A twelve year old kid died while trying to induce an abortion in the neighborhood while three seventeen year olds have been found guilty of robbing a jewelry shop violently. Today, news channels are filled with news that makes you cry if you still have some humanity left. The good morals of yester years have been eroded and what we witness is utterly unbelievable. The society we are leaving in has become more obsessed with material gains in the expense of morality. Youths are on the rampage, doing as they deem suitable while their parents are busy amassing wealth. An article in the New York Times claims that the world we are living in today is 20 times more dangerous than it was 100 years ago and I totally agree with the writer. Social order and responsibility will be non existent in the next generation if tough measures are not taken today to curb the already volatile situation.
The society has gradually with time eroded its social values that once held the community united. Social degradation can be traced back to the time when humans became obsessed with social status and commodity fetishism. Today the individuals are less concerned with the wellbeing of their neighbors and the environment. Parents are busy advancing their careers and businesses while the children are left at the mercy of house helps and the media. These kids end up being drug addicts, sexually immoral and with no respect at all because they had no one to guide them properly during their formative years to be responsible and develop good morals. Issues that the society ought to address now are; drug abuse, sexual immorality and the escalating crime rate especially among the youth.
The crime rate in the world has increased considerably over the last decade thanks to the hard economic times and unemployment. Gender related murders, burglaries, battery and robbery with violence are reported daily in our news. Police are involved in gun fights with criminals almost on a daily basis. Humans value property possessions than life these days and can kill, maim or threaten anyone so long as they get to take something of value from you. Countries with less income per head and high unemployment rates are the most affected. A survey by the United Nations indicates that developing countries and less developed neighborhoods are the most dangerous places to live in. this is because individuals living in this places feel left out by the government and therefore they engage in criminals activities in order to be felt and recognized. Youth are the majority of these perpetrators of crimes mostly because they have no jobs and are a frustrated lot.
The second social issue the society is facing is drug abuse and addiction especially amongst the youth. Youth are wasting away their lives by taking drugs that are harmful making them unproductive and dependent. Alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, LSDs and marijuana are the most abused drugs today. Drug abuse and addiction has negative consequences for both the individuals and the society. In the United States estimates of total cost of substance use exceeds $600 billion annually. This gigantic amount does not describe all the spheres that drug abuse and addiction affects in the society, loss of employment, family disintegration, school failure, child abuse and domestic violence are also a result of drug addiction. Unemployment and lack of moral values are the main factors that contribute to these problems. The youth are looking for a way out of their frustrations and seek refuge in these drugs that provide temporary solace.
Lastly, sexual immorality is another problem in the world today. Sex was supposed to be sacred but social inequality and lack of employment has led to the commercialization of sex. Take a walk at night along the back streets and you will find both men and women hawking themselves. Sexual immorality not only lowers ones’ dignity but can lead to dangerous infections like HIV and aids. Millions of lives are lost annually because of sexually transmitted diseases. Teenage pregnancies and risky abortions are a result of this vice. Girls are dropping out of school at an alarming rate because of pregnancies and botched up abortions that maim or kill them. Our ancestors considered sex sacred and could only be enjoyed in marriage and the society was strong and united during those days. Today sexual immorality has led to breakages of many families. Many religions, which form a pillar of sexual morality concepts, forbid sexual immorality; the youths should therefore be encouraged to adopt some of these religious beliefs. The society contributes largely to the immorality we experience today. Nobody is concerned about what happens to you so long as you get money or other valued materials. The society rejoices in material gains rather than human dignity.
In conclusion therefore, it is evident that our society is rotten and needs immediate action in order to redeem the human dignity. The increase in rates of crime, sexual immorality and drug abuse are indicators of a society that is rapidly degrading. However, all is not lost, with proper parental guidance, civil education; strengthening of religious ties and adoption of upright moral values the trend can be reversed. The society ought to change its materialistic nature and pay more attention to the well-being of other humans and the environment and in this way we can avoid having a dysfunctional society in the next generation. The government can also help by making laws that prohibits sell of drugs and enforcing them. The laws we have today are not fully enforced making them equal to the proverbial toothless dog.
References
Ankerberg, J., & Weldon, J. (0). Sexual Immorality and Other Consequences of Occult Involvement - Part 2.
Ankerberg, J., & Weldon, J. (0). Sexual Immorality and Other Personal and Social Consequences of Occult Involvement - Part 1.
BRAITHWAITE, J. (0). Crime, Shame and Reintegration.
Smith, D. (2008). Globalization, Degradation and the Dynamics of Humiliation. Current Sociology. doi:10.1177/0011392107088230
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