Suicide rates are indeed at an all time high and unfortunately, predominately affect young men. This travesty cannot be blamed on a lack of faith in God.
Increased availability of drugs is a real threat to the wellbeing of our children. Past Irish generations have grown up ignorant of the existence or indeed, effect of these substances. Alcohol was and still is a very real problem and its past and current abuse is testament to the Irish natural inquisitiveness for artificial happiness. Just as an economic depression is followed by a boom, an artificial high is followed by a very real depression. Human depression results in fear and an inability to deal rationally with everyday problems.
Parenting can present a number of difficulties. Children reared in an over or under protective environment are ill equipped with the essentials for problem solving. Teenagers, whose movement is restricted, will seek out that freedom and attempt to regain their lost childhood later in life. Similarly, the teenager with no structures will push the boundaries in an attempt to attract attention. There is a threat for parents and children in the guise of paedophilia and abduction etc. The mature child should be given some form of responsibility with regard to these issues and their own personal welfare. It is now more important than ever that parents remain in contact with their children emotionally, encourage communication and provide adequate supervision.
Given the contemporary advances in technology such as the internet, mobile phones and I Pads, to name just a few, our children have been forced into a dangerous and different world of self awareness. People will present themselves on line in the best possible light and when this profile of their better self is attacked, their suffering is greater than a physical or verbal assault. In the past, the bully was real and sat in the desk opposite or roamed the playground. The bullying was verbal. Nowadays that same bully can exist in cyber space. The written word is a lot harder to retract than the oral. It is a lot easier to convince a group of another’s guilt if it can be shown in ‘black and white’. Suicide in these instances have been well publicised in the U.S. and Britain.
The hospitals and schools were indeed run in an efficient manner and the structure deeply affected the lives of the entire community. The makeup of our society has since changed allowing for the coexistence of different nationalities and beliefs. As a nation we need to modernise in order to provide a healthy and rewarding world for our children and we will never achieve this by remaining stuck in the past. I agree with you that there is “a huge emptiness in people’s lives and a huge level of confusion” but you have to consider the short length of time that we’ve had in adjusting to these radical innovations. Ultimately, the downfall of what you refer to as ‘religious observation’ came about through the Catholic Church’s lack of reaction and hypocrisy while dealing with the abuse of power and horrific actions of a few. People have become disillusioned with the Church but their spirituality lives on. The current lack of religious guidance has created a void and may be affecting the upward trend in suicide. Rational people will always have a moral compass and this includes their personal religious beliefs, they simply need a modern alternative.
