Development, emotional security and promiscuity

A glass of milk a day will help in keeping many a disease at bay and President Mahinda Rajapaksa, by making provision for this among our school-going population, has focused sharply on a principal requirement of development. That is, the empowerment of the person in the truest sense of the term. The useful practice of providing our youngsters with a glass of milk was allowed to die out over the years but there is no denying that milk could go a long way in sustaining the vitality of the human person. Hence, the advisability of resuming this important dietary practice targeted at the younger generation.

Besides the health implications of the glass of milk every day, we are reminded by the revival of this practice that it is the person who should occupy centre stage in the development drive. One could be glad that the authorities have not lost sight of this essential aim. For instance, on the occasion of the launching of the reconstructed ‘Daha Ata Wanguwa’ roadway in the hill country, President Rajapaksa said that the country’s expanding road network would, among other things, help to bring people together and facilitate greater person-to-person interaction, particularly among our citizens of the North and South. That is, the final aim is human development and current infrastructure-building has this as one of its most important ends.

It is important that the polity keeps these objectives clearly in mind. That much spoken of per capita GNP of this country would amount to nothing if it does not translate into greater personal contentment among the citizenry. It is relevant to remember that personal emotional security is an integral part of contentment. If development, as usually understood, does not bring about personal contentment in the true sense, we wonder whether development has indeed been achieved.

Physical infrastructure development must be persisted with, because, in the absence of this factor, we wonder whether the citizenry would be enabled to pursue avenues of employment which would help in their economic sustenance. But this requirement should be balanced against the need to ensure the emotional and inner stability of the people. In other words, without holistic personal development we wonder the ‘development drive’ is yielding substantial results.

For instance, it is all too clear that the more vulnerable groups among us are coming under increasing physical assaults and abuses of numerous kinds. Two such groups are women and children. While this proves that a lot remains to be done in terms of ensuring the security of these groups, we are also reminded that there are quite a few sadists and other offenders out there in the public who need to be treated for emotional instability.

These are issues we cannot hope to turn a blind eye to if we are to forge ahead on the road to human development. If increasing sexual promiscuity among some is helping to spawn who are callously referred to as ‘unwanted children’, then, the conclusion is inescapable that sexual morals are on the decline in some quarters, besides, quite a few individuals, both men and women, not being in a position to effectively handle their emotions. In short, emotional stability is lacking in some sections and they need to be helped.

Unfortunately, the unprecedented exposure of almost the totality of Lankan society to proliferating forms of the mass media is proving to be a factor in increasing sexual promiscuity and emotional instability. It was only yesterday that we front-paged the story of a man in the provinces who made a living off pornographic videos which featured, among other things, schoolgirls, some apparently in their school attire.

Besides such highly harmful material from the viewpoint of sexual morality, the law-abiding public has to also contend against a splurge of videos and kindred devices which glorify violence and brute force but which are legitimized as ‘entertainment’. Needless to say, these influences have a highly deleterious impact on impressionable minds.

We are not making any categorical and definitive statements on these issues. They should be the subject of further inquiry and discussion. Clearly, we cannot be complacent about the harmful impact some forms of the mass media have on the human consciousness. If holistic personal development is what we are seeking, then, we need to think more than awhile on these questions and take appropriate action to remedy the ills in question.