Penalty on swearing should be tough

Editorial

THE call for a law to penalise people using obscene language in public must be reverberated by everyone concerned about the general breakdown in our society.
In fact, the law is there already under the Summary Offences Act section 7 ‘breach of peace by use of offensive and abusive words, behaviours and gestures’.
It attracts a penalty fine not exceeding K300 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year.
The demand should be for urgent review so the penalty is amended to a harsher one.
We say Papua New Guinea is a Christian country, on which our Constitution is based on, unfortunately, this area of concern is now becoming an everyday scene everywhere. The attitude and the conduct of people these days is outside our beliefs and principles.
People who swear in public places are disrespectful, especially using the words to describe women’s private parts.
What will become of the young generation of children who are growing up exposed to such behaviour and practices?
Even small children who are begging for money on the street use vulgar descriptions on members of the public who walk past without assisting.
It makes you wonder if those who utter such obscene language ever stop to think about their mothers and sisters.
Their actions show their lack of respect for the women folk.
We have mothers, daughters, wives, aunties and sisters.
We concur with the MP that we have failed to uphold our Christian principles, and that kind of attitude is bringing our country down rather than moving it forward.
We have reported protests out of villagers in Gulf and Central by mothers and the community on the use of such language by males, who at most times were under the influence of alcohol.
Suggestions for children to be educated on the teaching of the Bible to be good citizens of this nation must be harnessed.
Children must be empowered with the skill to impact the message of love, sharing and forgiveness through their actions.
All these point back to the importance of family – which is the basic unit of a society.
Family is a place where children can be raised in a safe and stable environment.
Both fathers and mothers have an important contribution to play.
Each have a different perspective and can uniquely help children of both genders to learn important skills relating to marriage, education, work, morality, ethics, social interaction and so on. Consumption of alcohol in public places is another area of concern. It is becoming almost like an everyday thing, a norm to see teenagers and young adults openly consuming alcohol in full public view.
They then urinate against the fence or a tree with no care in the world. The obscene verbal diarrhea they holler out of their mouth makes one sick to the gut.
It is already a public concern on student behaviour and activities in our schools.
We have students carrying weapons, especially knives, walking to little music boxes and their music blaring away either on their way to school or returning home.
Realistically, given the current situation the country is in, the Government can only do what it can do and the rest of it now falls back more specifically on families.
What happens in a family unit should be setting the foundation of how children will move and interact in the community.
If constructive beliefs and moral values are built and passed to the next generations by each families, a good nation is developed.