Money is the opium of the people
THE EDITOR, Sir:
IF IT is true that a significant portion of the mayhem now staining the country, especially St James, is the result of lottery scamming, isn’t it time the nation ask itself why these scammers and extortionists find the pursuit of money so intoxicating and alluring that they are prepared to destroy lives – theirs and their intended victims – just so they can possess it?
It cannot be denied that the value system that a nation creates serves as a major determinant of both its history and destiny. And like the rest of the global community, this nation has been promoting the dangerous ideology of the supremacy of money over virtue.
How then could we have been so deceived to think that we could have a prosperous and orderly society when we impress upon our children that their primary objective in going to school is so that they will become the biggest money earners?
Today, clergy abuse their office and misrepresent the truth of God because they have all become willing victims to the charm of money. Meanwhile, in the secular environment, the politicians, police, principals, parents and professionals compromise their integrity and competence by their constant preoccupation with schemes of making more money.
Our young men, the major producers of crime, have swallowed hook, line and sinker the message of the supremacy of money to the extent that they see no value in pursuing education because the proponents of the ideology have made it plain to them that what is in the pocket is more important than what is in the head and the heart.
COLOSSAL DAMAGE
If we fail to find the courage to reverse this debilitating doctrine of the ‘sanctity’ of money, it won’t be long before we are forced to mourn over the fact that the violence that has gripped the nation is merely a precursor to the inevitable collapse of our very civilisation.
But rest assured that this collapse will only be avoided when we start teaching and demonstrating to our children and young people that while the possession of money is necessary for the maintenance of a minimum standard of living, it should not be elevated above matters such as education, relationship with God, integrity, intelligence, love for fellowmen, family life, voluntarism, and the likes.
It is rather ironic and tragic that while the school’s primary function is to educate its students, it has now become the most unlikely institution to take the lead in this reformation, as it is primarily concerned with equipping persons for the job market. CASHLEY BROWN cashleybrown@yahoo.com