Namibia, the land of the brave is a country entangled in serious moral decay if one considers the excessive number of senseless murders and so-called passion killings that occur on an almost daily basis. These atrocities are not committed by strangers or would-be robbers for that matter, but thugs disguised as lovers, the very same people who are supposed to provide cover and guidance for their own loved ones-cum-victims.
Unlike physical injuries, our society does not as yet have reasonably effective and permanent remedies for non-physical tragedies such as those that adversely affect the mind and the emotions.
As parents, our greatest responsibility and tasks are mostly on the mental plane, which compel us to strive toward achieving and sustaining specific positive results at the mental and emotional levels of our children.
This involves correctly integrating them into society and for this to happen, there are no methods with instant results and even when the results appear to be positive – would they only be temporary and would they be sustained?.
Destiny is by choice just as many schoolchildren decide to take up sports in between their studies. When children grow older and eventually become adults, they can contribute either toward making our environment and immediate surroundings a much better place, or an unhabitable place made up of a lost society.
It was heartbreaking the other day to watch pupils (boys and girls) from the reputable Augustineum Secondary School strolling freely down Florence Nightingale Street on their way to the Khomasdal sports ground for an inter-school athletics meeting.
Instead of witnessing teams walking in an orderly manner attired in their customary yellow, blue and red colours of their respective teams – the march resembled a disorganized flock of sheep with the majority of the pupils clad in tight jeans with dozens of earphones glued to their heads.
The traditional singing and passionate camaraderie among team-mates were notably absent with no competitive edge in sight from the athletes.
In years gone by the annual inter-school athletics meeting of the Augustineum Secondary School was regarded as an august gathering on the Namibian sports calendar because this is exactly where top athletes such as Lazarus Shikwambi, Asser Mbai, Kapuii Angula, Michael Pienaar, Germanus Mate, Abraham Kukuri, Rusten Mogane, Max van Wyk and many others were unearthed.
With so many changes that have taken place since Namibia’s independence in 1990, how can we expect athletes to record credible times running in ordinary shoes, state-of-the-art sneakers or barefooted for that matter while attired in a tight pair of jeans instead of the prescribed pair of shorts.
Our society has lost its virtues, and certain vices would most likely be part of our children for the rest of their life. Regardless of what we do for our children, they would and should eventually choose their own destination. This is a much deeper concept of philosophy that is so unique to each person that we cannot attempt to discuss it anymore.
Nonetheless, whatever destination it may happen to be, it should not be confused with means and tools such as moolah, becoming an excellent scientist or any other event or condition that would eventually pass.
By The Editor