There was a time when telling people what was in my heart was a rather difficult thing to do. I think it was due to the way that I was raised. I went to grade school in a convent school and the Catholic nuns and priests in their pious habits were a fixture of my childhood days. My classmates and I were taught the importance of good manners and right conduct. Even if my small friends lost their composure sometimes and became loud and rowdy, I always kept myself quiet and inconspicuous.
All throughout my school years, I had a difficult time raising my hand in class to respond to the teacher’s question, or even to volunteer my point of view. Although my young mind was filled with questions and opinions, I kept my mouth shut. It was probably due to the fact that at home, my father was a strict disciplinarian. That might have been the reason that I was rather timid in my approach to almost anything. Writing notes and letters was the only activity I could pour my heart into. It was a silent pastime where I allowed the walls around me to crumble.
Now in my golden age, I hold the opinion that early in our life, even before we can think for ourselves, the talent we are destined to pursue comes knocking on our door. Many parents, or those who take on guardian or surrogate parental roles, might observe it and encourage the development of the child’s inclination. Unfortunately, there are many others who don’t heed, or are too busy to notice, the rousing of young talent. It is just too bad, because if more parents, or people who are responsible for the raising of children, will only take the time to do so, our world will benefit from the amazing wealth of human special abilities.
Instead we see so many young lives falling apart and descending into the gutter, unable to make anything of themselves. Substance abuse has become their god and way of life. They are quickly aging before their time. Many such young people procreate and bring their own offsprings into the world, never mind that they themselves are children needing taking care of. Sadly, the vicious cycle continues. As a result, our world is getting crowded with human beings who didn’t wish to be born, but are forced to be in society where they are not given proper guidance, unsure of what their roles are.
If our world can have shining role models for the children to emulate, we can stop this oppressing cycle. The people in the entertainment industry responsible for the films and shows that make their way for public consumption should ponder their responsibility in the education of the world’s children. As we know, the young ones are like sponges, good at absorbing and copying what their eyes perceive. It behooves the people who have the ability to influence the masses to be discriminating in their choices of public entertainment. Violent movies depicting the use of guns and gangs only serve to perpetuate the idea that it’s normal to kill people or that gang membership is the way to go. Uninhibited nudity and graphic portrayals of sexual encounters inspire the young ones to perform the same, thus we end up with more babies in the population than we can handle.
The music industry has a significant role, too. Children pick up on their recordings and make them their tune of choice. The “f” word has no special meaning and only succeeds in making young minds think that it’s alright to make it a part of their daily social discourse. If we value our children, we will give them all the tools to grow up fine, nurturing, respectful... and HAPPY. In the end the responsible and productive children we bring into this world become our most important contributions to humanity.
We all have our roles in the Universe. Let’s make ours something we can be very proud of, knowing that we were not responsible for a soul getting lost or staying in the mud. Just like the global warming problem, the physical, mental and verbal pollution in our society is ours to resolve. If the folks with the resources to make it happen will only do their part in the pursuit of common decency, our world won’t look and sound as sloppy as it does right now.
