Sam Rosenbloom
Mrs. Villarreal
Rhetoric, Composition, and Literature
18 December 2014 The Disregard for Rules If Moses were to come down from Mount Sinai today, he would find out that the tablets that commanded the morals of the world, have been replaced by tablets that can play movies, listen to music, and even order a pizza. Much has changed since Exodus, including how we follow the pivotal rules that have been commanded for us. Though almost everyone can agree that today in 2014, we are not coveting our neighbors slaves, many essential rules we have used to live our lives morally are no longer followed. “Honor your father and mother” is a commandment that has been not only bent but broken, especially in recent times; in fact, today the ubiquitous breaking of this commandment is having such horrific consequences that it is leading to the destruction of not just the breaker of the commandment but the destruction of the family and the community. This year, Caitlyn Ricci has show just how far children have strayed from honoring their parents. Caitlyn is a twenty-one year old who is student at Temple University. In recent years, Caitlyn has become estranged to her parents and has gone on to live with her grandparents. Her parents have said that they have tried to contact their daughter enamors times over the last two years with no communication back from their daughter. Finally, Caitlyn’s parents were fed up and said if she won’t even talk to them they will not pay for her out of state college tuition. Caitlyn Ricci found this horrendous and sued her patents for college tuition money. What is even more absurd is that the judge ruled in favor of the daughter demanding that the parents pay sixteen thousand dollars a year. Caitlyn burned any remaining bridges she had with her family. Once Ms. Ricci has graduated from college who is she going to have to turn to for the holiday seasons, or when she hits a wrong time. We have all heard the phrases “father knows best” and “mother’s intuition”. Caitlyn’s parents both thought she had destructive behaviors and did not think her attitude deemed them paying both parents paying sixteen thousand dollars a year. Many will argue that in the United State of America that we have separation of church in state and that the Ten Commandments should not be followed due on the grounds of the partition of religion and law. This justification is false. Just because honoring your mother and father is commanded in Judaic religions does not mean that it should completely be thrown out. The Ten Commandments forbids murder and theft, crimes that are forbidden in all American courts of law. The Ten Commandments also forbids adultery which is a crime in twenty one states. In addition, these Commandments dictate that everyone tell the truth, also commanded by the U.S. law, and called perjury when you break it. The notion that we should through out rules because they are in the Torah or Bible is a ridiculous. Furthermore, the affects of horning or dishonoring your parents can be shown statistical analysis. So many kids dishonor their parents and intern leave them. The U.S. Department of Health and Human services sites in a report that children that live with both their parents have a lower rate of crime, drug use, and high school drop out rate than those of kids who live with one or no parents. There is a reason parents create curfews and rules. Nothing good happens after two in the morning. If more children honored their parents we would have a lower crime rate, helping not only every community but society as a whole. If more children honored their parents we would have fewer arrest, crimes committed, and in turn a more sound and healthy community and society. Parents create rules for a reason. They have sacrificed and worked day and night to support their children. The result of this is disrespectful children who end up worse off when breaking their rules. One of the most famous plays of all time is a key example of negative affects of honoring one’s parents. In Shakespeare’s play,“Romeo and Juliet” two lovers wed despite their parents immense disapproval. Montagues and Capulets disapproval of each other dates far back before any of the current characters in the play were born. The rivalry seams to be nonsensical and have little to no validity to be so fierce. Despite all this do the parents of Romeo and Juliet know best. Juliet, a Capulet, is engaged to a man named Paris that she does not love. On the other hand, Romeo, a Montague, in love with a women named Rosaline, that does not love Romeo back. Romeo’s cousin Benvolio, convinces Romeo to go to a Capulet feast in order to meet women from Verona. Romeo agrees only while at the banquet to fall madly in love with Juliet. Even after Juliet and Romeo find out that they come from rival families, they still elope. What continuous after their marriage isn’t a honeymoon on a cruise in the Bahamas. Romeo ends up killing Juliet cousin, Tybalt and her fiancé Paris. Through tragic irony Romeo ends up killing himself only to cause Juliet to also committee suicide. Juliet is not the only one to die as a result of Romeo killing himself, Lady Montague (Romeo’s mother) dies of misery. The play ends as the remaining Montagues and Capulets see the bodies of their dead family members. Prince Escalus, the voice of authority, pronounces, “All are punisht” (Shakespeare 278). The lovers’ disregard for family was calamities. Romeo’s dishonor of parents lead to his mother dying of grief. The classic play, “Romeo and Juliet”, illustrates a tale of two children dishonoring their parents only to end up in six deaths. Sadly, it is evident that dishonor of one’s parents is apparent at all corners of humanity. From absurd cases of Caitlyn Ricci to Shakespeare children’s disgrace is prevalent. Has America stayed from values? Have morals vanished? The answer is no. Although the Commandment of horning one’s parents is bent and even broken, their is still hope. Mothers and Fathers teach their children to respect them or be punished. One classic example of this is a character named Max from “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak. Even though only comprised of three hundred and thirty-eight words Sendak gets a long lasting message across in the classic children book. Max, disobeys his mother by causing a frantic ruckus around his family home. This is comparable to how children disobey their parents rules wether the action is simple or advanced and destructive. Max’s mother send him to his room with no supper. That very night the boy’s room grows into a forest that leads him to a savage party with fellow “wild things”. At first Max views his forest and creatures as wonderful, only to discover that he misses the comforts from home. Max leaves the forest makes it home. He finds out that his “supper was waiting for him and it was still hot” (Sendak 35-37). Though a children book, “Where the Wild Things Are” is relatable to the Ricci college tuition case. Max and Caitlyn Ricci are very similar in many regards. Both left home in search for something more. Max lived with his wild things, while Caitlyn lived with her grandparents. For the moment both had little to no regard for their parents. As time progressed both missed something; Max missed his supper, and Caitlyn missed heir parents money. Here’s the big difference. Max went home to his family and hot supper, with warm relations. Caitlyn took the people who birthed and raised her to court while taking them for as much money as possible. The lessen is every child has a choice. When children “come home for supper” they are safe and succeed. When children leave their and are disobedient they burn bridges and end up destroying families and communities. If more children followed this simple commandment we would all live in a better place. So when teens are looking to buy a tablet, maybe an iPad or a Surface Pro 3, maybe they should turn to the stone tablets, elderly, but senile.

Works Cited
Larimer, Sarah. "Should the Parents of a 21-year-old Temple Junior Be Forced to Pay Her College Tuition?" Washington Post. The Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2014. Web. 18 Dec. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2014/11/13/should-the-parents-of-a-21-year-old-temple-junior-be-forced-to-pay-her-college-tuition/>.
National Center for Education Statistics. "Fathers' and Mothers' Involvement in Their Children's Schools by Family Type and Resident Status." Hhs.gov (Heath and Human Services). NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS, 1 May 2001. Web. 1 Jan. 2015. <http://aspe.hhs.gov/fatherhood/htdocs/Parenting/nces-2001032.pdf>.
Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. New York: Harper & Row, 1963. Print.
Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1994. Print.