President Jacques Chirac said, this week, that extended violence in France is the sign of a “profound malaise” among his country’s troubled youth.
Clicking over to the “Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary” to be sure I was on the same page as the French president, I found two possibilities for “malaise.” The first referred to illness, which I am sure is not what President Chirac meant. The second meaning is, as I suspected, “a vague sense of mental or moral ill-being.”
As I read more about what is happening in France, and the possible causes to which it is being attributed, I could not help but think that it could so easily be prevented.
Character building prevents profound malaise that is not illness related.
I am not sure the leaders of France believe that, although the president did observe that the laws of France must be obeyed, and values rekindled in youths. Had he followed that observation by instituting a robust character education program that had teeth in it, and insisting that every school in his country give character building immediate and ongoing priority, I would have had more hope for the country from which one of my ancestors emigrated. It seems that he does recognize this profound malaise to be related to the youths’ moral ill-being, but he is not addressing that issue squarely.
Character building prevents profound malaise related to moral ill-being. When started early, given priority, and pursued vigorously, it can be a powerful defense. Imagine how different the scene if those young people had been immersed in character building, and had embraced it as their own.
First, the two youth who were accidentally electrocuted when fleeing from police might never have been chased. Had they been exercising submissiveness to the laws of France, there would have been no need for police to chase them.
But let’s suppose that those two were among the few who lacked character. When the electrocution was made known, the other young people in that neighborhood would have handled the deaths with discernment, and compassion for the families. They would have exercised cooperation with law officers. Integrity and temperance would have prevented them from burning even one vehicle that belonged to another. Resting on traits such as peace, joy, honesty, self-control, respect, responsibility, and love would have prevented rioting and violence before it got started.
Well, but that is France, isn’t it? The youth of your country would never do that, would they? They would never fall into the profound malaise that signifies moral ill-being. Yes, they would, and they do. Character building is not the total answer, I know, but because we are so reluctant to admit that schools world-wide need to seek out and implement the best character education program there is, our youth are being deprived of a strong preventative for profound moral malaise. Instead of building character, we – and the French – will throw money at the problem. We will put a politically correct spin on it and create programs to deal with it. We will not, however, build character, and yet …
Character building prevents profound malaise.
That’s the view from my chair. What’s your view?