When Will People Learn?

I was watching the news last night. They reported that a child was murdered by the ex-boyfriend of the child's mother. This reminded me of a conference I attended years ago. At this conference, a researcher from England presented the results of a study he conducted. He discovered that the incidence of child abuse is much higher in households where one of the adults is not the biological parent of the child. The incidence was much higher in households where the couples were not married to each other. This is not new. Similar findings were reported by CNN a long time ago. I remember hearing about this also in my Psychology class in college. Then common sense dictates that these alternative relationships should be avoided to reduce the incidence of child abuse. But despite the preponderance of the evidence, some people continue to reject the traditional family and choose "alternative" household settings, which give rise to these abuses. When will people learn?

Media Irresponsibility

Responsible parents worry about what their kids see on TV. Unfortunately, the media defends the type of trash they show on TV by saying that it's the parent's responsibility to control what kids watch on TV. In essence, the media doesn't feel it has any responsibility at all. Well, if you've ever visited the city of San Francisco with your kids, the media certainly won't allow parents to control what kids see. Oftentimes, you'll see billboard advertisements containing nudity, or ads on public transportation that contain vulgarity. Or, events will be held where public lewdness is accepted. So how do you expect a parent to "control" what kids see? Is it any wonder why many families are moving out of the city to areas that are more family-friendly? I think it's time the media & the government realize the influence they can have on kids, and help parents control what their kids see.

Setting Good Examples for Kids

I heard a story from a friend about someone who's no longer a practicing Christian. When he was a little kid, his mom would leave him alone at the church hall every Sunday, without any food or water. She told the boy to stay there and do nothing, until she comes back from doing "church work." So he would starve all day. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that he grew up with a negative perception of Christianity. He no longer goes to church due to this bad experience. This raises some interesting questions. Are you neglecting your family obligations? Are you giving your kids a good impression of religion? Are you inspiring your kids, so that they too would want to become practicing Christians?

The Transient Nature of Material Things

A friend told me about a retired couple she knew, who were wealthy. The husband developed a rare & serious illness. The medical treatment required was not covered by their insurance. So they used up all of their savings and property to pay for the treatment. He was cured, but now they lived in a low-income apartment. It made me realize the transitory nature of things, and how quickly we lose them. Maybe, instead of spending all our time and effort at accumulating possessions, we should focus on things which are infinitely more valuable, such as our families and relationships. That's because these will remain, even if our material possessions do not.

Are You Familiar with Other Faiths?

Not long ago, a Muslim co-worker told me about a meeting he had with a non-Muslim colleague. This colleague suffered a heart attack during that meeting and died. My Muslim co-worker was shaken by that incident. He told me that he asked the people at his mosque to pray for his colleague and the bereaved family. I was amazed. I didn't know Muslims did that, especially towards non-Muslims. I realized then that I really don't know much about their faith. Wouldn't it be great if everyone took the time to know what Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and Jews really believed, rather than rely on just hearsay, or the biased news media. Then maybe there would be less hostility in this world.

More Important than Profit

My uncle owned a small business and one day he showed me around the premises. I asked him how the business was doing. He said he was just breaking even. So I asked him why does he keep the business running if he's not making a profit. He pointed to all his employees and asked me "if I shut down the business, how will these people pay the rent and send their kids to school?" I started to wonder "what if all businesses did the same thing?". What would the world be like if all employers shared the same vision as my uncle? Perhaps one way to make the world a better place would be for companies to start thinking about how to benefit society rather than simply how to make a profit.