Teresa Mercer, LCSW, LCAC – April 23, 2019
Upholding Values inToday’s Society
By Teresa Mercer, Youth First, Inc.
I haveworked with people of all ages, and that has given me the unique experience oflearning about the different value systems of many people. It has been veryinteresting to listen to every person’s story and what is important in theirlife, whether they are 6 or 60 years old.
Valuesreflect our sense of right and wrong. They help us grow and develop. They helpus create the future we want. The decisions we make every day are a reflectionof our values.
We learn mostof our values from our parents and extended families. Our family values stemfrom our social and cultural values. Sometimes new life experiences may changevalues we previously held.
Individualvalues reflect how we live our life and what we consider important for our ownself-interests. Individual values include enthusiasm, creativity, humility andpersonal fulfillment.
Relationshipvalues reflect how we relate to other people in our life, such as friends,family, teachers, managers, etc. Relationship values include openness, trust,generosity and caring.
Socialvalues reflect how we relate to society. Social values include justice, freedom,respect, community, and responsibility.
In today’sworld, it may seem our society doesn’t practice many values. We have a rise in discrimination,abuse of power, greed, etc. What are we leaving behind for our futuregenerations? Maybe it’s time society takes a hard look at its values.
Here aresome things I feel our society needs more of:
- Empathy – Empathyis defined as understanding and sharing the feelings of another. People need tounderstand who others are and accept who they are. Focusing on how we can grow together should beour ultimate goal.
- Respect – Mutualrespect is needed for all of us. This is what makes us human. Having respectfor everyone, despite the differences between us, is vital in order for asociety to function well.
- Love – Havinglove in our hearts keeps us from feeling the need to harm others. Love helps usacknowledge the similarities we all share rather than the differences of color,religion or sexual orientation.
- Loyalty – Loyaltyis a value that binds us to a person, thing or sentiment. With loyalty, we donot betray. If we all shared loyalty, it would help us build the strengthneeded to stand up against something that would harm our society.
- Honesty – Oneform of honesty in society is accepting yourself. With honesty, you can admityour flaws and take the necessary steps to improve yourself. When we can admitto our flaws it can help someone else admit theirs. Ultimately, we can all helpeach other become better people.
Values canbe contagious; if you practice them, many others will also, including ourchildren. Hopefully more practice from all of us will leave the world a better placefor future generations.
This columnis written by Teresa Mercer, LCSW, LCAC, school social worker for Youth First,Inc., a local nonprofit dedicated to strengthening youth and families. YouthFirst provides 55 Master’s level social workers to 76 schools in 10 Indianacounties. Over 38,000 youth and families per year have access to Youth First’sschool social work and afterschool programs that prevent substance abuse,promote healthy behaviors, and maximize student success.
