What Happened to Courage and Integrity?
In my previous article, I discussed how misunderstanding and ignorance have too often led Christian parents to raise fearful, unassertive children. Now we reflect on how we came to that point.
Marital disintegration often creates fragile, timid, and wary children. If they ever had it at all, the parental strength they once relied upon to help them face their inner insecurities and outer-world concerns becomes disrupted and usually dismantled. Sometimes their fragility is concealed behind a fake toughness; what’s not hidden is a closed spirit that requires special healing to reopen.
Pop star Kelly Clarkson, who experienced this kind of home-life distress, wrote a dark and accusatory song that resonates in the hearts of many young adults who find themselves in a similar place. Her “Because of You” video shows a husband and wife at each other’s throats while a little girl watches. After verbal brawls, depression, breakage, and tears, the father moves out.
Clarkson is that brokenhearted little girl. The song’s poignant and painful chorus says that because of her parents’ choices, she stays on the safe side of life, has a hard time trusting herself and others, and lives in constant fear. In an online interview she admitted it was hard for her family to watch the video, but she says “Because of You” is more than a protest. “The song is about breaking that cycle [of domestic violence and divorce] and not carrying it on to the next generation. Kids are like sponges, and they imitate what they see. And sometimes that’s not fair because what we see is not good for us.”
continue...
Marital disintegration often creates fragile, timid, and wary children. If they ever had it at all, the parental strength they once relied upon to help them face their inner insecurities and outer-world concerns becomes disrupted and usually dismantled. Sometimes their fragility is concealed behind a fake toughness; what’s not hidden is a closed spirit that requires special healing to reopen.
Pop star Kelly Clarkson, who experienced this kind of home-life distress, wrote a dark and accusatory song that resonates in the hearts of many young adults who find themselves in a similar place. Her “Because of You” video shows a husband and wife at each other’s throats while a little girl watches. After verbal brawls, depression, breakage, and tears, the father moves out.
Clarkson is that brokenhearted little girl. The song’s poignant and painful chorus says that because of her parents’ choices, she stays on the safe side of life, has a hard time trusting herself and others, and lives in constant fear. In an online interview she admitted it was hard for her family to watch the video, but she says “Because of You” is more than a protest. “The song is about breaking that cycle [of domestic violence and divorce] and not carrying it on to the next generation. Kids are like sponges, and they imitate what they see. And sometimes that’s not fair because what we see is not good for us.”
continue...
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