Good old day: A reflection on moral decline, hope for restoration

POINTBLANK
With Smart Emmanuel Chukwudi (+2349066642354)

I truly cherish the good old days, a time when moral values mattered when respect, discipline, and integrity were the fabric of our society. It was a time when a child could be corrected by a neighbor, and parents would thank them rather than take offense.

When young people addressed elders with humility, shame still existed as a check on misconduct. In those days, truth had value, dignity was upheld, and a handshake sealed an agreement stronger than many contracts today.

But now I ask with a heavy heart, where are we truly heading as a society?

We are witnessing an era where moral values have significantly eroded. Respect is now seen as optional. Discipline is mocked. Integrity is rare and, when found, often ridiculed. We are gradually but surely losing the very essence that once made our society strong and cohesive. Sometimes I find myself sitting in deep thought, asking if this trend will ever be reversed. Will things ever get better, or will they continue to worsen?

This moral crisis cuts across every facet of our society, in families, schools, places of worship, leadership, and governance. The decay did not happen overnight. It crept in gradually as society shifted its focus from community to individualism, from collective good to selfish ambition, and from values to vanity.

We now glorify wealth without questioning its source. We reward power, even if it comes at the cost of human lives or truth. In the name of civilization and freedom, we have allowed boundaries to be erased, and in doing so, we’ve bred confusion in the minds of the young.

Children today are growing up in a world that often celebrates immorality and corruption. They are fed content through media and social platforms that glamorize crime, indecency, and dishonor.

The values that once served as a compass, honesty, hard work, patience, and humility are now seen as outdated. What’s even more disturbing is that many adults, the ones who ought to guide the younger generation, have themselves lost the way.

We have replaced parenting with gadgets, mentorship with money, and discipline with indulgence. Our education system, once a breeding ground for values and knowledge, now struggles under the weight of indiscipline, cultism, and neglect.

Our religious centers have also not been spared, too often now driven by prosperity messages rather than moral responsibility. Our leaders, many of whom grew up in those “good old days,” have failed to uphold or restore the values they once benefited from.

It is disheartening to witness how morality has been swept under the rug, with the decay steadily passed down to generations yet unborn. If we do not act, we are bequeathing a world of confusion, moral bankruptcy, and emptiness to our children.

Yet, all is not lost.
The first step to restoration is acknowledgment and thankfully, many still recognize that we have strayed. There are still parents who teach values, educators who inspire discipline, religious leaders who preach truth, and youths who seek to be upright in a crooked world.

These must be encouraged, empowered, and multiplied. We must all, in our little spheres of influence, become champions of moral revival.

Families must go back to being the first place of learning, not just for academics, but for character. Schools must prioritize ethics alongside education. Religious institutions must preach not just blessings, but accountability.

Media houses and content creators must realize their power to shape minds and begin to promote positive narratives. Our leaders must not just promise change; they must live it, show it, and enforce it.

Each generation must prepare the next. If the present generation fails, then the future becomes an accident waiting to happen. But if we act now, if we return to those timeless values that held us together, there is hope.

The good old days were not just about simplicity; they were about values. We must not merely long for them; we must revive them.

The world may have changed, but the need for morality has not. Without it, no nation, no people, no society can thrive. Let us not fold our arms in despair or hide behind nostalgia. Let us rise and work towards a new era not a replication of the past, but a future that draws strength from it.

For the sake of the next generation, we must restore what we have lost and protect what remains.

YAGAZIE!