We heard quite a few speeches by political and spiritual leaders over the Christmas period stressing the need for society to protect, indeed recover, its values. Excessive consumerism was forcing society to dilute its basic family, social and environmental values – so the argument ran.

Subtly hidden in these messages, especially those emanating from our spiritual leaders, is a veiled warning against even the mere thought of bringing the divorce argument on to the national agenda, so that we continue to be in the sole company of the Philippines to boast of our “high values” for not having the divorce concept on our statute book, except to acknowledge those granted by foreign courts.

It is poor reflection of our standards that we continue to measure our basic values by the absence of divorce, even for those whose marriage has irretrievably broken down, who have not lived in marriage for several years, have no minor children from the marriage and who want the opportunity to have the stable relationship they have formed outside marriage acknowledged by society.

Surveys conducted indicate that there is a strong and growing minority in favour of the introduction of divorce on suitably qualified terms, and that among the under 35s there is actually a majority in favour.

Politicians will eventually have to throw their false values to the winds and face the reality of voting numbers as the ranks of those pro-divorce swell up, with one wave of new adults replacing other adults exiting this world with strongly held views against the principle of divorce.

Much as it is unfair that the rights of individuals and minorities should not be subject to the views of the majority, politicians’ views on the introduction or otherwise of divorce will no doubt continue to be influenced by the net gain or loss of votes which doing nothing will have, as against taking new initiatives to bring Malta into the world, from a divorce point of view.

What irks me tremendously, however, is the double standard used regarding moral values when it comes to matters that the Church strangely accepts idly, even though they go against the true basic values of our society.

Let’s take gaming and gambling. Frankly I have difficulty in finding differences of substance between them, as they both drain money from consumers’ pockets, based on the fragility of the human attraction to get-rich-quick aspirations.

It seems to bother no one that the talk of the town in the first two weeks of the year has been the super-sized prize of the Super Five mid-week lottery and that many consumers have been forced to shift spending from normal consumption to gaming or gambling.

It seems that no one has

bothered to warn against not only the erosion of family and social values resulting from undue exposure to gaming and gambling temptations, but also on the economic consequences of reduced

consumption and/or dis-saving that increased spending on

gaming and gambling will unavoidably bring.

And to add insult to injury, we were informed this week that

government will be taking steps

to lower the minimum entry age to casinos from the current 25 years to 18, in order to come in line with European practice or regulations.

Is this the way we want to imbue values in our younger generation, by exposing them not only to irresistible weekly gaming offerings but also to encourage them to start visiting casinos as soon as they turn 18?

I am all in favour of Christmas speeches expressing concern about the erosion of our true values.

However these are mere rhetoric if immediately after Christmas, we start taking measures which in the most effective manner attack the moral values of our youth when they are still in their fragile character formation stage between the ages of 18 and 25.

And I detest this false society which apparently measures the protection of social values only through the continued prohibition of divorce to the growing thousands who really need it and deserve it.

www.alfredmifsud.com