Wake-Up Call for This Century

The book is a ‘Speed Bump Sign” and functions as a ‘Speed Bump’ for the road ahead. Both serve a good purpose. ‘Speed Bump Sign’ give warning of dangers ahead and ‘Speed Bump’ slows you to think with a calm mind and act without rushing. The manuscript gives a glimpse about hate and bigotry, pseudo-spirituality, egotistical, declining morality, dishonesty, discrimination and injustice, money power, indiscipline, gender bias, bullying, politics at every nook and corner, downside of the technologies and many more. Moral values vary according to the eyes of the beholder. Undoubtedly declining moral values and immorally treating others with disrespect have plagued us as we look the way ahead in this 21st Century. Some still choose to ignore, never mind and move forward and some are not tolerant to immorality. Technology and democracy isn't all bad. Use and abuse are rising up. Misuse of democracy, unmanaged technology and glamour of the world has badly infected the moral across the mass, especially the new generations. Moral education has become like antibiotics rather than nutrition. The irony is that only a handful of people have sensed the danger. Hate crimes have triggered larger community inducing wide racial conflict, social disturbances, violence, intimidation and even riots. ‘Unity in Diversity’ is in cage of novels, poems and essays and is not intended to look beyond the horizons. Our challenge reminds us to consider the full range of relationships with others. Relational participation extends the idea of solidarity. Undeniably technological development has provided to all of us with unimaginable matters of easiness and solutions, simultaneously it has pushed us to the ‘Era of Loneliness and Feeling of Emptiness’ particularly as we grow grey and old. People feel emotionally isolated and affection bankrupted making it difficult to reach out to others. Today’s world has lot of fuss over new technologies. Segregating, selective and wise utilization of the technology for necessities with minimum of fuss is missing. Young generation is completely entangled with the technology and modern life style that the older and weaker parents have to reach to them. Old people are totally separated from the young; walls are created with no intention of making passages. When it comes to remove the wall and build bridges, modern morality and spirituality with closed eyes have taken the back seat. Gender bias, female infanticide, patriarchal societies and racism have not been erased on ground level with what should have been from the growing literacy and teachings as we once thought could eradicate easily as the mind-set remains the same. Continuing discrimination against girls and women in the world is a devastating reality. Parental attitude have not changed. Surprisingly their unlike attitude could be seen towards their own kids of same sex born with skin of different shades of color. Condition of our birth should not become condition for our outcome. Today’s educational institutions have become corporate and business oriented. Parents toil to do their kids home works and projects. Kids are admitted to nursery by evaluating the merits of parent’s background. Teachers have fewer burdens to cover the syllabus and are left to students to do of their own. Students carry load of bags as if they are soldiers on a battle ground or like a mountaineer climbing Everest. Bullying and ragging have become a hobby for some at schools. School text book are changed with every government coming to power with their agenda and interests inserted into it. Politicians are active in their play mercilessly with the student’s future. There are numerous amazing matters of present century or era which is appreciable and admirable. We can feel it from how our life which is made easy and comfortable at several arenas. At the same time there are things that pull us back is equally true. Many amazing and wonderful things are subdued and dejected from the negative impacts of competing bad matters. Good and bad exists from the beginning of life in the universe. Irrespective of the fact that good and bad differs from people to people with their perceptions, however without denial it is for sure wise humans are able to distinguish fairly well the true difference between the two, isolate and segregate the bad ones. If and when the dominance of bad exceeds the good, the bad is considered trademarked. It becomes the yardstick and determines the values for the future and distorts the era. In other words there is a paradigm shift in terms of bad values that sets a new benchmark with differentiated direction of look. It can bring humanity upside down. But we are always firmly optimist that good wins at the end. Unfortunately the sad part is enough damage would be done if we are seated at the back bench with folded hands and lips shut. Are we surfing the wave or swimming against the tide. Keeping things inside us without action would be like good cow on the pages that do not give milk. We have to act now for the better world ahead. We should not look at life as a series of crisis but instead as a series of battles.