Moral degeneration is a cancer

UPDF spokesperson Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye

What you need to know:

  • The child, like the mother, must be given love and care by both parents and those around him/her. Then the child is given lessons on dos and don’ts, both informally and formally, which are the societal norms of any human society, that is called culturalisation.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,” 2 Peter 1:5.

Reading the opinions page of the Daily Monitor, Thursday, November 24, 2022, I took note of Mr Johnson Mayamba’s article titled, “Teaching morals alone won’t save Uganda.”

In his submission, Mr Mayamba goes on to cite malpractices by some church ministers. It is written ‘You should know this, Timothy, which in the last days there will be very difficult times. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. People will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religiously, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!  2 Timothy 3:1-5.  This is where the problem lies; moral degeneration which is best addressed by proper and correct child socialisation. It is written in the Bible that train up a child, in the way of the Lord and he will not depart from it, Proverbs 22:6 Train up means “hedge up” or “hedge in.” It is like building a fence around a child; it would be noted, however, that what is to be hedged in is the child and the Bible.

When you are building society, you don’t start with adults, but rather you start with children from zero to seven years, beyond this age, a child’s brain is scattered over a lot of data. Aristotle said, “Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man.”

It is instructive to note that the behaviour we see in public service (misappropriation or is it expropriation of public resources) rising criminality, and inappropriate behaviour in church or by the spiritual leaders are consequences of a lack of moral training. It is written, “...But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability Prov 28:2 (NLT). The understanding and knowledge spoken of here are derived from the Word of God. Any country, state, city or community that would be so blessed as to have such a man of the Word at its helm is blessed indeed.

Thus, society will build moral aptitude effectively from expectant mothers to Primary One children. This means pregnant women should be treated right by their husbands and the community. When the mother is comfortable, the baby in the womb will be happy. The mothers should feed right, meaning feed on a balanced diet, (there is a misnomer that feeding right is expensive, which is not). When the expectant mother is given TLC, the child will be born happy and healthy. Then the child is breastfed by the mother for up to two years.

The child, like the mother, must be given love and care by both parents and those around him/her. Then the child is given lessons on dos and don’ts, both informally and formally, which are the societal norms of any human society, that is called culturalisation.

It is imperative to note that this culturalisation has been ‘sacrificed’ at the altar of chasing money. The children are either left on their own, with neighbours, (whose spirit about other people’s children is non-committal, or to housemaids (for those that can afford them), who normally feel underprivileged so they give no love to these children).

Middle-class parents leave their children to the television and mobile phones, to keep them busy, because the parents are busy at work or even at home, they are on phones (social) media and television, which is regarded (these days) as the most critical member of the family.

It has been successfully argued that when you see a gentleman, be sure he must have been spanked on his mother’s lap. Then the child starts formal school, which is the second family, where moral behaviour is emphasised as much as academics. In fact, early education should emphasise good conduct and community cohesion by the teachers. This requires the teachers to be grounded in morality and cultural norms.

A child is helped to socialise and value others through games and other extra-curricular activities (i.e., life outside the classroom). These have been sacrificed at the altar of profit in private schools, many of which do not have sporting facilities.

It is argued, that each person’s selfishness, quickly affects others; a selfish employee who steals from his workplace ruins its productivity. A selfish driver who drinks before taking to the steering makes the roads unsafe. A selfish spouse who has an adulterous affair often breaks up several families. When people live for themselves with little concern for how their actions affect others, the resulting moral rot contaminates the entire nation.

Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye is the UPDF spokesperson.