The Editor, Sir:

We cannot expect change in our society without a change in our values. If we promote sex without restraint with the caveat 'use a condom' and glorify sex, then some of what we see happening in our buses, etc., is just the beginning.

If we value quick, easy earnings over consistent, diligent work, we will build a society of quick-fix and lazy people. People will expect to earn large sums of money for little work.

Long-term commitments

If we speak about parenting as one of the main solutions to our problems, but we do not challenge persons to enter into long-term commitments, then we will not have both parents around to raise their children.

As a middle-class father who is married and has four children in a middle-class setting, the challenges of raising children in this context is great. I cannot imagine what it is like to raise them in the inner-city communities. If the culture of those communities remains the same, then we are only giving lip service to bringing about change to our society, for it is the culture of these communities that is the real teacher of these children.

Look at cultural change

We have to look at how we can change the culture of these communities and cultural change has to do with value change. These value changes cannot happen with our focus being on the inner-city citizen only. In many ways, it is the society as a whole that has been accepting negative value changes, even though the expression of this is different depending on what stratum of the society you are from.

For example, a 'diss' uptown will result in someone being left out of the social circle or being blocked in their endeavours by the person or party that was 'dissed'. But a 'diss' in the inner-city community quite often means death. The change in our values uptown, which in our minds and contexts seems harmless, has a different outworking in the inner-city communities. If we want to see positive change in our society, all of us have to return to wholesome values.

I am, etc.,

BRUCE A. FLETCHER

Bruceaf@hotmail.com

28 Haining Road

Kingston 10

Via Go-Jamaica