Indiscipline takes centre stage

Mar 31, 2011 Editorial

Discipline is the hallmark of any society. In war, the most disciplined armies would win, assuming that all the equipment and other armaments are almost on par.
An indisciplined society is one that is said to be in a state of anarchy. Some such societies are common in parts of Africa, Europe and Asia. There are also such societies in sections of South America and Mexico. Governments are often helpless or are caught up in a fight against anarchists.
In Mexico, for example there are the drug dealers who appear to be in a position to make certain communities helpless. Gunmen have killed police commissioners and have attacked private citizens, leaving beheaded bodies in the streets.
Colombia is not much different except that the group calling itself the rebels is based outside the capital. The rebel group which is acting outside the norms kidnaps visitors to the country, kill those opposed to it and threaten the very fabric of the society.
There is Somalia where there is no known government in place. The result is that different groups are headed by individual warlords. Crime seems to be the normal way of life to the extent that the country has earned the reputation of being a nation of pirates. Somalis attack and disrupt the movement of vessels going about their legitimate tasks.
The pirates hijack the vessels and more recently, have begun killing the hostages. Such is the nature of indiscipline. The criminals are a law unto themselves.
In countries like Afghanistan and Iraq where the governments are tenuous there is a state of anarchy. Just this week an explosion in Iraq killed nearly fifty people. Some people happen to be opposed to what passes for the rule of law decided to take some hostages, shooting at whoever came within their view.
From our vantage point these may be extreme cases of indiscipline. There are analysts who would insist that every society has its criminals and that criminal activity, while a case of indiscipline, is often not enough to threaten a disciplined society.
In Guyana indiscipline has led to the loss of lives, to the destruction of property and to a curtailing in business activities. The fact is that most of the indiscipline first surfaces in schools largely because of a lack of enforcement of the rules.
Late-coming has become endemic. Not a day goes by without someone seeing hordes of school children sauntering to school long after the opening bell. They seem to have not a care in the world. This is because the teachers, for the most part, cannot be bothered.
One school head said that things have reached the stage where teachers cannot complete the curriculum because the lecture time is drastically shortened. The teachers cannot teach until there are sufficient children.
These children grow up to be uncaring adults. They take their tardy habits to the world of work and protest when they are sanctioned. Managers are hamstrung because they recognize that worse is to come because each lot of recruits seems to be worse than the first.
Indiscipline has led to a remarkable rise in vehicular accidents. Motorists ignore traffic signs because the police and the courts are not strict enough. Just a few days ago, one motorist who ignored a siren died in a horrific crash.
Perhaps the most stunning act of indiscipline was recorded on Tuesday. A group of school children, armed with knives and other dangerous weapons, traveled miles to attack another child at a school. Fortunately, no one was injured.
But what about the fall out? There was no apparent action. The police are reluctant to prosecute because the children are young and the Education Ministry is incapable of dealing with the issue. The children were back in school the next day, none the worse for their actions.
These are the children who form gangs and boast of their escapades. And these escapades are not childish pranks. They involve wounding their colleagues and destroying public property in some cases.
When all is said and done, parents have abdicated their responsibility, some because they know no better and others because they simply cannot be bothered, that the school should become the surrogate parent.
The future seems frightening, especially since more and more daring acts of indiscipline occur in the society and nobody cares to do anything. Perhaps they are overwhelmed.

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