DISCARD MORALITIES OF BYGONE TIMES

CHANGE WITH TIMES: DISCARD ANTIQUE MORALITIES !

Most often leaders fail to deliver because they carry the baggage of old value system. They remain engrossed in them while the time has changed many times over and old values have become relics of the past. . When Ram Jethamalani was Urban & Housing Develop Minister during AB Vajpayee Government, he is reported to have replied to a journalist, ” I have no time to waste on the wrong - doers activities of the past, I must move on and deliver” or words to that effect. This should be the “ Guru Mantra “ of an effective leader. Unfortunately, most often human being remain entangled in the past , whether good or bad, thus fail to carve out a better course of action for their future.

Most often, we hear most of the elderly people always honking about the good moralities of their past. They keep telling their Children “ In my times—— we did this and we did that——“ How sad to know that they remain stagnated in the whirlpool of antique times while the social values have overhauled themselves. This is the deep abyss in which remain imprisoned most of us. The essence of life is to move with times.

Alvin Toffler, a renowned author of the trilogy of FUTURE SHOCK, THIRD WAVE and POWER SHIFT reflects in his book , THIRD WAVE that the failure of Modern leadership was not because of the lack of traits amongst modern leaders but the breakdown of the very institutions on which their power depends. There is a deeper meaning in this observation.. He talks about three pillars of Power I.e. Force, Money and Knowledge. He goes on to explain that there were three waves in human development and in each wave there were different moralities , dictated by the USP of that wave. First wave was Agricultural society, whose USP was FORCE, thus, social or political moralities revolved around the use of force. It lasted till about 15th Century. Then came the Industrial revolution whose USP was money and value system revolved around this. It lasted till the middle of 20th Century. Rapid advancement in technology and information , there after heralded the third wave of Knowledge, also called the Information Age. The USP of this age is Transparency and Information.

As mankind moves further into the Information or the Knowledge age it is clear that old social moralities can no more be applied. We can not continue to harp that KING WAS DEAD; LONG LIVE THE KING, implying that King did NO wrong. The iconic status which elders and leaders held in the past can no more hold good. Today, MK Gandhi or JL Nehru or even Godly figures or prophets are under social scrutiny. Social media is playing important role in tearing apart some of the best preserved secrets. Bollywood movies like OMG or PK or even Hollywood movie , “Da Vinci code” have questioned the imperfections of Gods. This is the Information Age. Many , hitherto fore known truths are being ripped apart.

In the modern age, success belongs to those who move with times. Narender Midi won the 2014 General Elections with the clever use of modern means of communications such as social media and internet. Social media campaigns have given new twist to Goeblian principle of telling a lie one thousand times to make it appear truth. Overflow of lies in social media do impact the targeted audience. Therefore old social moralities stand no chance.

20-30 years back Kissing was a taboo in the Bollywood movies but today youngsters do it openly in the public places. Advent of internet age led to changing lifestyles and social obligations. Break up of joint families are leading to nuclear families. Institute of Marriage is transforming to live-in relationships and single - parent families. Financial independence of the fairer sex is making institute of marriage irrelevant. Stem cell technology is adding new dimension to this. Hindi Movie ‘Donor” explained the theme behind the availability of off-the -shelf male sperms, thus giving a choice to the women to select a donor of her choice. Perhaps, time may come when Children will be produced in human factories—- of course, emotionless and desensitised. The theme of sequels of movie UNIVERSAL SOLDIERS is something akin to it. We are marching into time when digitalised human beings would rule the roost on this earth.

The above mentioned change in social

, political and intellectual life is inevitable. Therefore to keep crying over the relics of bygone times is fool- hardy., Board the bandwagon of times or keep stagnating in your old moralities , which have decayed or are in the process of decaying.

Time is coming when 203 nations of the world might split into 5000 city states. This is what Alvin Toffler asserts in his book, POWER SHIFT. It might turn into a reality in next 100 -150 years, if you view the ongoing separatist movements in the world. Big nations are confederations might break up into self sustaining but inter dependent nodes. The idea of small being beautiful is gaining momentum. The rise of intra- dependant economic nodes, in the form of city states, are expected to replace the 18th century concept of Nation State. World will not only be flattened in true sense but it might reach other habitable planets. So stop being obsessed with your past moralities and MOVE ON —- Future beckons you to come prepared for more future shocks. Traveling light is always advisable. Shed your unwanted, outdated and oversized baggage.