Editorial — Pf Amaldass
Formation is a vast theme with many theories proposed by professionals. Are there some natural laws related to formation? There are three, as one author formulates it. (Felix von Cube)
The first law is fitting into the life situation in the world. This is true for all living beings. Animals and plants that do not adjust to the surroundings will not survive. This law consists of this: the youth fit into or adjusting to their life situation through initiating and orienting to the corresponding process of life. The situation changes often, today it is world of technology, social media etc. which is decisive for their survival.
The second law is achievement in the society. This means to encourage the ability of the individual members of the society to achieve and to maximize the total fitness. The achievement is not just reading, calculating or driving a vehicle. S/he must go beyond the average. On the whole, achievement is necessary for the total fitness of the society and for the inner satisfaction of the individual. Achievement is thus an indispensable goal of formation. The youth who experience thrill in achievement, build themselves further in their profession. They will experience new flow and successfully encounter new challenges.
The third law is the responsibility for the society. The ability of the individual forces him/her to decision and responsibility. This is decisive whether s/he likes or not. Responsibility for the community is an ongoing task, since the surroundings keep on changing.
The human being, given the evolutionary nature of his limited potential, is condemned to self-guidance: s/he must himself/herself reflect, decide and act. There lies his/her uniqueness, almost their fate. Mostly the masses were led and manipulated, as they were prevented from self-reflection or gave it up willingly. In a democratic society this knowledge is guarantied: the dignity of human being cannot be violated. S/he has freedom to hold an opinion, to practice one’s religion of choice, to choose a job, a partner or residence.
But then this ability to reflect does not remain merely as private decisions. The citizen chooses a government — thus takes responsibility for the society, which has impact on the future generation. Thus the human being can survive only through refection, through reflection on the outer nature, but also on our inner, our evolutionary-biological heritage.
In this issue we have seniors and juniors who express their views on the challenges from their own experience and record their understandings of formation. The Christian parents find it difficult, for example, to communicate their values to their children. The children go their own way, even change their Christian identity, just because they want to marry someone outside their Christian community. Does it mean that the parents failed to bring up their children the right way? Is it a censure on them?
The youth are aware of the difficulties they face — the peer group pressure, the impact of the social media etc. But then the world is changing and the values too are changing due to various factors. One cannot escape this process of fluid situation. But still the youth must understand that the wisdom of past generation cannot just be jettisoned. On the other hand, the parents must realize they cannot expect their children to be their replica as in cloning. One of the view-cards says: “Do not try to make others like you; God has made enough of your types.”
