By Luis Ramón López
OPINION. - Street conflicts, drugs, violence and crime can destroy the dreams of a lifetime in minutes. Education, work, family values and good advice are ways to achieve success and build a better future.
Youth represents the hope of families and the future of society. It is therefore urgent to bring a message of guidance to our young people to choose the way of good, to move away from vice and to understand that no street problem deserves to endanger their life, their freedom and their future.
Discussions, provocations and personal conflicts are often passenger. However, when they respond with violence, they can end up in irreparable tragedies: death, hospitalization or a prison sentence that changes the fate of those involved in these events forever.
An offensive word, a debt, a difference between friends or a street discussion should not become grounds for resorting to weapons, aggression or violence. The problems can be solved through dialogue, prudence and respect.
No street conflict is worth more than a human life.
Drugs, violence and crime destroy the future
Young people must understand that drug use and trafficking, bad companies, crime and violent behaviour are not a path to progress. On the contrary, they can lead to the loss of opportunities, the deterioration of family relations, problems with justice and, in the most serious cases, death.
Sometimes, some young people are taken away by the pressure of their peers, the desire to show false courage or the belief that aggressively responding to a provocation means being stronger.
But the real strength is to know how to control itself, avoid unnecessary clashes and have the maturity to withdraw from a dangerous situation.
A young man who decides to step away from a fight is not a coward. He is a person who understands the value of his life and knows that he has dreams, responsibilities and a future to build.
Education and work are the ways of triumph
In the face of the risks of violence and crime, there are alternatives that enable young people to develop their capacities and achieve their goals.
Education opens the way to knowledge and personal growth. Honest work offers opportunities to move forward. Technical training, sport, culture and entrepreneurship allow for the discovery of talents and the construction of life projects.
In addition, the advice of parents, teachers and the people of experience, as well as the support of a family that is in the process of orient, listening and accompanying their children during the various stages of their development, are added to this.
Society also has a responsibility to contribute to this end by promoting opportunities for training, employment, recreation and community participation.
It is not enough to ask young people to move away from crime; it is also necessary to help them find alternatives to progress and realize their aspirations.
The premature death of a young man is a tragedy for all
Every time a young man loses his life violently, a family is plunged into pain. A mother loses her child, parents see her hopes truncated and brothers and friends must learn to live with an absence they never imagined.
The death of a young man in a sloppy way does not only affect his loved ones. It also deprives society of a person who could become a professional, worker, father of the family, entrepreneur or citizen committed to collective well-being.
Behind every young man is a story, dreams to be fulfilled and possibilities to change his own reality.
Preventing violence must therefore be a shared task among families, schools, churches, community organizations, authorities and the media. Timely orientation, family support and attention to risk situations can help avoid painful outcomes.
Let's say no to 29 and yes to life!
The message for youth must be clear: do not allow a moment of anger to destroy what they have built or a bad decision to bring the opportunities of tomorrow to them.
Get away from drugs, reject violence, avoid provocations and seek help when a conflict threatens to get out of control. Learn to resolve your differences without aggression and remember that there are always alternatives to start over and do things better.
Let's say no to 29, no to drugs, no to violence and no to crime. Let us say yes to work, education, family, values and a decent life.
Youth need opportunities, guidance and hope. The best triumph is not to impose itself by force or to infuse fear, but to achieve goals through effort, honesty and perseverance.
He never succeeds in delinquency. Crime can create a false illusion of power or easy money, but sooner or later it can lead to prison, loss of opportunity or death. The true triumph is achieved with education, honest work, discipline, good values and respect for others.
And as a final message: Young people, choose the way of good! He never succeeds in delinquency. The future is built with education, work and values, not with drugs, violence, and crime. Let's say no to 29 and yes to life.
