EDITORIAL - Curfews are a worthy challenge for the young

A growing number of local governments in the country are now trying to outdo one another in implementing their respective curfew ordinances. It is not clear whether they have been inspired by the tough stance incoming president Rodrigo Duterte is taking against crime or are simply trying to preempt an executive order that is sure to come.

Whatever the reason, it is good that these long dormant ordinances have been dusted off and put to good measure. There was sense in enacting those ordinances and it is a wonder why they have been allowed to lapse into disuse, suffering the fate of many good but forgotten initiatives. Now that they have been revived and are being implemented with renewed gusto, it is hoped they do not lapse again into nothingness.

These curfews are not only good for keeping youngsters out of harm, they are also helpful in reviving long forgotten family lives by keeping them home. Many of the bad things that have befallen the young are almost always the result of a breakdown in family closeness and relations. When families no longer care where some of its members are, especially at night, most often these members end up on the wrong side of life.

Worse, when people, especially the young, end up on the wrong side of life, they not only ruin their own lives and those of their families, more often than not they also ruin the lives of others. Keeping the young at home during their formative years, or years when they are most vulnerable to outside influences and hostile environments, will go a long way in shaping their appreciation of what is good in their own lives.

It is not that all young people who are out at night are bad people or are up to no good. Many may be out innocently or are out for a legitimate reason. But for whatever reason, the world has changed into something that is more dangerous for everyone, whether young and old. And since it is the young that will have to take care of the world in the future, it is best to give them the chance to do so by keeping them safe at home.

Curfews are not a curtailment of the ability and the right of the young to be out and have fun or whatever. They can still go out. No one is stopping them from doing so. What curfews do is merely to keep them home at a time of the day when, from common experience, it is no longer generally safe to be out. In other words, far from being an intrusion, curfews are a means of protection.

On the part of the young, they should not take curfews as an attempt by the world to shackle them. While curfews are indeed a challenge that the youth needs to deal with, it is a challenge that can only make them better persons. Instead of looking at curfews as an intrusion or curtailment of rights, it should be regarded as a means to keep them safe while practicing them with discipline for life's greater hurdles when they become adults.