Whitney Houston sang;
Let the children's laughter remind us, how we use to be .
Yet another writer simply writes "There are no children here"
Both are traceable to the United States of America.
Fundamentaĺy, the family is the initial unit present in all society with the sole responsibility of framing the level of societal impact. Which of course impacts, moulds and determine the overall nature and nurture of the society at large .For example it was said of Germany that the first and second war emanated from Germany based on the overall aptitude and tendency of the people towards an authoritarian state or a policed state.
Seemingly not totally communist in the same vein not egalitarian, so you get a situation that allowed a tyrant like Hitler to thrive unchecked for a while based on these tendencies. The whole world still remains confused as to why this continued without intervention in spite of the advocacy for renaissance and decision to avoid such dictatorship on the world stage.
The general belief till date will be to explain it away by pointing out that these concerns has to do with the German permisive nature where patriotism is the mantra coupled with a disconnect to respect other nations and their laws. The supremacy, selfish as it sounds are not however without arguments for and against especially when one looks at the conformist such as Muosolini and even Stalinist Russia who also encouraged the third Reich popularly refered to as the resistance and collaboration. The focus let us not forget is the home setting and society . So am going to adjust and revert not to move away from the subject matter which is the family.
Psychologist have taken the important depth by taking a look at the child as the primary study in exploring the nature of the social clime. The general contention is that a child's formative years play a big role in framing a child's character. Those years spanning between age three to ten years.
An overview based on research and observation is that by this time of the child's development the child is seen to be wholly formed character wise developing and growing steadily and in the absence of any major interruptions the chronological age should be equal to the mental age. Issues such as divorce, death of parent , or a dysfunctional home, and a lawless society can bring with it devastating experiences. These issues can distort, aggravate or derange the child momentarily or permantly and can be restored , in some cases amended depending on corrective mechanisms .
The mind itself is essentially a tabular rasa, which suggests that the mind is a blank slate bringing with it over the years what experience writes on it , which basically forms the human character. Do please bear with me as I intend to fully expantiate putting things in the right perspective. The above narrative is taking us somewhere and I would therefore crave your indulgence.
Today we are experiencing a more audacious generation and many of us have had to take a second look at our parenting skills. The people within the age fifty to sixtys are more respectful, docile and in some ways not as innovative as the present. What was the nurturing format that inspired such nature. This present age definitely more facety, mouthy and with a seemingly stunted sense of right and wrong. I say that with a certain degree of reservation as well.
A good example will be that of the young man who recently literally unseated an elderly person on the plane. I hear the people of the young man's generation as they respond and react to us in our fiftys telling us categorically or reminding us of our hypocrisy basically foisting on the them a sense of respect with no rational but the decadence in today's present society. On the radio the host on Classic fm was saying we should hold on to such respectful standards as this was all we have in terms of tradition that remains worthy of emulation.
An Ibo man for that matter but was quick to point out this was essentially a Yoruba culture. And what will that be, the Yoruba tradition pointing to the fact that every thing must stop where an elderly is concerned. Emotional will be my conclusion but how practical someone of certain age will be prone to enquire.
In a way , will that not be why we are where we are today. The elders on the most part have truncated our future and nobody is really standing up except again people like Wole Soyinka. Let's actually go into different home settings today. Conveniently there are many in the name of being elders sitting on properties, extorting and manipulating laws and practices to favour themselves.
This happens in every culture and am yet to see the old step down or relinquish their position for the more responsive or agile young. Many years ago, i took an unusual step of dragging my family to court and the point of contention for everyone who bothered to intervene had nothing to do with right or wrong but age and position. The most bewildering explanation I had from an elderly person was that I was fighting an institution.
In the course of my legal studies I have seen people drag cases as far as the international court of justice against nations. The African man needs to vehemently pursue enlightenment and really halt the downward rigmarole. Our sense of total denial by enacting a system that allows for law and order to be eroded, encroaching on civil liberties and ignoring it's stipulation in terms of regard is alarmng , backward and crippling to the development of a safe and sound society .
The way forward is to strive for the development of Cultivating a form of respect by directing all and sundry towards making the journey for the attainment of equity and justice feasible in our life time .Otherwise our journey to growth as a twenty first century nation to be reckoned with in terms of greatness will remain as it were a long drawn one, not likely to be fully achievable in the near future.
As a pastor who counsels you find out in many homes many have hijacked properties and even gone as far as killing a spouse or sibling in the name of greed and acquisition. Invariably a great deal of the people we encounter at the work place in governance are coming out of such dysfunctional homes and quite frankly that is why we have the chaos at evey stage and sector today. Many are talking of a failed state , why the real problem has to do with the breaking down of the family structure.
In the western world , they are more interested in family life than the ambition when it comes to selection for Prime Minister or the President. The Royal family in these parts understand that a Divorcee can not attain certain position and when Prince Charles broke the rule, it made it necessary to focus on his first son William.
They are a conservative people and it's believed they will cross that bridge when the time warrants it. The home front, traditions, sense of right and wrong is timeless, ageless and relentless. Whatever is wrong can not be christened and given another name. Righteousness exalts and sin is a reproach. The time for a total cleansing is now and it has to start with the family.
0 Comments