Tuesday, September 9, 2008 Light a Candle, Don't Curse Darkness
"It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
Adlai Stevenson, 1962 It is important to repeat these golden
words to exhort people to positive action. But it takes more
than words to make social service and volunteerism become normal
part of every day life for ordinary citizens. The message to be
proactive to solve society's problems has to be combined with
early education of our children, and followed by appropriate
rewards for good behavior. The school curricula need to teach
civics and social science lessons by demanding that students
participate in specific civic activities to receive credit.
Volunteering for charity organizations such as Edhi Foundation
should be encouraged. Extra credit should be reserved by
teachers for those students who go out of their way to volunteer
to teach the illiterate or raise funds to feed the hungry.
Parents and teachers should act as role models for their
children by voluteering their own time for