Searchlight Logo
special_image

    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
Our Readers' Opinions
October 26, 2012

Our society shapes us

Fri, Oct 26, 2012

EDITOR: Our brains change physiologically as a result of our experiences. Our society shapes us. We are therefore products of our environment. In this environment, wherever it is, we are taught a code of behaviour. Our Vincentian code of behaviour has been deteriorating. It is this warped new code of behaviour that many of our young people are learning and which they consider to be acceptable ways of interacting.{{more}}

We are now so interconnected with the rest of the world that we need to consider the level at which our citizens would be able to function when they migrate to other lands. Their code of behaviour will reveal itself and be recognized, no matter where they go, and will influence the level of acceptance they experience.

Those who remain here and become our leaders, we hope would adhere to a code that makes it possible for them to work with us by having an attitude of good-will to all. They should bring people together, not be divisive, and have such an influence on the community that we move in the direction of peace. By doing so they will command our respect. Intuitively, this is what we look for and appreciate.

A peaceful nation depends on our ever-day behaviour, not only on an occasional day of prayer. When a society becomes more violent, it becomes, at the same time, less peaceful. Finding peace at home should be easy. Our burglar bars and the notices posted at the front of our properties warning of electronic protection tell a story. Where there are burglar bars, the world judges such to be a “bad neighbourhood” – a neigbourhood filled with crime which is out of control: burglary, assault, rape and murder. These crimes cause psychological pain to the victims and members of their families. Our brains change physiologically as a result of our experiences. They are changing. Too many of us have had the experience of no one coming to the home when a situation has been reported. We are on our own.

When the society does not care to punish, or is incapable of punishing offenders, criminal behaviour rises. It is no longer disapproved. This seems to be our projected, deliberate and conscious path. The path we are on is not by chance. We know that reports are being ignored. We know that criminals are not being pursued. We, therefore, know that they are not being punished. We know that we are not providing incentives for non-crime. Instead, we talk to the victims and provide incentives for fear. In this environment, it is the victims, not the criminals, who are instructed to change their way of life. We are a conscious people. We know what we are doing. Victims of these crimes who wish to be legally armed are knowingly left unarmed. Our brains change as a result of our experiences. We are therefore products of our environment. Our society shapes us. Look around at what we are shaping. The conditions we provide for all citizens elicit responses. We are moulding our people.

Crude and callous behaviour is not what we want emulated. We have strayed so far from our once peaceful and polite ways that it may seem irreversible. However, where there is life there is hope.

We hope for and work towards change. We hope for and work towards reclaiming a society where all girls, women, boys and men would be heard and taken seriously when in distress.

Quotations from our national songs:

“God Bless our Homeland”
“God Bless our State”
“May peace and justice here be found”
“For Liberty and Justice
And Peace and Progress too
We’ll firmly stand in mutual band
United, brave and true.”

Gloria Margaret Jack

  • FacebookComments
  • ALSO IN THE NEWS
    Villa woman in  hospital after being stabbed over 20 times
    Front Page
    Villa woman in hospital after being stabbed over 20 times
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    Police are said to be carrying out investigations into the stabbing of Rafia Sardine, a 20-year-old female of Villa. Reports are that Sardine, a FLOW ...
    RSVGPF most hacked of gov’t agencies
    Front Page
    RSVGPF most hacked of gov’t agencies
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    In St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), an analysis has found that the most hacked government entity was the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Polic...
    Event staged locally to mark Africa/ Caricom Day
    Front Page
    Event staged locally to mark Africa/ Caricom Day
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    Leaders of Governments and institutions from countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the continent of Africa, gathered at the weekend for ...
    PM, proud of his constituents
    Front Page
    PM, proud of his constituents
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, is proud of the persons in his constituency who continue to aim for higher education. Dr Gonsalves is the parliame...
    Van conductor to be sentenced for beating pregnant ex-girlfriend
    Front Page
    Van conductor to be sentenced for beating pregnant ex-girlfriend
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    A van conductor, who beat his five- months pregnant ex-girlfriend after she refused to get back with him, has been remanded pending sentencing. Onez J...
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    News
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    To the haunting timeless reggae melody of Jimmy Cliff’s classic ‘Journey’, Curtis King, who was selected as the candidate for the Unity Labour Party (...
    News
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    News
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    To the haunting timeless reggae melody of Jimmy Cliff’s classic ‘Journey’, Curtis King, who was selected as the candidate for the Unity Labour Party (...
    Steel wielding Lowman’s Hill man to be sentenced tomorrow
    From the Courts, News
    Steel wielding Lowman’s Hill man to be sentenced tomorrow
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    A Lowman’s Hill man who struck another villager in his head with a piece of steel will know his fate tomorrow, September 10, 2025. Kevin Roberts, 25, ...
    Minister of Information Technology  emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    News
    Minister of Information Technology emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Robust cybersecurity must be at the heart of the digital transformation that is currently taking place in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) says Min...
    Entities team up to boost disaster communication capacity
    News
    Entities team up to boost disaster communication capacity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The Climate Change Resilience Network (CCRN) in collaboration with the Youlou Radio Movement (YRM) recently embarked on a disaster preparedness initia...
    Ministry of Health to get more dialysis machines
    News
    Ministry of Health to get more dialysis machines
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, is to obtain three more Heamodialysis machines as part of the revolution in the healthcare secto...

    E-EDITION
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Subscribe Now
    • Interactive Media Ltd. • P.O. Box 152 • Kingstown • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Phone: 784-456-1558 © Copyright Interactive Media Ltd.. All rights reserved.
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok