What drives society?

What drives society?

There was a time when a child went to school, not just to get educated. It was commonly understood that the student learned social living skills and values along with the alphabets and numbers. At home they learned of love and care. They learned to share what little they had. The net result was a well-rounded personality. Not everyone made history, but everyone cared. Someone’s ill fate was never the source of delight, nor did someone wish bad fortune on someone else. Yes there were exceptions, and an occasional bad egg did hatch. But they were the aberrations, not the norm.
Times have changed. Today a television news cast is never complete without the mention of murders or suicides. None of us are safe on the streets. People are prone to violent acts at the least of provocations. Even young children seek to achieve unreal ends, else are not averse to even suicides. The demand that the world imposes on you is almost impossible and you stand judged at every corner. You cannot accept failures and successes are the only ends. Your commitment to others has disappeared and the pain of someone else is the least of your concern, sometimes even a reason for rejoicing, at least a secret smirk.

Once upon a time, we went to places of worship, not just to pray. We were given very lovely messages of values like love, care, hope and honesty. The clergy did not stick to the religious litany but spoke of social and family values. We were asked to feel the pains of others, lend them a hand when they need help and be open with the smiles and love. They spoke at length about the real importance of honesty and faithfulness. Today we rarely see a priest speak of goodness at a church service or at a temple function.

Teachers now are least bothered with the lessons of social values. They are into your child’s grades, not the person he or she turns out into. They do not teach your child to persevere, and not to let failures push you down the abyss. They look at your child’s grades and make judgments without seeking a reason for the failure of underperformance. They seek not the innate talents within the child, but what has been presented in the answer sheets. The schools do not encourage active discussions on matters of social importance.

Family gatherings are no longer interactive sessions. Today it is rare for a family to gather and when they do, they hardly look at each other. It is not uncommon for an entire family to sit around with everyone having their eyes on the touch screens of their mobile phones. The TV soaps that have become staple for the evenings are sordid stories of hate, ill-will and even violence. So are the movies that are on display. The news brings us ever more violent incidents, stories of corruption, communal hatred, murder for murder episodes and all those things that were unheard of just a few years ago.

A child committing suicide, or getting involved in drug abuse, even selling drugs would have sounded unreal just a few decades ago. Not any longer. We do not even raise an eye brow when we hear of a teenage boy being involved in violent crime, or a little girl being sexually assaulted. The number of children taking matters into their own hand and ending their own live have stopped shocking us and it is fair to say that we have grown frigid in our emotions. We care not and we are bothered about just ourselves, that too only for the present. We do not even care for what happens tomorrow, even to ourselves, as long as today is enjoyable in the new and perverted ways.
Society is no longer civil, Civic sense is nonsense to a population that has no time for the social aspects of life. Every word written in the name of literature is filled with negativity and dislike. No one has the time to give someone else a moment to smile. Every aspect of life is turned commercial, and winning is the only matrix. Love is a word we see in print but not in life, Honesty is when it suits you well. Care, you don’t care about. That then is the fate of an evolving world.

Is this sustainable? Will society continue its existence, with this attitude? Or will we end up in complete chaos? One wishes not to be there when the crush finally comes. After all we were not taught to ignore the pains of others and someone’s suffering still brings sorrow to the minds of some people like me.
I know we are few and far apart. But we are still here.