Why is society declining? To answer this question, I figured the best solution would be to look at the media. After all, the media reflects the image of our society. To make it even simpler, I decided to pick up the a newspaper that reflected the views of the microcosm that most of us live in. I didn't have to go too far to observe the decline. The front page headline portrayed the image of a student who had committed suicide. Reading further on the same front page, I noticed the headline "Theft Spree Starts Winter Holidays." What a nice way to start the joyous and happy Christmas season, when we are supposed to give love and kindness to others. Instead we are robbing each other. Death is becoming a norm. We are accepting drive-by shootings as something common, and we are doing little to ameliorate the situation. Another danger that we are taking lightly is racism. On a conservative college campus, interaction among different cultures is minimal. It becomes hard for some to accept others who are different. Racism does not just mean white against black. It has many different forms, many of which are subtle and unrecognizable. The fact that you feel that you are better than someone else because of your social class, color, or intelligence depict the different faces of racism. So racism exists, what is the problem? The problem is that we are accepting it, and it is on the rise. Changing views, we can look at sports. Are we playing because we enjoy it, or because we are making money and want to keep making more. Look at the NHL and Major League Baseball. These "players" are on strike because the millions they are making are simply not enough. They need more. Sports are now a commercial business, not an enjoyable pastime. I feel unfortunate to be writing this article, but society is declining and we must do something to change it. Sad but true.
Counter Point
Society, as I see it, is not in a state decline. I feel the changes in society are relative to growth of the world's population and the advancements in technology. There is bound to be more crime and violence in the world just because there are more people. One cannot expect that the level of crime will stay the same as it was hundreds of years ago with the high rate of growth that the world is experiencing. Also the media can be deceiving with their coverage of the events. Nowadays there is worldwide coverage and we are constantly exposed to headlines. Headlines of murder and crime, and of many the negative occurrences. It is easy to be mislead to the idea that the world is coming to an end if everyday you read about a death happening somewhere. Actually it can be downright depressing at times, but one must realize that people unfortunately have been killing each other for a very long time. It hasn't been in this century alone where the idea was picked up.
Another belief I hear talked about is the decadence of people in today's society. Articles on the decline of the church and the sexual promiscuity describe how people seem to be veering from the proverbial path of morality. Personally, I think that a decline in the church would be a refreshing change for us all. I am pleased that people tend to be more open to controversial issues such as sex, marriage, homosexuality, and religion. It's about time that people dealt with these issues in the open instead of pretending that they don't exist. There needs to be discussion and enlightenment on these issues, not dismissal.
Society is definitely changing, it changes every year. Trends come and go, but society is not in a state of decline. I'm not saying that it is getting better, it is just progressing on a natural course unknown to mankind. The evolution and purpose of mankind has always been a mystery and most likely will continue to be for the rest of man's existence, but of course that is what makes life all the more interesting.