“For the
first time in history, more people die today from eating too much than
from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious
diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers,
terrorists and criminals combined.”- From Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari.
It is
interesting to know that despite of living in riches today, we still suffer
silently from so many problems. When I was reading the book from which I’ve
quoted the above lines, I was astonished to find out these facts for true. I
remember my history textbooks filled with the struggles our ancestors had to go
through. I feel that today, despite being in the 21st century, our
problems and struggles are no less. The major difference only being that our
problems affect us mentally to a much greater extent, which makes matters
worse.
Also today,
surprisingly everyone has enough confidence to speak ill about others over the
internet. May be it is the screen of usernames which they hide under. But it is
so disturbing to know that someone is under depression just because of someone
else’s rude remarks under the tag of ‘no offence’. These problems are only
getting worse day by day. There are reality shows which handsomely pay people
to fight against eachother. The people who ‘act’ in them do not mind, but the
message which is propagated through such shows destroys the mutual integrity of
a society. This is the form of entertainment for the 21st century.
Now a sane person would not get involved in such things, but such a person is
so rare in today’s society that he himself feels lost amongst the insane
people. Today the voices of those who want help and want to help are drowned in
those of the ones who do not simply care, but still have to say something; just
for fun.
Now there
are a few rare societies in the world which propagate humanity, peace and
happiness. Many people all around the world travel thousands of miles to listen
to them. Tons of fuel is burnt for personal luxury. Even if they might feel
happy now, they would not, considering the damage they’ve done to the
environment, in the future.
And if these
problems were not enough, major parts of the world still suffer from poverty,
malnutrition, child labour, female foeticide, child marriages, child
trafficking and abuse. When we imagine ourselves experiencing comforts and
luxuries, one really cannot ignore these sufferings which our fellow residents
of the world go through.
So are we
really happier than our forefathers? Maybe not. in this world where money buys
you happiness, it does not buy you satisfaction. Man remains greatly
dissatisfied despite of his achievements and advancement. He keeps wanting
more, and his greed makes him suffer with restlessness. Only the ones true to
themselves, who know their purpose are said to be truly happy, but the irony
being that such people are mostly cast off, labelling them as ‘old- fashioned’.
Now if the principles and sayings of our ancestors really made one happy, it
would be fair to say that our ancestors were indeed happier than us.
But of
course, we can try to be happier. We have a lot of reasons to be pessimistic,
but optimism does not harm either. In today’s world, we can only be happy by
sharing happiness- spreading it far and wide. Illuminating the darkest places
and souls on earth, giving them a helping hand, by telling them that we
understand. Respecting others’ choices and decisions irrespective of what they
are and not judging them based on that. By trying to shift our perspective and
widen our horizons. To shift from ‘unity in diversity’ to ‘unity is diversity’.
