
