Where have we gone wrong?

I have been thinking.

This in itself is not remarkable. I often think. Actually, my brain is so active I find it hard to stop thinking. But I have been thinking in particular about humanity.

I was watching the news last night. In China, a two year old girl was run down by a van. The van hit her twice, then sped off. 18 people walked past the girl as she laid bleeding and dying in the street. 18 people. And not one of them stopped to help her. By the time one Good Samaritan tried to help her, it was too late.

Apparently this often happens in China; somebody is in need but passers-by do not stop to help in case they are reprimanded for their actions. It comes, as the analyst on the news was saying, from a society which has put money first, which has driven citizens into fear of dreadful repercussions of seemingly kind and humanitarian acts, and which has undermined a traditional system of morality which was the basis for some of the most beautiful and inspiring philosophical movements in history.

It is easy, sitting here in Australia – the ‘lucky country’; a country renowned for mateship and community spirit – to condemn the Chinese and what their society has become. But really, how far away is the West from this kind of moral breakdown?

Look at the recent riots in England. As they spread across the country, citizens descended into a kind of mob mentality with every man for himself. One man, battered and bleeding, was helped up by a stranger who proceeded to rob him of his wallet. Look many years back to the Cronulla riots, where Anglo-Australians and Muslim-Australians descended into violence against each other for the mere reason that they possessed different belief systems.  Look at America. Really, just look at America. Look at its history of gun violence, where students have wandered into their schools and opened fire on their classmates.

This is not simply a vague hatred of difference; racism, class differences, homophobia, religious intolerance, xenophobia… This is descending into a complete indifference, or at worse hatred, of our fellow man. Humanity has been disintegrating for a while. But I feel now we are reaching the point of collapse.

Where have we gone wrong?

1.       Money.

Money is truly the root of all evil. Money drives us to value little pieces of metal and paper over each other. Yet the whole system of finance and economy is little more than a human construct, where these otherwise worthless items can buy you almost anything. The almighty dollar seems to be the highest status symbol in our society. Have a lot of money and you are idolised; you are a god. You can get away with murder. Have no money and you are a nobody – you have no rights, you become a tool or a plaything of the rich and the powerful. Why is this? When you die, whether you go to heaven or hell, whether you are reincarnated or whether you simply cease to exist, that money isn’t going with you.

2.       The culture of celebrity.

Celebrities take up valuable space in the news. You can see it everywhere. The front page of the Daily Telegraph baring the headline ‘It’s Megan Gale’s birthday!’. Full page spreads on Lady Gaga’s latest outfit. That stupid ‘Entertainment’ section in the paper where people can write in and say they saw Bert Newton’s wigmaker buying a scented candle in the city. Why are we so obsessed with celebrities? What is it that they do? Why does everyone want to be like them? Shouldn’t we be paying more attention to what they are doing, rather than to the person themselves? Shouldn’t we judge a singer not by the clothes they wear but by the heart and soul they pour into their work? Shouldn’t we judge an actor not by how much money they make but by the message of the films they make? And why should we value them and their lifestyle over those around us? We should see these people as just that – people. They are no better or worse than anyone else.

3.       Digitization

We have lost the value of physical entities. My number one bug bare in the digitization of our society is the loss of books. With Kindles and e-readers which can store thousands of books in a single compact item we are losing the joy of being able to flick through pages, feel the leather binding and smell the knowledge of the years. With so many people buying books online we are losing the joy of browsing through bookstores and libraries. But it’s not just books. With social networking available online and through mobile devices we are losing the joy of spending time with people. With the ability to download movies onto our computers and laptops and phones we’re losing the joy of going to the cinema and being amongst people. We care more about what’s on the little electronic device in front of us than what’s happening in the world around us. It’s like holding a faded picture of a plain blue sky, staring at it intently to find some beauty in it, while above us the sky ablaze with a magnificent sunset.

4.       Education

Society needs to be more educated. Not in things like maths and science, but about society and humanity. We need to understand more about other people – the things they suffer through and how to treat them with respect and kindness. We need to learn how to look after our fellow man, and treat them the way we would like to be treated. Too much of our history has been forgotten by current generations. No one I have met under the age of 20 has heard of the Gestapo. How long before all the atrocities of the World Wars are forgotten? Even now such events are just a memory to those who were not directly affected by it. They have become facts rather than events. And if we forget our history and the reasons for past events, then we are doomed to repeat our mistakes.

5.       Individualism

What happened to a sense of community? When my parents were growing up, everyone knew their neighbours. Kids all over the street would play together and when dinner time came they would simply eat at whoever’s house they happened to be in at the time. If it began to rain people would jump the fence and start bringing in their neighbour’s washing. Where did that change? Now most people don’t know their neighbours. Now kids play in their own houses by themselves. Now if you enter your neighbour’s yard without their permission the police are called. It’s so bad that people can die in their homes and their neighbours don’t even notice. We have become a society that puts the self over the community. No longer do we work for the good of the community; rather we work to further our own ambitions and careers. We work to push ourselves ahead, to get ourselves on top. And our fellow man is pushed to one side. We look out only for ourselves at whatever cost.

6.       Litigiousness

We have become a society obsessed with law. Laws are meant to stop us from descending into chaos. But much of the legal system has become little more than the restriction of humanity. Teachers cannot comfort a crying child without fear of losing their job. Bystanders can’t stop and help someone in a medical emergency in case they make things worse and get sued. A man working for a small business who cuts himself carelessly at work can sue the business for all it has. Individuals use the law to lash out at each other, to isolate themselves and to stifle any form of good will. They use it to gain money without any thought for the people on the receiving end. This is no less chaotic than a lawless society.

7.       Secularism

I am not normally one to defend religion. Indeed, I normally point out its flaws. But there is one aspect of religion that I think is very important; its role as a stable moral and ethical guideline, be it Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism or anything. As people turn away from religion they lose a sense of right and wrong. They lose the value systems that have been in place for centuries. Things such as loving thy neighbour. Treating others with love and forgiveness. Universal karma. As we move away from the belief systems which guide our moral behaviour, we lose sight of right and wrong. Without belief in good and evil, there is only chaos.

We need to step back and take a good look at where we are heading. We need to think less of ourselves and our own wealth and desires and think more about others. We need to focus less on the material and more about our society. We should think less about virtual experiences and more about real experiences. We are anchored in a shallow, materialistic culture obsessed with fame and instant gratification. And the sooner we realise this and change it the sooner we can fix our damaged society.