Bad Things Happen When Good People Stand by and Do Nothing
As I watched the local news on Friday I came to the conclusion that something is fundamentally wrong with Dominicans as a whole! Why such a dramatic statement? Well I am about to tell you about it.
A news item featured the preparation of the national table tennis team for a regional tournament. The alarming thing to me is that a certain drug dealer, with a well known criminal history especially of introducing young women to the drug underworld here, was interviewed as the Vice President of the Dominica Table Tennis Association.
I had to ask how does that happen in a small society like ours where societal disapproval should be enough to prevent undesirables like this man to officially and publicly gain access to position of importance. How did we get to this, where the local tv station would even do an interview with this man?
We have become very accepting here of low standards of behaviour, low standards generally. We seem to be a ppl who just accept anything. Parents don't complain about the poor offerings at our schools, voters ask nothing of politicians and we buy sub-standard imports but mostly a lot of good people and people who know better do not get invovled.
My generation of professionals in their thirties and forties do next to little community and volunteer work. At least not at the level that it used to be before. I remember the teachers were also the Sunday school teachers and the local/lay preacher would be coach for the cricket team. Now my generation does not get invovled. We don't share our talents beyond the boundaries of our workplace. Our only concern is our family and career.
So there is a void left that the drug dealer type can so easily step into. He well be happy we are not there b/c he has better and unobstructed access to young minds. He can impress them with his financial sponsorship. He will be their role model. We the people who should be involved are just watching, sleep walking as if this has nothing to do with us or our children in the future. Mind you it is us who will ask in the loudest voices, what has become of our peaceful and tranquil society. Well bad things happen when good people stand by and do nothing.
A news item featured the preparation of the national table tennis team for a regional tournament. The alarming thing to me is that a certain drug dealer, with a well known criminal history especially of introducing young women to the drug underworld here, was interviewed as the Vice President of the Dominica Table Tennis Association.
I had to ask how does that happen in a small society like ours where societal disapproval should be enough to prevent undesirables like this man to officially and publicly gain access to position of importance. How did we get to this, where the local tv station would even do an interview with this man?
We have become very accepting here of low standards of behaviour, low standards generally. We seem to be a ppl who just accept anything. Parents don't complain about the poor offerings at our schools, voters ask nothing of politicians and we buy sub-standard imports but mostly a lot of good people and people who know better do not get invovled.
My generation of professionals in their thirties and forties do next to little community and volunteer work. At least not at the level that it used to be before. I remember the teachers were also the Sunday school teachers and the local/lay preacher would be coach for the cricket team. Now my generation does not get invovled. We don't share our talents beyond the boundaries of our workplace. Our only concern is our family and career.
So there is a void left that the drug dealer type can so easily step into. He well be happy we are not there b/c he has better and unobstructed access to young minds. He can impress them with his financial sponsorship. He will be their role model. We the people who should be involved are just watching, sleep walking as if this has nothing to do with us or our children in the future. Mind you it is us who will ask in the loudest voices, what has become of our peaceful and tranquil society. Well bad things happen when good people stand by and do nothing.
Comments
As re professionals that is my point exactly...this is what I am contemplating in this post,a recognition of what our non-involvement means.
The position this character is in is not that significant in the scheme of things. But it is important b/c of wo he is and the fact that he has such access to young people.