Are We Better Today?

  •   Wed, Feb 24 2016
  •   By Joel Pinto

February 24, 2016


Mankind has moved ahead, made progress in every field imaginable. We have reached the Mount Everest and to the bottom of the deepest seas, crossed across the oceans and travelled distant lands, Human race is at its zenith. Let us ask ourselves "Are we better than the Man of old?" Can we proudly say that we have achieved great things and reached great heights and made this world a better place?

Messages in olden times were through letters or postcards, meeting people was a sign of great respect and honor. Now there are plenty of social networking sites that exist and a message across the world can be sent in seconds, news and good wishes, invitation and photos can be uploaded instantly, but do we have the time to speak to someone face to face or visit someone? Joint families, the time of meals with fun and frolic, work and play etc have become memories. Today our families have become nuclear. Relating to others has reached an extent where we send a ‘hi’ text to someone sitting next to us. Human nature is to live in a community to relate, to be with the others but now it has changed to living with social media.

Our birth, growth, and whole life is formed by nature, and we ourselves are responsible for its destruction. There are a lot of things written and said by great personalities about the protection of environment, but what we say is really difficult to practice. In olden times there were forests all around, everything was lush green and quite less polluted, animals had their own habitats; but where have they gone now? We go to faraway places to see a forest or go trekking, fields are reduced day by day due to modernism and the desire to develop has made us blind. 13 of the 20 most polluted cities are in India according to WHO. Animals have entered our houses because we have destroyed theirs. We need development, but when will we say yes to the development of nature?

Diseases break out, and we invent medicines for them. We invent abundance of machines to diagnose the diseases and give accurate medicines. But then 75% of the health infrastructure in India is concentrating on the 27% of India’s urban population; and 72% of the rural areas still lack proper medical facilities. Has our path led only towards money? Are our inventions and findings meant only for the rich?

In 1900 India’s population was 271,306,000 (approximately 27 crore) and in 2011 it was 1,210,193,442 (approximately 121 crores). People have increased and so has the distance between our neighbours. These are a few issues, there are yet many more that can be discussed and debated upon like education, development, terrorism etc.Each may seem to have a separate view, a different idea of things but the basic thing that should haunt us is, Are we better than the people of old? Are we lost in the ocean of development?

You may feel that I have highlighted all the negative aspects that are in the society. Yes I have, because only through clear analysis will we come to know where we are headed and find a way to be better. When we are able to reflect on these aspects that happen in our lives, or around, it can change our view. Being better or advanced is very good, but its mission is not accomplished unless and until it reaches all the people.The outside view of the world may project that we are truly better than the man of old. Let us not fall for that appearance but know the integral truth of ourselves. Let us ponder over the path of change that is leading forward, let us ask ourselves "can we make this world better than the man of old?"

 

 
By Joel Pinto
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Comment on this article

  • rose mary, mangalore

    Sun, Apr 03 2016

    Joel, it is good article. wish u all success in future. keep on writing good and best article.

  • Evans Christopher Sumitra, UDUPI/NEW YORK,USA.

    Fri, Feb 26 2016

    Well written article by Joel Pinto. What you have written is true and this advancement in every field is a must. Otherwise, we will be living in the stone age. This world is going beyond our imagination and has helped mankind in every way. Of course, there has been some drawbacks due to mankind or nature.

  • Bonison Pinto , Mangalore

    Wed, Feb 24 2016

    Joel, good article. Keep writing. All the best.


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