Over the last fifty years, there has been a tremendous intensification in the exploiting of our key natural resource, oil. Multifarious and modern concepts applied to harness this oozing liquid and its byproducts from the ground up have contributed significantly toward shaping our society today.
But today there also exists an alternate form of energy; we need to apply innovative concepts and direct this endless energy for a much better society tomorrow. And that is the energy of our youth, that boundless reservoir of energy that if channeled onto the right track and direction can add a significant boost to moving this country forward faster.
The arrest of four youths in Riyadh recently for harassing women in the streets while taking video clips of their disgraceful activity and then posting them on the net is an example of something gone wrong. Just about everyone who came to hear of this incident applauded the move by the authorities to locate and imprison these social deviates.
But who are these boys, and what is their background? The punishments alone are not going to let us know what motivates such individuals into such senseless and abusive deeds. Neither will their imprisonment help enlighten us into why some youths pursue such despicable activities.
How were they raised and by whom? What kind of a home environment were they being brought up in?
Was it one of total segregation from the womenfolk of their own family? Was it one where they routinely witnessed their mothers or sisters being verbally or physically abused by their fathers or husbands? Or was it a case of too much too soon and too easy, whereby parents often indulge youth without limits to the point of being totally ineffective and interdependent adults? This incident may be worth a deeper look by the Ministry of Social Affairs, or by some passionate investigative reporter.
But for each of these deviate youths, there are dozens of even keeled ones, with positive and refreshing energy. They want to contribute, to feel that they can make a noteworthy contribution. As more and more of them join the 14-18 age group, it is apparent that steps on national scale are to be taken, and not just those that make our youth part of statistics and plug them into some bureaucratic shuffle of a job.
Perhaps mandatory community service can be part of their school curriculum in their growing years, as could debates, lectures, drama classes, and the arts. Summer programs that offer more than simply lazing away the hours or traveling to some tourist spot without gaining any form of knowledge or insight are simply not going to do it. Interchange programs in different countries would be by far more productive.
Our youths are what we are going to make them. Ignore them and you run the risk of them indulging in nefarious activities with nary a contribution toward society’s well being. Provide them with the right tools and guide them toward positive goals, and watch some of them perhaps soar among eagles in making this a better place for all of us to live.
