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Barack Obama, President of the U.S. andhis paternal grandmother, Sarah Obama. Image
Tomorrow in Panama we celebrate Mother’s Day- El Día de la Madre. Unlike in many Latin American countries which observe it on the 10th of December, it coincides with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception which underlines the belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is celebrated on December 8th, nine months before the Nativity of Mary, which is celebrated on September 8th. It is the patron feast day of the United States and is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church as well as other Christian churches.
In Panama, traditionally, it is no trivial celebration. By tradition it is considered one of the most important holidays of the year. It is not what I consider the frivolous event of Mothers Day in the U.S. Here Mother’s day is a major as well as official holiday with many people having the day off from work, banks and government offices are shut down and the retailers prepare for the Christmas rush which is triggered by the Mother’s Day activities.
In many of my previous posts I have related my personal experiences as a child growing up amongst a family of females whose notion of motherhood was very limited. Even my saintly Grandmother Fanny Elizabeth fell short of what I considered a strong and protective mother. Then again it is my contention that we were all pioneers during brief periods of times just after the abolition of black slavery, when I nor anyone in my circles knew such terms as “psychiatry” or “sociology” nor even the protection of women and children. Thus, here as pioneers who have met up with modern times, I must confess that I along with my contemporaries have survived to compare notes. Even I sometimes have to search our archives looking for instances in which we, of our times, were sadly the pioneers in family disintegration.
Today’s reality proves that the past has caught up with the present, however, and that the importance that the figure that the mother once enjoyed has been sadly shaken by the general loosening of morals and total displacement of the notion of “family” in Panamanian society. I use the term “family” loosely as many sociologists, psychiatrists, family therapists, police scientists, forensics specialists, and historians in general, can attest to the fact that today there are really very few families that are integrated, thus the norm is the disintegration rather than the exception and that most children are being raised amidst the most deleterious conditions which will impact them and their lives profoundly and the families they will seek to raise.
We have a nation full of “irresponsible women,” said Dr. Rosa Maria Briton in a T.V. panel discussion yesterday; she is a nationally respected gynecologist and tireless worker for the betterment of Panamanian culture, the status of women, children and society in general. I agree with her in large part although I will not exempt the men from the age old accusation. Somewhere along the line too many people lost sight of the importance of their extremely crucial role in our society and I speak from experience or perhaps they just never “got it.”
Motherhood, in the majority of cases, for many young girls is a consequence of fleeting liaisons within their peer group members who are just as ignorant of their role as parents, partners and friends as they are. For many adult women and men it is not even an after-thought but a nuisance.
In an effort to share some values that would lead to the betterment of our Westindian Community and all communities in general of the cohesive essence of what makes our spirit rejoice, it is for one to develop spiritual foresight that shines upon what is the right thing to do. This I feel has been my guiding star and one that can equip the human Soul with such power to see through evil and wrong actions. This change of attitude would truly bring families, communities and even nations together.
At the crux of the problem of this new generation of poorly adapted children that are being raised today are the people who are irresponsibly and uncaringly raising them. All too often these people have been raised by poorly educated mothers themselves who have some kind of self centered notion of the world around them; they have an extreme case of the “entitlement” attitude in which they feel that they don’t owe society anything, including the making of personal sacrifices in order to produce a better society for their own sake and the future of Panama.
They don’t want to study anything useful, do honest work, cook, clean, care for their homes and community or take time to communicate with their families and nurture them. This, I believe, cuts across all social classes. All too often they are in a constant and heated rush to please some new fantasy in their life that meets some kind of erroneous perception of their need.
However, I wouldn’t be fair to the few shining examples of motherhood in my life who made all the difference in the world. People who, although not related by blood, made some great personal sacrifice to help me or some other young person along in their formative as well as their professional development.
Sacrifice, after all, is the essence of motherhood (and fatherhood) as well as all other manifestations of Spirit. Sacrifice was the one big lesson that our Lord, Jesus Christ, and His loving Mother have left for us to imitate. To all my surrogate mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and friends who have shown me what true motherhood means whether in my life or the life of other children, I honor you and pray that the One Holy God reward your hard work and many noble deeds and sentiments.
Happy, Blessed Mother’s Day!
