Editor's Comments: Goan Youth
"Youth is wasted on the young!" So said Samuel Clemens,
who is better known as Mark Twain. He was referring to the youth of his
time, but his words are even more applicable to today's girls and boys
who fritter away their youth in frivolous activities.
In a world of instant tea and instant replay, instant
gratification seems to be the order of the day. Today's young, who are
taught yesterday's lessons in the context of revisionist history do not
give much thought to tomorrow. In their quest for instant nirvana, the
young get mired in a quagmire of "me-too-ism", which is the religion of
a hedonistic New Age.
I am thinking, not just of American youth, whether of
Goan origin or not, but also, though to a lesser extent, of young people
all over the world. The entertainment industry is influencing young people
everywhere. E-mail (electronic mail traveling at the speed of light) is
fast replacing s-mail (snail mail traveling at snail's pace through the
postal services). Modern technology, particularly in the field of communica-tions,
has turned the world into a global village. Unfortunately, those who believe
that it takes a village to raise a child, have left the rearing of their
children to the villagers, with disastrous conse-quences.
The Goan Association of New Jersey wants young Goans to
enjoy their today without losing sight of their yesterday (where they came
from) and their tomorrow (the bright future that awaits them, here and
in the hereafter). We invite our young people to express themselves creatively
through the "Goan Connection". Their views and construc-tive criticism
are not only most welcome, but sincerely desired.
Some of the programs we are planning for our young are:
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At the suggestion of Godfrey Gomes, we plan to have a "Sports
Day" in the Summer of 1998. Please let us know what activities you would
want for that day.
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We invite young (under 15 y.) members of the Association
to write a story, in their own words (less than 250), based on the following
first paragraph by Sharmilla Carson (8 y.):
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Once, there lived two children, who were named Katie and
Andy. They lived in a little house, just by the side of the ocean. They
had a cat, but the cat was missing! They had to make signs, and the signs
had to have no mistakes. If there were mistakes in the signs, their cat
would not be found! ..................
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The best submission will be published in the next issue and
the author will be awarded $50.00. Deadline for submission is December
15th.
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From time to time, we hope to publish "Thoughts to live by"
(see p. 6; col.3).
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Ashley Coutinho has volunteered to launch the "Goan Connection"
into the world wide web. We will be available at: https://members.tripod.com/~acoutinho/goanj/
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Once again, we invite, young (and not so young) to contribute
articles, cartoons, and interesting stories.
Finally, one of the strengths of the US, as expressed in
its motto: "E pluribus unum", has been the unity of purpose (pursuit of
peace, justice and equality for all) in a diversity of cultures. America
is not so much a melting pot as a mosaic of different peoples. Goans don't
have to hide their identity to enjoy the fruits of Americana. Just as matter
has a dual nature, being particulate and wave-like at the same time, and
Jesus, though, one person, has a divine and a human nature; so too, Goans
in the US can be fully Goan and fully American at one and the same time.
If that sounds mysterious, so be it. After all, everybody enjoys a good
mystery.