INCREASE IN MORAL DECADENCE IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY
BY CHINEMEREM ADIBE 11–17–2020
Moral decadence is the decay of ethical values and norms that govern an individual and the society at large. It lowers standards of moral behavior and creates new but lower criteria for ethics and justice. Putting it simply, people are no longer required to preserve their commitment to the very basic moral norms.
Parental abandonment has become one of the factors that contribute to moral decadence in our society today. Many children are caught up in this trap where they have been left alone. Parents are too busy to be parents. So many excuses are given for this generation, accepts every wrong as right. Where are the parents? Maybe it’s high time they come home and be parents. The breakdown of the family is now at crisis level and it seems like all authorities are not concerned about it. If the family cannot do what it was created to do, humanity will suffer the consequences. Children left alone are starved of intimacy and connection. Parents are not connecting to each other and with their children. The family no longer gives the intimacy it should give. People now just stay together as individuals and not connected to each other. There is little coaching and teaching on moral values. Children learn by themselves from themselves.
Modern technology is another aspect that contributes to the increase in moral decadence in our society today. Technology and the increasing fast trends in globalization have turned society upside down. The youths are the fast hit in these changing trends. This is one of the biggest problems of our day. Immorality is purchased by parents into homes and into the hands of children. There is little or no guidance when it comes to the use of technology. It looks like the devil lives in technology.
Never in human history has a population so willfully and deliberately contravened moral excellence as has this present generation. Individuals are expected to adapt and conform to moral principles and social convention which are unwritten rules, norms and values governing our behaviors. Morality is concerned with the distinction between right and wrong, good and evil or principles and motivation based on ideas of right and wrong. It is evident that no rule is absolute but, individual-based and situation based, however, it is also a truism to say Nigeria as a nation has an ideology and tradition of reverence and for morality. Some attitudes conformed by contemporary Nigerians are not in our culture. We are no longer what we were; the institution of family has broken down; respect for elders and constituted authority which used to be our cardinal principle in our society, is now at its lowest ebb; honesty where it does not pay has become meaningless.
Another important area of concern is indecency and immodesty in dressing. Ladies dress half naked while guys sag their trousers below their waistline, hang tones of chains round their necks and keep different hairstyles which are not our culture. Such immoral behaviors are incorporated into our society in the name of fashion. The repercussions of these unhealthy behaviors are nothing to write home about- adultery, fornication, rape, lack of respect in the society, just to mention but a few.
Just as a soldier is recognized with his uniform, so is a lazy indecently dressed, passing the information, “I’m ready for sex” even if that is not her intention. The manner in which people dress goes a long way to tell about them. How would one feel when one’s past actions especially during their bloom of youth hunts them in their future endeavors.
Homosexuality, yet another startling decadent trait practiced in our society today. The science of sex appeal and attraction shows that normal individuals get repelled sexually by someone of the same sex or their close relatives like biological sister/brother. What befuddled most is; why would one get sexually attracted to another masculine man instead of woman and woman to another woman. There is no reason at all other than mental disease and psychological disorder, why such attitudes divested of human qualities and attributes are adapted.
The role of moral decadence in the encroaching violence would not be over emphasized, as it creates the ambiance for the youths to be used as tools for propagating violence. A morally degraded youth has no plan in life; has no future ambition or proper orientation that advocate respect for elders or compassion for the young; would easily partake in politics, arm robbery, ethno-religious crisis or any other form of unrest
Young people now see premarital is a normal thing. It is a thing to laugh about if a youth says he/she is still a virgin. Truly unfortunate. Lack of censorship in the films, music, videos even the social media all make it seem like premarital sex is something that one can just get away with. Without making it clear that sex has a prize tag which includes; unplanned pregnancy, abortion, contraction of HIV/AIDS and other STIs. The concept; if you cannot control your self, you can use condom, this is deceptive because condoms have invisible holes that are 1.0 micron in diameter while the HIV virus is 5.0 micron in diameter, this clearly means that condoms are not 100% efficient, only abstinent is. Teenage abortion is worse as it can lead to death. Abstinence is the beginning of sexual wisdom. A few minutes of pleasure may lead a girl to early grave.
I will like to say that the challenge facing our youths is to know themselves and be true to the very essence of their being. Some learn it the hard way. But the truth is unchanging. I will not want to bring up my child with the idea he/she could have sex whenever, wherever and however it pleases him/her. I would hate to think I would teach him/her to abhor self control which is what abstinence is all about. I know my child is a human being and not an animal and can make good choices given the right help. I would want my child to accept his/her mistakes when he/she errs, learn from the experience and move on but not celebrate or justify his/her inadequacies with unreasonable arguments.
I will not tell my child that he/she cannot abstain from sex when he has not even tried to pull the effort and the means to. I will not want my child to see the people who have been man enough to control their feelings and emotions as angels or beings that do not live in the real world. Rather, I will tell my child that it requires an effort and that is why he is a man. I will not use the errors of my own life to justify that which I know is wrong or at least less right and not wholesome solution. I will not teach the children of others that which I refuse to teach my own children no matter their background or circumstances
Morality involves guidance towards achieving a productive knowledge, healthy attitudes towards others, sound mind. Moral principles can be taught at homes, in schools and places of worship with other factors having influence on it which include peer groups and environment.
It is a call for parents always make out time for their children, be there for them and pay attention to little details they consider very important to them, teach their young ones about generosity, teach them to be truthful in nature, teach them to have compassion for the young and respect for the elders, to practice chastity and keep their bodies only for their future spouses, teach them decency in thoughts, actions and dressings, teach them contentment and teach them never to give up.
Teachers on the other hand should be able to discover talent and specialization in individuals and help in diverting attention, resources, time and energy towards harnessing the potentials in young people. Guide them from inception of such discovery so as to shape those abilities, mentor them properly and parents should allow such talent run its natural cause.
The most encouraging message is that as soon as we realize that we need a morally sound society in order to solve all our problems in this nation and understand that the combined effort of all sectors is needed in order to imbibe moral principles into individuals, we can see there is light at the end of the tunnel.
