Lack of moral education in society
Paul Pereira
The present generation with all the education and wealth at their disposal, have missed an important aspect of life and that is moral education. We see a lot of social ills and vices in our society due to the misuse of wealth. There is lack of sincerity, honesty and humbleness amongst the new generation and every member of the family is confined to himself/herself which are very individualistic and selfish traits. Some people have come up in life financially by sheer hard work, but with financial progress, arrogance, hatred, jealously, selfishness and ego have overpowered them and they have failed to realise who they are and who they were. This is purely due to a lack of moral education. The elderly too fall prey of this materialistic world and exert pressure on their children to attain wealth by whatever means, fair or foul, with or without moral values.
We need to ask ~ where are we headed to with our ego and pride? A lot of the stress, depression and unhappiness in our society, are due to our craving for more and more wealth, by whatever means, and to be one step ahead of our neighbours and relatives. Solving disputes amicably in the true Goan spirit, has become rare in our present society and we willingly take up petty matters and challenge each other in the courts. There are people who are ever ready to add fuel to the fire when there are disputes, so that there is more animosity among the warring parties. The dispute becomes a source of entertainment and gossip. If we had a good moral education, then we would have desisted from such actions, sorted out our disagreements justly and calmly and respected each other.
Parents too are responsible for the child’s lack of moral education. Parents have little time for each other and they hardly spend any valuable time with their children. Parents give money, wealth, assets and a formal education top priority and never ever think of observing, following and counseling their children’s behavior. So children at a later stage when they grow up, are unable to manage their lives and can sometimes become a nuisance to society in general. Why are there rapes, molestations, murders, corruption, cheating, manipulations, drug addictions, smoking, alcoholism, gambling, prostitution and innumerable court litigations within our Goan society? This is due to lack of moral education from the childhood stage and this can never be taught in schools. It is only the parents and our elders at home, who can be our role models for a proper moral education. If only we have the willingness and interest to impart good qualities, values and right living to our present and future generations, we would steer them in the right direction, help improve their lives and make our communities, society, state, country and the world a better place.
