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Riot In Switzerland?
(Continued from page 30)
This preoccupation with survival
and doomsday is one thing that the
young people can focus on.
The cost of housing is another.
Rents are high and accommoda–
tion is in short supply. This means
that children usually have to live
with their parents until they get
married. But these are just symp–
toms. Few rioters would admit to
being enraged just for these rea–
sons.
Rather, it is the whole way of life
that leaves them dissatisfied and
unfulfilled. There is everything
... yet nothing . Listen to this
young mother: "We are a frus–
trated people in an artificial socie–
ty. Everything matters except man
himself.... l want to be a human
being."
What does she mean by that?
She isn't sure, but a young s tu–
dent pointed out, " We want to
find out for ourselves how we
should live. "
Switzerland's democracy, one of
the most stable in the world, frus–
t rates them too. They claim that it
" imposes the will of the majority
on the minority"-an interesting
variation to the usual complaint
against government.
Most of the demonstrators are
dropouts- eschewing the tradi–
tional role of the indus trious
worker and the work ethic. They
have no pla ns, no goals and no
idea what they should do with
their lives. They don't know who
they are, where they are going or
what they want when t hey get
there.
"1 want to
be!"
a young dem–
onstrator wi ll cry. But be what?
He doesn't know. In the midst of
prosperity and abundance he is
lost and bored.
Many older people, in the twi–
light of life, with the years of
achievement and product ivity be–
hind them, also have asked them–
selves, is this all there is? Sorne of
the world's most accompl ished
men and wome n have admitted to
a feeling of emptiness. King Solo–
mon of ancient Is rael , whose intel-
October/ November 1981
lectual, literary and architectural
ac hi evements were second to
none, carne to the conclusion, "All
is vani ty and vexation of spi ri t."
Switzerland's young people are
saying . the same thing, but not al
the
end
of a life full of accomplish–
ment. Rather, they have reached a
state of
ennui
at the threshold of
life ... a life that promises them
everything they need except a rea–
son to be alive.
And so, thinking that they have
nothing to look forward to but years
of preprogrammed existence in what
one cr itic called a "stagnant moun–
tain pond"- they react.
The Swiss government, not used to
dealing with this kind of crisis, tried
to defuse the situation by meeting
sorne of the ríoters' more coherent
~~
The frustrated young
people in Zurich are
looking for the purpose
of life. Their government
can't tell them that.
' '
demands. For example, an autono–
mous youth center was set up in
Zurích. But that hasn't solved the
problem. The frustrated young
people in Zurich are lookíng for the
purpose
of life. Their government
can't tell them that.
Life' s Purpose
But they could know! They have
had the answer all along. Few
nations have defended the íntegri–
ty of the Bíble as defiantly as the
Swíss. Duríng the 16th century,
Switzerland became an interna–
tional rallyíng poínt for religious
freedoms .
The Swiss, too, have chosen to
live by many of the biblical prin–
cipies that bring material prosper–
íty and physical well-beíng. Dili–
gence, attent ion to deta il and
quality, respect for the environ–
ment, cleanlíness- these all have
their own reward. But the Swiss
have overlooked other vital teach–
ings, principies and laws that add
true quality a nd perspective to
lífe. They are not alone in this–
very, very few people have taken
the whole Word of God at face
value. But we wi ll keep our focus
on Switzerland. While most of the
world has stíll to ask, "Give us
this day ou r daily bread ," t he
Swíss are learning that " man does
not live by bread alone." Or, as
Jesus also said, "A man's life does
not consist of the abundance of
the things he possesses."
Unless God intended (which
He most emphatically did not)
that the net result of our existence
should be "vaníty and vexation of
spirít," there mus t be a dimension
to living that King Solomon, the
Swíss (and nearly everyone else)
has missed .
There is!
It
ís the fundamental
purpose of human life. lt ís the
common heritage of all mankind,
and the key to solving the many
problems that affiict all nations of
the earth today- rich or poor.
If the human race knew
why
it
was on earth, it could pursue the
right
goals in the
right
way. Then
poverty, squalor, disease and frus–
tratíon wou ld van is h. Wealth ,
health, prosperity and happiness
for all would be the by-product.
But only a by-product, for these
things are not an end in them–
selves- -as the Swiss are findi ng
out. The
ultimate
result of using
that knowledge far surpasses the
wildest dreams of the most vísíon–
ary o f futurists. There is a pur–
pose for life-and it isn't anything
to do with the things that the
young Swiss are rejecting. They–
and you-could find that purpose;
it is revealed in the pages of the
Bíble. You can read it, free, in the
book
The Inc r edible Human
Potentiai
by Herbert W . Arm–
s trong. Just write to the
Piain
Truth
office nearest you.
It ís sad to see the young people
of Swítzerland wreckíng the shops
a nd s treets o f th e ir beautiful
homeland.
lt
is even sadder to see
them· wrecking their lives. Broken
wí ndows are easily mended.
Broken líves aren't.
-John
Halford
39