A few decades ago youngsters read comic books like Beano and Dandy and traded Green Lantern for editions of Archie and Jughead. Entertainment was unsoiled and a foundation for learning and fun. Music was about artistic expression and there was no agent provocateurs twerking on nearly every TV channel or youngsters gyrating crudely to automated music. Youngsters viewed wholesome programs and were happy playing sports in the park or monopoly and scrapple with their parents. Families assembled puzzles and played tennis in the streets with court outlines drawn with chalk. There were few drug addicts and the only drunks were the vagrants who were a minor nuisance
When parents divorced they sat at the back of the Church and Mosque and showed the necessary remorse for their individual failure and shame caused to the extended family. Most people had dignity and a degree of shame concerning private matters. When some-one cheated in business or on their spouse they typically left the area and resettled elsewhere. White, Black and Brown communities did not have equal opportunities and racial and other forms of discrimination were punitive. Ironically the vast majority of citizens had quality standards and established ethical values.
Those days of sanitary and straightforward entertainment are in decline.
Recently, several reports clarified that Shrien Dewani required someone to dominate and be arrogant towards him. Thus he sought the companionship of a specific gay male escort. This was interesting as I was certain that Dewani could get that treatment from many women in Cape Town. Also, after a few years this behaviour ensues in most marriages in any case, Dewani just needed to bide his time.
Similarly and for reasons unknown, Reeve Steenkamp mother announced to the world that her daughter although sleeping in the same bed with Oscar Pistorius to whom she was not married, did not actually sleep with Oscar Why the mother of a murdered daughter would disclose such intimate details to the world suggests that either the mother lacks common sense or has no sense of decorum.
In our society as in the global community the divorce rate is about 50%. This implies that into the future the ideals and the realistic definition of stable families will continue to recede. Most children already grow-up in dysfunctional families where the father is commonly absent. Pre-marital relations and extra marital affairs are measured normal in our society and the concept of religious marital ritual are often ignored as couples opt to live together periodically often changing partners whenever.
The consequences of what society is sowing at this point in history will continue to multiply into the future. Example, recently a former Conservative Party Minister in England booked into a psychiatric clinic. Ostensibly, he could not stop himself from sending naked pictures of himself to others. With all the freedom and rights that society condones, we may have missed the balanced approached. Addiction is seriously on the increase so is vagrancy, unemployment and crime among the youth.
We cannot encourage a society that remains emotively stimulating and then be traumatised when thousands of youths end up pregnant every year. Society cannot expose the youth to persistent socialization of vulgarity and limitless access to cheap intoxicants and then expect quality behaviour.
In the words of the wise there is a time and place for everything. Children must be children and adults must behave like adults, otherwise we will all end up paying a price that is already too high.
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress