IT is amazing how time changes everything.
While those my age were growing up, love seemed to be everywhere. There was Pure Love for mothers and fathers, even though the father may not be living in the home, he usually loved and supported his children from the outside.
There was love especially for our grandparents on both sides, because all that we grew to know seemed to come from Granny or Grandpa and when Mum was not there, or not available, it was always Grandma who took over.
There was love too for the animals, the farmers loved the land and all that they planted. The love split over to the extended family such as our cousins, aunts and uncles — and by extension, the whole community.
Close friends were treasured, and love for neighbours and their children was also cherished. We loved going to school and we loved our teachers, the school, as well as fellow students.
Love extended to the people we met, the places we went, the suppliers of whatever commodity we needed. We loved going to Church, we loved all the church members, including the priest or the pastors we loved listening to, and the choir and the sermons.
This love also included our childhood friends and fellow club members, some grew to love their work and workplace, and fellow staff members generally loved everything and everywhere.
But fast-forward to today and almost everybody has a beef with someone else. Parents don’t get love from their children anymore and some children, now grown-up, show no love to their parents. Most families are divided and the connection with the extended family has been eroded. Neighbours don’t like each other or the state and our officials.
We are constantly criticizing, we hate school and ‘the system’, we never praise our employers, friends deceive each other frequently, the Church and God all have been put on hold and most of all, we hate law enforcement representatives and authority. Now, young men have turned on each other and once one gets paid, another could be eliminated without question. Having, and wanting money is all that matters now and love is now replaced by greed, malice and trickery. Now, it’s all about the love of money and all things material.
Even in married and love relationships, there is deceit and discontent today, as love remains superficial. The love of doctors for their patients, lawyers for their clients and all other professional works in life now, is only about the love of money, money, money, and more money.
Love is still used in songs and poetry, also when sending hello to true friends, but the true meaning of love seems to have drifted away. We don’t even love the Earth or our fellow inhabitants. We frown on everything that resembles love. We even love going to war.
We love to destroy, we even seem to love devastation. There is a newly growing love — for gadgets, cars and big houses, jewelry and guns, booze and drugs. We even seem to like bad eating habits. And most of all, we love sex in all ways
Now, big and powerful people are trying to depopulate the Earth because of No Love for Humankind.
And now, some politicians are even prepared to destroy our homeland St. Lucia — the one we claim we love so-much.
For all the above reasons, therefore, I might even suggest proposing that the word LOVE should be deleted from our vocabulary, because most people do not know its meaning.