Some considerations on vandalism in Sweden

On August 13, more than 80 cars were burned, in two cities in Sweden, Götebor and Trollhättan, by gangs composed mostly of young.

I would like to share some reflections on the reason for these violence and on possible solutions.
According to Confucius, the family is the core of society and also plays the most important role for our conduct.

When a child respects his parents, he will have a good relationship with his siblings and, consequently, with his friends and with other people who are part of society.

He will also be more inclined to follow the rules and laws of the state and respect his superiors.

So, in my opinion, the problem of youth violence is to be found in the relationship between children and parents and their siblings, because the relationship with them is the mirror of that with the outside world.

Unfortunately, adolescents tend to rebel against their parents and tend to conform to each other and to assimilate the “values” common to their friends, forgetting the education received from small children.

It is also true that modern parents neglect children’s education by delegating it to school.

So young people who do not trust teachers grow by learning how to behave on television, the internet, their favorite singers and actors and what they learn from their older or “expert” friends.

Nelson Mandela once said that “education is the most powerful weapon that can be used to change the world” and I think it was not wrong.

I would also like to talk about virtue and moral values, concepts now almost unknown to our children, who consider them as outdated and useless.

Chinese wisdom teaches us that happiness is achieved only by cultivating virtue and paying attention to one’s moral conduct.

Cultivating virtue means performing good deeds, not harming others and keeping a pure mind and heart.
When you are happy, you do not fight, and certainly do not think to damage public property, burn cars or throw stones at the police, as happened in Sweden.

Moreover, according to the Chinese, a virtuous person, in general, will also be healthier and stronger, because health also depends on our moral conduct.