Before divorce come the family priorities

I fully agree that modern life is becoming more difficult for young people in Malta. It seems that children go to school and study up to late evening. Then when they become teenagers they undertake more study and finally make it to university or some learning institution where about 4 to 5 years are spent again studying. Then they might find a job but not necessarily related to their studies. It means that up to their early 20s most persons spend the main part of their lives undergoing formal education. When finally a job is found and they settle down to married life, they have to take huge loans for the house/car etc. and this means that many will have to work up to 60 years just to pay their loans. When children come things become more difficult. The parents need more income and so new jobs are sought out. More work implies that the overall quality of life decreases and couples start to find less time for themselves. Raising up children today is very demanding and challenging because our culture is unstable and continuously developing. There always a marked cultural gap between one generation and the next which seems to be based on a 10 year period. I think that major problems lie in the way modern man relates to society. We are constantly bombarded by the media with many marketing and advertising campaigns that try to sell us many consumables and services. In reality we could get by very well without these. Also many persons seem to always be in a hurry even when speaking to them. I think that a good solution to all these problems is to simplify, simplify more and relax. E.g. one can get by having an 8yr old car. There is no need to replace the car every 4 years. At home many materials and objects can be recycled many times. E.g. furniture, books, etc. Also by trying to be less greedy and be more satisfied by what we have I think we can get by quite well. People need quality time for themselves and this should be a priority. We live in a country that offers a lot of free entertainment and quality living. E.g. beaches are free for all. Something else is that husbands and wives can easily find more time for themselves if they like. The absurd practice of sending children to private lessons should be abolished. Also the ‘forced down your throat’ education approach in malta is a mess. Not everybody excels in the same subjects some might be better off in art, music or social sciences whilst others are better in science subjects. Students should study those topics they enjoy and love, not just topics that are forced upon them. I think that the education department has a long way to go before they really understand what students require. To summarize people should be more aware that they are living in time and time is short. Thus do not focus only on your work or worries but learn to enjoy life and appreciate its beauty which we normally take forgranted.

And making sure of having someone take care of a child while the parents are working is the parents' responsibility not the ministry ot the government.

The problem with this kind of reasoning is that there is always "something more important", which means that certain issues would never be addressed. Probably that's why our roads are in such a horrific state - there's always something more important than roads, so roads are never a priority in any electoral manifesto. If we accept that divorce will only be placed on the agenda when there's nothing more important, it will be postponed forever - especially if the people who get to decide what is more important have an interest in keeping it that way. . Of course these things should not necessarily be mutually exclusive. Setting up more child care centres or attracting women to the workplace is a job for a specific ministry, not parliament.

My thoughts exactly. Why all this hullaballoo about divorce even by the ecclesiastical authorities when the real pressure on families, young and old is, plain and simple, making ends meet! That is the real threat and no holier than holy groups seem to be forming to raise this issue except the PL.

all must face reality- noone can tell anytone what to do- that is the reality. you say and do laws but the people will still do and live their life no matter what laws there are-- if marriage has turned up to be bad than its should be divorced- when a man loves another woman or a woman loves another man- for many reasons . than all the people who will say that divorce must not be introduced- is ignorance- you know why? you think someone will ever stop soemoen to love soemone else- or to make kids from other realtionships - doesn't make sense its not preparation! it depends all on a person- what he or she really is- her/his charachter etc.. like i said noone can ever tell anyone what to do waste of time - bla bla bla and still all the people are and will keep doing what they want- you have a big example: 3 children of emeritus edward eddie fenech adami got 3 anullmest from marraige you see ? how things are ? so yes all the people will do what they want ,and they give a shit of what politicians or the chucrh says.

Saviour every week you whine of government incompetence and yet you have never lifted a finger to address the real problems. You so called journalists are missing the forest for the trees. Malta is now an EU State and must abide by EU policies. It is funny how everyone has forgotten the bullshit and the hoop-la when Malta joined the EU and the demonisation of the MLP party for its stand against membership. Perhaps journalists like yourself should be well advised to understand the consequences of membership in the EU and the Rise of DISASTER CAPITALISM. QUOTE: In scale,the disastercapitalism complex is on a par with the emerging markets and info technology booms of the nineties. All these incarnations share a committment to the policy trinity. 1. The elimination of the public sphere. 2. Total liberation for corporations. 3. Skeletal social spending. The pillars of Free Trade & Globalisation are:- (a) Privatisation already completed. (b) Liberalisation almost done. (c) Austerity measures which are in the process of being introduced across the EU and Malta is no exception. Milton Friedman framed his movement as an attempt to free the market from the state, but the real world track record of what happens when his purist vision is realised is rather different. In every country where CHICAGO SCHOOL policies have been applied over the last three decades, what has emerged is a powerful ruling alliance between a few very large corporations and a class of mostly wealthy politicians- with hazy and ever shifting lines between the two groups. In RUSSIA the billionaire private players in the alliance are called ,the Oligarchs'; in CHINA the Princelings"'; in CHILE, "the Piranahs,in the U.S , the Bush - Cheney campaign, the Pioneers, in Malta, " the Investituri. Far from freeing the market from the state, these political and corporate elites have simply merged, trading favours to secure the right to appropriate precious resources previously held in the public domain. A more accurate term for a system that erases the boundaries between Big Government and Big Business is not liberal,conservative or capitalist but Corporist. It's main characteristics are huge transfers of public wealth to private hands, often acompanied by exploding debt. Comment: So unless people like you Saviour understand what the Maltese politicians has been managing, it is absolutely futile to complain.

saviour, I relay and honestly like reading your articles, but sometimes as the Maltese say "t...a barra l'vas

Your priorities are absolutely right and the article timely. There is only one thing we do not see eye to eye upon. The country is ripe for a change, and Dr Joseph Muscat is able to bring it about. If your readers do not agree they may voice their opinions as freely as you and I are doing. Besides, I hope you are not indirectly and subtly rooting for John Dalli and the Return of Zorro, are you?