There is no part of the civilized world today that has not yet been afflicted by the social degeneracy that makes the headlines every day. Not a day goes by that we don’t read a news report that forces the limits of our comprehension and pricks the public conscience. Two reports which appeared in the US media recently were definitely of a nature sounding alarm bells.
The first one is the story of an 18-year-old California girl who caused a traffic accident that ejected her 14-year old sister from the vehicle while driving drunk. At first sight, this could be seen as one of the millions of traffic accidents that occur everyday in almost any part of the world. Yet there were some horrific details of this fatal crash that distinguished it from all others. Instead of trying to save her sister, the girl who caused the crash recorded a live video of the accident that left her 14-year-old sister dead and posted a Livestream of it on her social media account. In the recording, screams were heard and waving arms for help were seen while the girl was singing and making hand gestures accompanying the music in the background. At the end of the recording the girl made an expletive commentary: “My sister is … dying. Look... I ... love my sister to death.”
This story was preceded by an equally horrible one, which revealed the battering effect of social decay in today’s societies. This was the story of five teens in Florida who filmed the dying moments of a drowning disabled man instead of helping him or calling 911. In the minute-long video, the teens are heard to mock, laugh and even curse while they watched the man drowning in the pond. Often what first comes to mind in such cases is to resort to legal means. In this incident, police and prosecutors say little can be done legally, since the group did not appear to have violated any laws by not taking any action. Yet there is no doubt that this “lack of action” has any moral justification which brings us to the core of the problem: This “extremely disturbing” video, as the police called it, spells a society which has gone along the downward spiral of degeneracy and thus demands a more profound tackling other than those of law enforcement.
These two incidents are the herald of a general societal downfall, for moral decline in individuals is considered as preceding or associated with an overall social decadence, and ultimately in the fall of nations. The emergence of people in society who are cruel and ruthless to the extent of mocking and entertaining with people in dire circumstances is the point where a society finds itself in a social stalemate. Indeed, moral corruption of individuals has a direct relation to social depravity, for such individuals are unable to get involved in accomplishing the betterment of society and are unmotivated to do anything that will benefit others. Moral decay saps the intellectual, physical and vital strength of a society, dissipating the vigor which has to be put to use for social action. This is largely because individuals in moral decline do not adhere to any values which make their lives and existence meaningful. We can find the origin of this rationale in materialism’s outlook on morality as described by Prof. William Provine of Cornell University:
“Modern science directly implies that the world is organized strictly in accordance with mechanistic principles. There are no purposive principles whatsoever in nature. There are no gods and no designing forces that are rationally detectable... Second, modern science directly implies that there are no inherent moral or ethical laws, no absolute guiding principles for human society. Thirdly, human beings are marvelously complex machines. The individual human becomes an ethical person by means of two primary mechanisms: heredity and environmental influences. That is all there is. Fourth, we must conclude that when we die, we die and that is the end of us.”
The life of a person who identifies himself with this ideology is unavoidably one of enforced randomness. Indeed, a society made up of such people offers no assurance of stability of any kind, which is fundamental for the survival of a nation. Instead of promoting social coordination which brings about cohesion and progress in society, such individuals cause disorder with their disregard for social bonds.
Various other figures in history have also pointed to the moral decline as a major threat to societies. General Douglas MacArthur, for instance, said: “History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline.” Indeed, poverty, crime and vice all tend to flourish as degenerate individuals start to dominate the society.
However, it is possible to reverse this course of events in those societies inflicted by degeneracy. Just as how misery in societies spread through individuals, it is again individuals who will guide their societies to welfare. Theodore Roosevelt said, “To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society." Therefore, the survival of any society lies in educating individuals in morals and raising them as people of love, and not as people of hate. Once people harboring love, peace, and good intentions in their hearts become the driving force in their communities; vice, misery, unfair competition, injustice and all other negativities that cause human suffering can be eliminated for once and all. This can be accomplished by planting a sense of guardianship for others in people starting from their very earliest years. People raised as responsible individuals who feel they need to respect, protect and watch over anyone and anything in their surroundings -including plants and animals - will turn out to be people with high self-esteem and self-confidence. Such people tend to become the cogs that will work for the betterment and welfare of society. Indeed, in a society dominated with people who are not egoistic and who are willing to give to others, “survival of the fittest” would no longer be the motto. The strong will protect the weak and give them opportunities to overcome their weaknesses and take their place in society. In such a society, competition will be replaced by collaboration for the good of all; cruelty, insensitiveness, indifference to those who are in need will be superseded by affection and compassion. This will be the route to which every individual -regardless of his race, nation, religion, ideology or sex - will be treated with the respect and love he deserves as a human being.
Adnan Oktar's piece in American Herald Tribune: