The Tribune

By BISHOP SIMEON B HALL

Sacred Scripture tells us that those who live by the sword, will die by it.

Parents who cloak their children’s criminal behaviour and knowingly benefit from the illicit activities of their children should eventually prepare to attend their funerals. This statement may seem harsh and punitive, but this is the unfortunate yet probable reality for those continuously engaged in illicit behaviour.

As Dr Martin Luther King, Jr said, “The arch of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

We may blame the police and armed forces, the education system, the justice system and even the church, but parents must be responsible for the child who is here as a result of their own doing. Parents should continue to have an influence even over children who have reached adulthood.

Social scientists tell us that a major cause of crime among people of African descent is that we do not do a very good job with the socialisation process for our children as do those of European ancestry.

Maybe it’s economics, I don’t know, but too many black Bahamians indulge in the pleasure of parenting without the concomitant lifelong responsibility of being a parent.

I commend those parents who are mature enough to resist the temptation to accept anything from children that they even suspect was attained through criminal behaviour. I also applaud those parents who continue to steer their children in the right direction, encouraging them to be responsible adults and contributors to society.