Dear Editor,
Sad to say, but a national problem we are now focusing on has been years in the making. Our children have been creating havoc and we have not accorded the issue the gravity it deserves. Guyanese have created the society that they now live in, one in which the children are the oppressors. Criminal acts once viewed as shocking for adults to commit, have become seemingly regular for teens and adolescents. It is evident that schools and homes have failed in their roles as the primary agents for shaping and moulding character.
Many folks in the diaspora have openly stated that a return to their native land is uncertain, because of the disturbing crime stories which are daily played out in the local media. Some of the children are behaving like skilled predators, which in my opinion is the most unpleasant aspect of their behaviour. Today the majority of children do not respect their parents, let alone authority. Guyana like the USA, England and other countries is enjoying technological advancement. What have these blessings of sorts brought our children? A self-destructive sickness that is destroying them and by extension us. Who is to blame?
A factor to be considered is the deficit in moral teaching. Is it virtually nonexistent in Guyanese society? Does no one any longer believe in absolute right and wrong. Why? one may ask. Politicians and educators have created and packaged their own band of moral relativism. As a people we must never forget that education is more than reading, writing, maths and science. It is imperative that education also focus on morals, virtues and values. Plainly put, education must show our children how to live. The rise in crime along with the behaviour of our children reveals that we have failed to teach our young people right from wrong, and we are not teaching our children right from wrong because we no longer know right from wrong. The upsurge in crime is really a crisis in the moral character of the entire nation. The country appears to be fragmented with no consensus on absolute values.
We must give full recognition to the fact that moral teaching and discipline begin at home. We must love and discipline our children, for if we do not discipline them we are making criminals of them. One of the wisest men ever to live, King Solomon, understood proper child training. He wrote. “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” Growing up as a child in urban Guyana my parents heeded that advice with total disregard for gender bias or sexual identity. In addition Solomon also wrote: “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Moral teaching mixed with love first and then loving discipline has long-lasting effects. When done properly moral training will last a lifetime. It can therefore be logically seen that teaching and enforcing absolutes is foundational in order to avert the current situation with our children.
Another contributing factor to the expressed concern surrounding our children is broken families. The majority of teens and youths involved in criminal activities are from single-parent families. For most children this means that they are growing up alone or with a working grandmother, who must work to support the family. Children of working guardian/ surrogate figures spend most of their time alone or with peers. No wonder moral values are not being taught. If we were to stand back and look objectively at our television, movie and computer screens, even the most myopic can see that our children are being nourished on a continuous diet of blood, gore and pugilism. Necks are snapped, bones are broken, and blood spurts out unchecked as lifeless bodies are thrown across the screen. Some of these games even have an added feature, a new level of clarity and reality, which allows the user to feel and sense they are actually in the game. Not all television, video games, computer games or movie shows are bad, nor is participation in some forms of modern entertainment bad, but it is the wrong use of the entertainment industry that is bad. Parents are called upon to strictly and closely monitor what movies, television shows, and video games their children watch and play.
The moral decay that has enveloped our children and has caused them to careen out of control is all a result of our own adult failings. Guyana should get back to teaching children right from wrong and let parents with governmental assistance where available take back the responsibility of raising their own children. Incidentally where are the religions in all of this? Outside of the government the various faiths remain among the most influential institutions. The children in Guyana look up to entertainers and athletes, and not to the place where help is assured, and given this the churches in Guyana can no longer be allowed to remain silent. They must stand alongside the government, prepared for battle against the wrongdoing that plagues our land.
Yours faithfully,
Yvonne Sam
