FAMILIES..

   I kind of got a writer's block, but this issue is something I wanted to talk about for a long time. It's a touchy subject and not a very pleasant one for me either. Please bear with me.

   I had a problem when I was a kid. Every time someone asked me about my father, I lied. As I didn't have a fixed excuse, pretty soon I got really confused by the numerous made up excuses. I didn't remember which excuse I made to which person. The whole thing was a mess. 

   My childhood days was when the concept of having a single parent was unheard. People understood if your parent died. But they didn't extend the same understanding when your parents were separated. I was pretty touchy about the fact I guess. 

   Sure there unavoidable reasons for getting divorced, but then, I think kids are more of the hapless victims here. I confess I'm a bit of a weirdo. But still now it is shocking to see kids like me. It's almost as if I'm seeing myself in them. And I sure don't want that to happen to anyone. Really.

   While this is quite depressing, there is one more thing which is still worse. We used to live near a family with three kids. It was a world war 3 everyday there. The father as well as the mother are alcoholics. They used to lock the kids inside a room and beat them up till they screamed. It was pure terror for me listening to them. One day the father decided to hang the youngest kid from the balcony because he suspected that his wife was having an affair. We were all afraid of them, so we couldn't interfere either. 

This is just one of the innumerable instances of domestic abuse, sadly. 
   These are just the worst case scenarios. Still there's some goodness left here on earth and people who do have a peaceful & happy family are indeed blessed. I guess our world still survives because of that. Seeing them, I really do wish whole heartedly there would be more families like that.

   But things are worsening even if insiduously. We are just left speechless, as kids these days end up doing unimaginable things. We play the blame game on mass media, gadgets etc. But what if the core problem lies at the heart of the society? Our families. 

   Today's average student pursues 'sex without strings & marriage without rings.' While this holds true in the western culture today, I don't think it'll be long before it takes hold in our soil too. What is going to happen to kids then? I can't even bear to imagine.

 Feels as if we are building floor after floor in the tower of life while we ourselves are destroying the basement. 

   I confess I'm inexperienced to write about these things, but is all these because we have distorted the definition of love? As far as the movies & songs go, it is just the flutter of the heart, a surging emotion you get when you see your 'special someone'. 

 But what if love was something more? 'Love is as much a question of the will as it is of the emotion. And if you will to love somebody, you can'. Isn't that how our culture had survived all these ages? Today 'love' has become one of the most used & misused epithets ever known to mankind. 

   This is the post-modern age where everyone yearns to break free from their moral obligations. But I wish we'd pause and think about the consequences. Sure you can live as if everything's just relative, and you are free to do whatever you want. But what if the whole world decided to think like that? Can you just murder someone because you just feel like it? Or can you rape someone just like that and escape from the consequences of your actions? We'll just be left with the empty shells of our bodies, despairing each day, seeing no hope for our future. Each day our civilization crumbles into pieces, our hands are guilty with ruining the lives of our future generations. Won't we change?

Author's note: I realize I'm at risk if being contradicted heavily, and criticized. But if you do so, please be polite. Thank you :)