Chapters for Development

(Part 1: Get ’em young)

Ever wonder what gave the United States, and much of Western Europe its financial and intellectual firepower (not to mention the added nicety of being among the “happiest” nations on earth?). And why such a reality seems out of reach for us Sri Lankans? It might seem like a complicated mixture of archaic systems and centuries-old unwritten laws keep things the way they are, but in reality, it boils down to just one thing; what we do with our children.

The way to develop a country is by making its youngest citizens examples for the country you wish to create, and by instilling in them the qualities that make them free-thinking, independent, and curious human beings who think outside their man-made boxes to find ways to prosperity. And as long as we keep regurgitating the same old lessons in school — which are little more than relics of past colonial times — and feeding them tired stories and wives-tales we all heard growing up, we are only perpetuating an obsolete system that makes our children slaves to artificial biases, and non-empathetic, ineffective citizens who are uninspired or disinterested in changing the course of destiny.

If its one thing the failing nationalistic policies and divisive political rhetoric of certain countries have proven, it’s that people and societies progress when we are open-minded about the universe, and welcoming of each others’ differences for great minds to find each other, collaborate, and create that better reality.