Today’s world is full of tragedies. Everywhere danger awaits us, we hear about it in the daily news, T.V. and radio. A brother killed by his sibling, a newborn left in a wasteland to die, domestic violence, corruption, money laundering, and so many other unlawful acts are daily occurrences. It could be anyone. Your son could be the murderer of the man who lived down the street. Your mother could be the victim of domestic violence, and her torturer is none but your father. Your cousins may be found guilty of money laundering through some strange businesses. The chaotic situation is our daily reality, our life. There is no self-respect; people no longer respect each other; love is nearly extinct; wrongdoings and crime surround us. We are utterly living in a moral-less environment, and most people seem to have lost any sense of ethical living and moral values.
Seniors are afraid to leave their houses, as the rising crime rates against older people are worrisome. Their old age and their vulnerabilities make them prime targets. We have seen reports of crimes against older adults recently in our country, namely theft, rape, murder, violence, and bullying. Young, undisciplined people take every dark opportunity to make the elder’s life miserable. Lately, we have heard about the atrocity of older women being raped by younger men. Defenceless grandmothers are robbed, and weak grandfathers are killed. What about the disrespectful act of being abandoned by their kin? And the awful discovery of the corpse of an old father slain by his relatives only for his heritage. Where is the respect due to those who raised us? Â
This issue affects not only the elders but young people as well. Youngsters from the age of fifteen to twenty-five are mostly those who would commit suicide. Research made by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has discovered that one person commits suicide every forty seconds, and our global suicide rate is 1.4%. It was the 18th leading cause of death in 2016. What makes teenagers suicidal? It is a difficult time for those who entered the teen years, where the need to be known and valued is ever-present. They want to be impactful at school, at home and in society. Acting cool before their peers seems to be undeniably the main objective of those kids, as though it includes ruining their future. Stealing, taking drugs, premarital sex, and truancy are seen as “posh”. If you do not abide by these stylish rules, you are considered a coward and should prepare to be bullied by your peers. As if peer pressure is not enough, they also need to deal with emotional instability caused by unintentional manners from their parents and siblings. Too busy to talk, to ask, to care for them. They feel rejected everywhere they go and find nowhere to be accepted.
This feeling is not unknown to young adults and even to older adults who feel the need to be accepted in society. People judge according to professions and education.” You are not good enough.” “you will never make it out”, “You do not have the requirements to succeed in this.’ It starts with judgment from others, then self-pity and at the end, suicide. Here, only those who have white-collar jobs are considered as more important than those with dirty jobs. Society looks down on those who clean our streets, cultivate our vegetables, care for our meat, build our houses, and create beautiful furniture. “Study well”, we usually tell our child, “So that you do not finish like him”. There is nothing wrong in encouraging your child to study. However, we must not do it by discriminating against other jobs. Without these people, we would be starving or living in a polluted area. Shouldn’t we realise that those people are earning their lives honestly?
Another scourge is gangsters. Blood fights in dark corners, assassinations, racketeering, drug trafficking, blackmailing and a lot of other illegal transactions. Unfortunately, the lack of moral values and ethics is a global issue, and it is blatant that the problem is not on the emergency list.
The situation is worsening amongst our youngsters. Our toddlers and children are victims. Long ago, they were able to play outside till late at night. Family members like uncles, cousins, and grandfathers could be trusted. Have we not heard lately about a girl molested by her uncle or a boy raped by his cousins. They that we are supposed to protect at all costs are now paying for our wrongdoings. They lose their innocence and become grown-up too fast without having a chance to enjoy their childhood. Without excluding organs trafficators who wait for our kid at the end of school hours or rapist who targets vulnerable kid as a predator targets their prey Â
Have we forgotten about morality? Protecting the lives of both individuals and our own. Moral Values and Ethics. You might say that rules are here to stop living. However, these rules are there to protect life. Be honest, do not steal, do not hurt others and yourself, and so goes on the list. Morality knows what is right and acts justly. Elders used to remind themselves of the good old times. How youngsters respect their elders, how good work is valued, and how family is a priority. In their time, the danger was not ever constant in every corner of the street. Working in the field was not more shameful than stealing and eating butter with bread. However, it was better than being separated from the family.
Youngsters understood the value of caring for others and themselves even though alcohol and domestic violence always existed. It was not like today, where even kids indulged themselves in all types of chemical substances and immoral sexual activities.Â
Children were encouraged to go to school and do their best in their studies even though their parents knew their budget would not afford further studies. After school hours, all the friends reunited outside to play restlessly until their parents threatened to take the verge against them. There were cases of kidnapping and rapist, but they were few. The world is full of atrocities against all ages. How did we get to this point?
The answer is that we all forget about the education of moral values. At home or school, both have their importance in the teaching of moral values. How to be honest, or why is it important not to lie even if the matter is silly? Also, though this present generation is already in a wrong pattern, it still has hope. We can change this situation by teaching again, yes again, moral values. We once taught moral values at school and prioritised them at home. Never steal, never lie; we even wrote short histories on moral values everywhere in libraries and social media.
Teaching your child about moral values will help not only be a benefice for the society but also himself. Because of moral values, a child learns to respect himself as a human being with standards and to respect others will be one of them. Not only children can be taught about it, but also grown-ups. “It takes everything to make love more than a dream.” says the lyric of a song about love. Reassociating moral values to this society takes effort from every single individual. Take your spouse out someday to show love and care for your children by spending time with them and respecting your colleagues even when it’s hard, and we know it is. What will all this bring you, you might think? Inner peace brings inner peace to you because you respect yourself by respecting others
