The value of instilling values

Audrey Williams, Freelance Writer

IT'S ON everybody's lips: "What is to become of our country?" The rash of crime and violence sweeping our nation is just about everyone's concern. I spoke with a fellow citizen, who I shall refer to as Peter Jones (not his real name). He recalls being a young man in Kingston, fresh from the country in the early to mid 1960s.

Back then, it was a happy time. The newly-independent Jamaica was poised for take off, and hopes and expectations were high. Peter recalls how normal it was, for him to go for a pleasant stroll, anytime of night, along Slipe Pen Road, Studley Park Road, down Collie Smith Drive straight down to May Pen Cemetery, along Spanish Town Road pass Coronation Market, straight out to West Parade and up Orange Street, without having so much as even an unkind word flung his way.

That Jamaica began to vanish in the late '60s, (as 'bad boys' brandished knives), and then completely vanished by the mid to late '70s, as the gun was introduced, and gained significant momentum, as the first set of gunmen (many now dead or incarcerated), were deliberately encouraged to take up a life of crime.

This must have been a terrible time for those unsuspecting parents of 'first generation gunmen'. They were faced with a challenge that neither their parents nor parents before them had experienced. Powers external to their households wreaked havoc in their lives and many, unfortunately, lost the battle. Let me hasten at this point to say that the mission of this piece is not to blame those parents who were unable to more positively influence their sons and daughters, nor even to make a comprehensive analysis of the root causes of crime.

Such an issue, with a myriad of contributing factors, could not be dealt with effectively in one sitting. Instead, I have chosen to focus on one of the effective elements in curbing dysfunctional societal behaviour: instilling strong moral values in your child.

Many of the boys who decided against criminal involvement in that era, were young men with serious levels of conviction of right and wrong. They were young men, who considered anything other than a fair day's work, for a fair day's pay to be inconceivable. They carried the values they had been taught by their folks back home, and considered it a sin to tell a lie, let alone steal or worse, kill. They knew they wanted to learn a trade or go to school to improve themselves, but they weren't so greedy that they had to have it all in one night. They could wait. Patience was a good thing. Working hard for what you wanted was expected. And the level of resistance to outside pressure was often dependent on how deeply rooted these personal convictions ran. Parents, especially now, would do well to launch personal campaigns in the lives of their children focusing on that crucial element: moral values.

Many parents believe that living an honest life before their children is a sufficient guide for the rest of their lives ­ and in many instances this seems to have proven true. Nevertheless, in such times as these, deliberate verbal reinforcement is of the utmost importance. You never know when your child will be tempted and tried.

The following tips may prove to be useful: