IT is often said that we have a crime problem, but I would rather say that we have an attitude problem, as a result of which crime or criminal activity is on the rise.
There was a time when our actions were restrained because of our strong religious beliefs, also because of the enforcement of the laws of the land, but it looks like freedom to do as one pleases seems to be the order of today.
Those were times when parents controlled their homes and families, law enforcement was at its best, there were little foreign influences and generally people respected each other’s rights, as well as the country’s laws and their representatives. Those days can be referred to as our colonial past, or the age of suppression, but the bottom line at the time was that people were in check.
At schools, principals and teachers had the right to discipline through beating. At homes most parents beat their children without being seen as barbaric.
When one was apprehended, or arrested, or even jailed for a specific offence, they paid the price and there was no human rights interjection. It was simply that if you did the crime and was found guilty of the offence, then you served your time and was labelled a ‘jail bird’ by the rest of the society, as somebody to be aware of, meaning having a tarnished reputation.
To earn, or to have or get something in life, you had to work and stealing was not an option because of the possible consequences. Though a handful were defiant and remained constant law-breakers, the majority of people within the society were more loving and less aggressive. It was a time when there was no reason to gun down your fellow man, or deprive another of their personal belongings, or their crops, as is again being done today.
All that happened because we had a particular attitude towards life. But fast-forward to today and we have inherited a new-found freedom, we are not afraid of the consequences, or the condemnation, so any action deemed necessary is used to obtain justification.
The system has lost the power of control and the authoritative establishment, meaning the Government, has crumbled under the pressure and there is no loyalty or commitment to fixing the problem.
Sadly, despite all the schoolers and learned persons in our midst, there is no consultative discussions, or firm analysis to determine cause and effect. So, we go with the flow and continue to comment and lament the state of things and have no resolve or formula to change the present.
If we continue on that course and take no affirmative action, all the gains that we have made will disappear and this society will be run by thugs and gamblers.
The politics of tomorrow should be about restoring values that made us united, loving, conscientious and above all, less enraged and barbaric. We cannot allow the fabric of morality to become past tense. We cannot hide or pretend that things are alright, or we will be more prosperous tomorrow.
Those who want to win the war for change must participate in the revolution for reformation, as failing to deal with today’s situation will worsen our tomorrow and the expectancy of seeing change without being part of that change will remain a figment of our imagination.