A Dire Need for Education for Family and Community Life

Abstract

Today's one-sided intellectualism and scientism emphasize and indeed overemphasize knowledge and schooling, while totally neglecting upbringing. The materialistic life-style, the utilitaristic and hedonistic grasp of life encourage people to seek personal benefit, a life of leisure, pleasure and self-gratification. They also denigrate values – spiritual and religious – particularly Catholic, universal human and Croatian national, moral and cultural values. The youth are losing their moral foothold as they wander morally disoriented through the void created by the depreciation of values. After the Yugo-Communist, anarcho-liberal and agressive-feminist moral and spiritual devastation, Croatia is in dire need of a thorough spiritual renewal, moral transfiguration and a transformation in the approach to child-rearing. Essential to the latter is the education for family and community life which consists in educating Croatian youth in the culture of decent behaviour, love, marriage, family life, wanted offspring and reponsible parenthood. These six points constitute the structure of this brief discussion. Bringing up children and youth for family and community life must become the prime concern of the education system and the national community since the systematic structure and effectiveness of the same affects the strength and stability of families and consequently the economic, social and cultural advancement of a nation. Hence, the education of youth for family and community life is one of the most important tasks to be undertaken in the process of national revival and the spiritual and demographic renewal of the Croatian people. These will create conditions for Croatian families to become true wellsprings and bearers of life and will enable the civilization of love and culture of life to counteract the effects of the demonic «civilization» of hate and the destructive culture of death.