RAPE, VIOLENCE, KILLINGS, TEENAGE ROAD ACCIDENTS – AND DEMONSTRATIONS

As I opened the newspaper today and read of another rape and another mindless killing – that of a 16-year old boy venting out his anger at his neighbour lady and her 2-year old son for a silly dispute by knife stabs, it got one thinking of the society we are building around us.  And then the demonstrations against these issues.  While the demonstrations do put pressure on the government to book the culprits and get its act together,  there is a larger problem at hand that also needs to be tackled. 

The social ecosystem (that includes the media, films and the education sector) perpetually  showcase  the glamorous and the rich and that has led to the importance of  cultural growth being left far behind in the minds of the young and the old alike. Yes generations change and will keep changing with each lamenting on the other’s follies.  But today’s India is changing so rapidly that everyone is confused including the parents on what and how much is important and the line between right and wrong is getting even more blurred.

Because the line between the rich and the middle class is also getting blurred.  Everyone wants to be sexy and everyone wants to be rich and most don’t care a damn for anything else – films, television programmes add to  spreading these ideas.  Intellectual growth and imbibing India’s rich culture  is too in-depth and long-term in today’s fast pace world. Looking sexy and looking rich is so much easier.  Everything from world’s  best face creams, the best hair-dyes, the best make-up kit and the best cars – all here – to lap up in one breath (and exhibit it on facebook!).

The result of this is that there is too much ‘Exhibiting’ of this materialism everywhere that everyone is desperate to be a part of it and very fast.  It is slowing creeping into forms of anger and jealously amongst the not-so-developed strata of society who don’t have it and this results in various forms of insecurity and unhappiness.  

I remember our days of growing up when the distance between the ‘few’ rich and us middle-class was very great and we thoroughly enjoyed that. We would love to look at the ‘exclusive’ rich with their big cars and big houses and all the style and class, without ever  aspiring to ‘appear’ rich.

For most of the population getting richer is easier today through the loan channel.   Everyone wants that posh house, the latest model car,  latest mobile, branded garments – ok in brief materialistic. Development or Materialism is good but only if it comes with maturity to be able to do without a lot we can’t afford.  That comes from a very strong upbringing of moral values and ethics which most parents find it very hard to imbibe in their children. I doubt if schools too stress on all these issues (With everyone wanting to be part of an international school where you already tell your children you are high class and different and well you need a lot of money for that!). Mothers themselves seem to have put morals and ethics way down on their agenda  what with having so many other ‘burning’ issues to deal with.

Anger and fear are two things we seem to build up more day by day due to the paucity of so many other greater emotions in us.

Each of us needs to take time off to think of these things individually and understand how we can avoid greater part of the society going the wrong way – and we have all the solutions within our culture  itself if we only bring it to the fore.