THE MERCHANDISE OF MORALITY

Hello 21^st century!

Why have your terrain redefined our world and perception of morality?

Why have you comfortably harbored individuals basking in the euphoria of a murdered moral stand point?

Why has silence to abnorms pleased you enough that you don’t even visit it with distaste?

Those three questions have burdened my heart  so much that I wish I could find a reliable answer for it. Not just an answer, but a solution that can turn things around.

In the wake of the millennium, we were greeted by the wave of a new global aspiration –The need for Globalization. We embraced it on the grounds of its necessity and ability to reflect the equality of every member of the human race, but today, things have taken a major turn. We have questioned stereotypes so much that we have framed new pathways for ourselves without x-raying why the fences we have pulled down where there in the first place. We have philosophized ourselves into the idea of relativism so much that we have almost lost common parameter to measure what is right and what is wrong.

Our world today, have been bedeviled by what we can call The Merchandise of Morality.

We once held sacred the principle of moderation even in dressing, but the crave to trend. The fashionista skillset, the quest to prove classy. The “need” to show variety in design, has earned us a society without decency in appearance. It has diffused even into the places of worship that no one cares any longer about the place of decency and modesty in appearance. Our mothers buy skimpy cloths for the Toddling tens, and describe them as sexy. They grow with that world and dress sexier and yet wonder why rape and sexual promiscuity is on the increase. We have lost the place of moderation in fashion.

We believed that when you work hard, you will get financial freedom enough to carter for your needs. We valued meritocracy in business. We upheld the truth that money gotten from dubious means is illegal and not worth being spent by any morally upright person. But today, our society has trivialized these values. We leverage on a bad economy as our excuse for cheating in business; in fact, we christened it “Smart business strategy”. We glorify the internet fraudsters whose loot gets to our accounts. Our churches comfortably run thanksgiving services for people with questionable sources of income, and pretend that it’s divine, and that the blood of Jesus has covered the blood money and made if fit for use. We have lost our sense of truth and morality.

We were told that truth is bitter and is worth being told every time. We were made to understand that standing for the truth and integrity is worth dying for. We had been made to learn through history that whatsoever is found false should be punished duly. We have witnessed through consistent historic records that stealing in any form is morally wrong and should be fought against. But what have these moral truths been traded with? Today, in our court session, we see that truth is hidden under the pews of the defendants, baptized by the oratory of the prosecutors and its mangled outcome is endorsed by the gavel of the magistrate. This has sold our trust in the justice system. In whom shall we trust to protect moral truths for us? We have seen false assets declarations, we have witness exorbitant remuneration for political office occupiers, and we have seen where poor representation is handsomely rewarded. We have run from stray bullets shot by the electoral militants of our ruling leaders, we have seen corruption renamed with all diplomatic techniques. We have lost the standard for rightness and wrongness.

Our educational system has engendered a culture called Cooperation – the baptismal name for Exam Malpractice. Our lecturers have encouraged it; they have called “Sorting” - “Appreciation” after deliberately not coming to class, and intentionally setting exam questions out of scope of what has been taught. They have further given connections to people that have sold their dignity and refused to sign or validate the request of those who have strived to preserve integrity. Integrity is being threatened today by the new wave of morality. We have normalized ill-norms.

Each time you wonder about the retrogression that has plagued our generation today, don’t forget that when a buildings foundation is eroded, it can no longer stand the test of time. Always remember that when a structure is built outside the specifications of the architect, it will surely not be what its meant to be. We must be careful not to be deceived by the rapid technological advancement that is making life easier today. The bigger question is, If this technology fails tomorrow, do we have a platform to sustain the systems that hold humanity? With technology, we educate ourselves into imbecilities if we don’t have a strong moral framework to discern good from evil. This is the most pressing problem of our generation today that warrants global concern. A reconstruction of our moral and value system will bring the desired mental re-engineering our generation needs to set the world on the right course for rapid development.

One question; Are you a contributor to this merchandise, or are you a counter investor, investing deeply into the Value economy to regain our lost Value systems? Until you choose to Make A Difference, you will die like every other unconcerned citizen who posterity can never applaud their existence, neither will heaven reward their lifetime. Help 21^st century regain her value system by being a positive influence, and a preacher of the gospel of Love, Godliness and Integrity. Be the Difference your generation yearns for and your children generation will comfortable sustain.

Obiyo Daniel

danielobiyo@gmail.com