Monday, January 24, 2011

THE UNIT




Coca cola in one of its timeless commercials in the 80s showed a group of children spreading this message across our hearts like butter being spread on bread….
I am the future of the world,
I am the hope of my nation,
I am tomorrow’s people,
I am the new inspiration……….
If we all could agree there will be sweet harmony………
Tomorrow, we will build another world for you.

The age old saying that charity begins at home as common as it is, is quite profound. Just like the human body is  made up of cells, so is  the society  made up of family units. Like the cells work together in harmonious co-ordination to make the workings of the body as smooth as cream so does a healthy family contribute to the well being of a society. On the flip side, as some cells go whacky, berserk and become cancerous so does a dysfunctional home contribute to the ills of any society.

In a country like ours where no value is placed on love, courtesy and human lives, an incisive look into the family structure becomes very imperative. Children are the building blocks of the family hence of the nation. This means that the foundation of a nation lies on her having good children, who will grow into responsible adults.

Alas, caught in the pell-mell, rat race, hustle and bustle of  modern civilization, most parents don’t have the time to train their children right anymore. Simple traditions like greeting of elders, saying sorry and thank you are all becoming relics from the dinosaur age. These days children look right through their elders like they are an invisible breed without acknowledging them or even uttering any kind of greeting. Courtesy, curtsy and respect have almost gone the way of the dodo. The pathetic side to all these is that you actually hear their parents say they are too young and should be absolved from paying any penance for their wrong acts.

 In this society, so called parents think having kids is like adding another scalp to your belt of achievements like a Red Indian brave. Small wonder that they usually don’t have any vision for their offsprings, hence we have kids growing into spoilt adults who don’t know their left from their right. They become like city slickers thrown into the heart of the Amazon jungle at night without supplies and a compass. There’s actually no hope for survival because no substance has been instilled into them. In the seas of value and character they drown and hit rock bottom. They morph into heartless Frankensteins, bipedal animals without souls, loveless monsters filled up with hate and blood lust like our politicians. It doesn’t matter whether they are in suits or rags, area boys or CEO’s, beauty or beasts, erudite or ignorant (the results of bad parenting is the same). These ones go ahead to spawn their own progenies and the circle of devastation continues.

There is something that goes intrinsically wrong with anybody who doesn’t receive or imbibe good home training. This goes a long way in explaining why the world is full of rapists, serial killers, ritualists and leaders in Africa who embezzle billions of dollars while the majority of the populace die in poverty and squalor without any hope.

Children are impressionable. They are like an empty canvass on which parents can create masterpieces. The fact that most people around us have an intrinsic twist in the way they talk, act, think, behave, with codes of conduct that leave a bad taste in the mouth like putrid meat, shows that a lot of parents botch this job.

Can you imagine a world like the Louvre with masterpieces all around, the effect will be breathtaking. This is exactly what the world will be like if our progenies turn out right. We would have a beautiful world. The other day I walked in to an eatery and saw small boys with their jeans sagged, limping in the name of bouncing and drinking beer like dehydrated fish. They painted a grim picture of tomorrow.

There’s always been this all pervading fear about apocalypse, Armageddon resulting from nuclear warfare but more is the pity that the world has not realized from the coke song that children are the hope and future of the world. If they are not shown the right paths to follow, then we are running inexorably to the finish line of the end faster than Usain Bolt.

With this knowledge in sight all parents should rise to this challenge to make our children turn out right and to form good family units that will battle and reduce the evil in the world. With the right amount and mixture of love, positive self esteem and discipline this can be achieved.

Our generation is so incensed with the preservation of wildlife and would go to any length for this cause but human life is more precious. Let’s save our children! It is by so doing that tomorrow will be preserved.


     









2 comments:

  1. I think this needs to be published on one if not all the major Newspaper in the country. Great article Sir. Keep it coming coz change is happening

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eze....I agree with Daniel you should find a way to put this into print.
    Keep them coming...
    Okey

    ReplyDelete