The concept of family:

Every country dreams of reaching a high level of development, and this is a daunting dream that deserves to be fought for. But the prosperity and stability of any nation has never occurred in a vacuum, it does, indeed, require the existence of many factors, and the jewel in crown of them resides in having a strong society, which represents the real capital and raw material to be counted on for reaching this purpose, as well as giving much focus and energy to its individuals and especially, taking the centre of stage to its small unit that we call “family”.

Family is the staple of civilisation and the focal point of any society, and its success is the success of the nation it is included in. Its basic role is flat noticeable, because it’s our first school that instils in us the very basic values we all need in our life-time and it’s our mainstay in hard times and technically, it takes a decisive role in shaping the future of our nation. Thus, no prosperity is guaranteed if the family structure is glossed over or out of condition.

Since the advent of the current political system ruling the world at this juncture, marked by the American hegemony over the world, along with the spread of new technologies, we have been witnessing an avalanche of change touching all aspects of our life, and which apparently narrowed the distance between the residents of earth, putting an end to all kinds of shackles that once represented shields against cultural exchange. Nowadays, with a simple click on a keyboard, huge quantities of information are, at the drop of a hat, sent to every corner around the globe.

All the same, the beneficial side of high technologies flunked to cover its hideous face, by putting much pressure on individuals, and amid this unprecedented shift, the family structure is prone to a devastating change threatening its strength and togetherness.

In this present-day era, people from different ages keep a smart phone, computer and television in their rooms and pockets. These gadgets, though, separated the members of family, by broadening the distance and spurring withdrawal. We find individuals directing their entire concentration towards devices, leaving no free room for communication between the members. Thus, if things keep going this way, we will end up by egotism and selfishness overwhelming the mainstream. The distinguishable effects could be understood if we take a few moments to wonder about the reason that stands behind the disappearance of family extension. In our times, when the process of education within the family is given out, others take it over, as follows, the neighbour, schools, uncles or aunts etc.

The pace of life is incredibly increasing, so the desire for consumption, which evidently puts an on-going pressure on the working families. Today’s women are strongly fighting to join in the fight to stand by their husband’s side to provide for their children, since men, who customary or considering the cultural background dominating the mainstream, stand for the breadwinners, complaining of inability to keep up with rhythmic motion of life solely, the door is open for women to present their joint effort as breadwinner, besides their steadfastness to not compromising their desire to become more economically independent, therefore, with both parents outdoors, alongside the toughness to assure the balancing act, we feel like being in the middle of a battle to give work and family the time they need, which actually lead parents to be physically and emotionally exhausted.

It’s not all about materialistic tools, what children need is being surrounded by much emotion. Every child needs a champion who, by definition, should stand by his side in order to provide the necessary care, as well as consultation in his ups and downs.

Straight from the heart, I do salute parents for their mammoth endeavour to provide good education and decent level of living for their kids, at the same time, I do admonish them for neglecting the emotional aspect, which in my book, is the basic thing they need more than any other thing, particularly to present too much sacrifice to spend more time with their beloved ones.

We are all proud of our parents, because they have done their utmost and dedicated their time and efforts to protect and provide us, with the necessary tools to lead a peaceful life and reach our dreams and aims, as well as build up a bright future. This should be an incentive to launch a wake-up call to do the necessary to uphold the family structure and save it from collapse, and come up with solutions to make it possible to balance between work and time indoors.

                                                                                                              By Ismail KAMAL