Stronger Social Bonds

In his book "Shortcut for a Better Life", the writer Ziad Rayess mentions: There is always an opportunity to contribute to raising a new generation that holds the values, principles, and expertise to build a civilization. There must be a new trend in content and renewed discourse, so that there is a real impact that keeps pace with time and technology, contributing to the formulation of a new way of thinking.

To achieve this cultural training, we must follow the basic habits for success, the most important of which are:

1- Launch the vision:

Your vision should be aimed at enhancing awareness among the younger generation about the values and religious principles that will benefit them as they serve the public and uplift society.

2- Identify the task:

Building a better world and establishing a civilized society.

3- The goal:

Real training for as many members of the young generation as possible, given that they are a vital element of improving civilization.

To achieve this vision, we need a comprehensive system that uses numerous aspects and methods of application, practice, and training.

While many people consider this topic important, there are many impediments to clear achievements. It calls for cooperative, interconnected efforts between the educational, academic aspect and the experimental, practical aspect. The truth is that practical application is completely different than what we learn from theories and educational or ideological texts. Most importantly, application must be part of an educational framework embedded in society. It requires spreading awareness on a wide scale and really putting this into practice in all aspects of life, at all ages, and among all segments of society.

The following are some supporting points and ideas:

1. The need to respect others.
2. The need to build trust.
3. Limiting the ego.
4. Eschewing conspiracy theories (not generalizing) and looking at the subject through the lens of interests.
5. Looking at the public interest.
6. Knowing that truth is multifaceted.
7. Knowing that doing good is in your best long-term interest.
8. Seeking excuses for others instead of looking for their faults, especially those who have the same intellectual and ideological identity.
9. Addressing the issues in implementing principles and concepts.
10. Being aware of realism and comparing it with Islamic law and ideologies.
11. Not using accusations of betrayal as a weapon.
12. The need to know the roots of interactions and mutual respect with each other and with people of other nationalities, races, and ideologies.

Some of the tools that help spread this awareness:

1. Adding a humanitarian and social dimension to the work offered by public service organizations, like charities and educational and healthcare institutions. This should not be limited to the professional, medical, or financial relief effort, but should also explain the other side of this work and the message behind it by conveying humanitarian, instructional, social, and mental health-related concepts, etc.
2. Adding a new course to curricula that teaches applied, practical approaches for the student to absorb. They can benefit from this and other courses on social and psychological topics and the like.
3. Adding a humanitarian dimension when giving a patient their prescription. The idea should not be just to provide a pill, but also to convey the idea that we’re doing this out of a feeling of responsibility toward the patient in need. The patient should receive these feelings not as a blessing or a favor, but as a social responsibility.
4. Always spreading positive messaging in the media on this topic and taking advantage of publications.
5. Pointing out the value of the message, vision, and goal of everything following public civic work (firefighting, civic affairs, pilgrimages, etc.

Continuously bringing up and spreading these ideas and beginning to pay attention to them will create a reformist current that will gradually spread throughout society. It’ll create stronger social bonds and bring about a true change in values throughout society over the course of several years.

Conclusion:

Building a better world and establishing a civilized society require collective efforts from all members of society, especially the younger generation. To achieve this, we need to introduce a vision that will raise the younger generation’s awareness about the values and principles that will benefit them as they serve the public and uplift society. We also need to identify the task and set the goal of providing real training for as many young adults as possible. While this is not an easy task, we can achieve it by respecting others, controlling our egos, considering the public interest, and addressing the issues in implementing principles and concepts. By continuously bringing up and spreading these ideas, we can create a reformist current that will gradually spread throughout society, bringing about a true change in values.