Morality in our society: Upside-down, downside-up or dead?

Compiled by Ashley D. Mwanza

Society as we know it today doesn’t tend to work in cohesion with morality, but instead views itself as being a separate entity altogether. We are often told we are moving with the times. Indeed sadly we are moving with the callous times.

Sickness transmits easily, not health. Germs and bacteria multiply in congenial conditions. Like infectious diseases social ills also spread quickly. Young people generally lack maturity and are vulnerable to the social ills if they are overwhelming. A human being is neither angel, nor devil. In man there is the dual nature of evil and piety. In a healthy society piety is encouraged and evil suppressed. Piety needs nourishment and proper environment, not only for growth but also for survival. Throughout human history schools and institutions had been established to create good human beings. No school was ever established to train rapists, paedophiles, gang fighters, drug users and people of evil nature. They grow and multiply when a society loses its anchor, morals.

We have lost focus and this has created many of the problems our society faces today, and indeed has always faced. Comprehension of this can at times lead to a rather bleak outlook on life, and maybe even cause a descent into bitterness. Clearly such negativity is something to avoid then. That is something which can be difficult however. When reality inevitably collides with morality the end result shall be the devastation of that which should be. It is our hope that this reality will vanish and morality comes back to claim its domain. The ills of our society certainly do not promote good health for our world. The term ill denotes that which is not healthy, normal, and is unsound, resulting in suffering and distress. It refers also to that which is not up to recognized standards of excellence or conduct.

There are forces within who are attempting to destroy all that is good and moral. We can utilize the words of Isaiah, who under the direction of God cried out, “Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to them that are prudent in their own sight! Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!” Their conduct did not go unheeded for Isaiah said, therefore as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness: because they have cast away the law of the Lord, and despised the word of the Holy One (Isaiah 5:20-24).

The ills of our society are continuing to blossom forth with resistance seemingly being brushed aside. Laws and rulings are now being set forth that at one time would never have been considered. Has the values of our world ruptured to the point that it is affecting our day to day lives? We are living in a time when the ills of our society can have a harmful influence on the life of the youth, if they fall into the category of acceptability of what is being promoted today. Society, has opened itself to examination because of its acceptance of the previously unacceptable.

In our world we face: Bullying in school, workplace and whole nations; bullying serves to destroy self-image of the victim and leaves a long-term scar on him/her. Both the bully and the victim lack self-esteem and some might have undergone abuse in their life and then it becomes a chain reaction, thus a bully compensates it through bullying, but the victims most often fail to put up with it, some remain stuck in a rut. Nations are fighting, nations are threatening each other, generations are been divided and/or killed, but why?

Racism has continued to scar the world it has become endemic world over, but, racism is an historical disease. Nations were wiped out in the past because of their perceived racial inferiority, some nations have crumbled because of it. The ethnic cleansing in some parts of the world horrified the world and continues to horrify us to this day. In day to day life, racism creates fear, distrust and disturbing environments.

As secularism and materialism have taken a dominant role, religions have become irrelevant or just rituals to most people in the West. As a result, non-Christians or even minority denominations within Christianity do undergo visible religious discrimination. Islam, because of its uncompromising allegiance to divine command, suffers most in terms of its image and treatment.

With increasing teen-age pregnancy in many countries, we are living in an era of social deconstruction with the danger of leading us to a disastrous future. What is the root cause of this? Materialism has given rise to individualism, which is making it hard for people to live under the same roof. Marriage is losing its importance as the source of permanent relationship between man and woman, divorce is increasing at an alarming rate and living together is becoming the norm. The TV, computer and other gadgets are keeping us away from other people, loneliness has become perpetual friend of many.

The drug issue is frightening in many parts of the world. Drug, sex and violence are intertwined. The danger of drugs has pushed aside the devastating physical and social effect of alcoholism. The detrimental physical effect of smoking is also ignored. Many adolescents drink and smoke in imitation or defiance of their elders. As a result, the health, economy and social life is ruined. Peer pressure in the schools works as catalysts for adolescents to enter into the world of addiction. Parents need to be conscious about who is their child hanging around. Parents have been a serious let down. Is it because of the laws that work against them and give more authority to the child?

Sex is now a determining factor in modern western life. The media world is awash with this subject. It has become the world's hottest commodity and its commercialisation has become globalised. It is disgraceful that the ‘sex industry’ has become a source of national income in some countries. Sexual promiscuity is giving rise to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) especially among young people. Public Health is experiencing a traumatic rise in these and the so-called 'safe sex' message is leading to nowhere.

Every country has its share in crime. Paedophilia is the inhuman crime of the pervert man who destroys the innocence of a child. In civilised societies the law and order agencies rely on the civic responsibility of the people and work in tandem with them. Young people are vulnerable. Like plants they need nurturing, not misuse and abuse. A civilised society cannot tolerate paedophiles.

The challenge of fighting the social ills is enormous, but an attempt to eradicate these ills should include the wider society. But for this to come to pass, we need to widen the struggle and forge close links with the moral majority in the societies we live in. A small island in a sea of social ills can easily be washed away in time. An epidemic cannot be fought out by running away from it or through selfish attempt of individual protection. This is neither effective nor morally sound.

Can we then take a pledge on this occasion? A pledge not to change the world, but to change ourselves first, a pledge not to move mountains but to shift pebbles, a pledge not to ride the waves but to create ripples, since it is only by changing ourselves that we can change the world, it is only by shifting pebbles that we can conquer mountains and it is only by creating ripples that we can ride the waves. But where do we start?