50 Years On
I visited England in the early 1970s in quest of knowledge. In 2022, I was there again to meet some loved ones, revisit familiar places and recall the past to formulate some comparisons.
Lake district
was my favorite retreat in summer, and I had paid several visits in the early
seventies. So, I went to see how it looked and felt after half a century. Rothay
bridge had changed. Safety railings had been built, but the architect had
maintained the old roman stone character. There was a tremendous increase in
foliage, thanks to greater awareness of environmental quality. The pictures
below graphically depict the contrast between then and now, both for the man
and the scene.
In Manchester,
where I studied for my post graduate degree the grassy grounds between the
buildings had disappeared and new buildings stood tall. The roads, particularly
Wilmslow Road was so thoroughly marked for traffic regulation that it looked
like a work of art.
Elsewhere the
architects seemed to have forgotten how to draw a straight line. Even where
straight lines existed, they were seldom parallel or at right angles. This
trend is not unique to UK, it can be seen almost everywhere in the world,
thanks to innovations in construction techniques and building materials.
The overall
environment and public behavior seemed rather subdued, perhaps partly due to
nearly two years of the Covid isolation and partly the five-decade aging of the
observer.
The intellectual estrangement that I felt during the visit represents the cumulative change in social and moral values that have taken place in certain parts of the world over the past century.
20th century presented a unique era of defiance and unrealism. As I ponder over
the past, many suppressed thoughts scream to be shown the light of the day. A
few examples are given below for the benefit of the reader.
1. Relativity
and accurate prediction of the illusions of a moving observer were theorized in
the first decade of 20th century. Despite the religious convictions
of Einstein and his contemporaries (God does not play dice) virtuality began to
replace absoluteness. If it was impossible to measure absolute velocity or error
was inevitable in any observation, to solve any problem the most viable
compromises have to be found. The socio-psychological impact of relativistic
thinking has been devastating. The ideals of absolute goal or identified
destination do not exist anymore. Comparative or competitive achievement has
become the measure of success. Idealists and ideals are things of the past.
2. Cinema and
sitting in a darkened room to peep into the realistic projection of private
lives of storybook characters became the favorite pastime of many people
around the world. Film Industry became an essential part of economy and
produced some epic movies that gained universal approval. However, as time passed, more and more intimate scenes
became acceptable, and the sense of privacy (or respect for privacy) which is
the corner stone of civilization began to erode. The result is that today
people seem to take nudity as a norm and are totally insensitive to public display
of pornographic material or human indecency. Oddly enough, it is called
tolerance and respect for personal freedom.
3.
Airconditioning and the science of taking heat from a cooler place and dumping it
in a hotter place is another gift of the last century. Although it seems like a
negation of the laws of thermodynamics, no laws of physics are violated. Today,
there are many people who live constantly in controlled environment whether in
home, office, airport, shop, car, train, ship or plane. They only step out in
the open when the weather is pleasant. They must be reminded of changing
seasons. They have no idea how the vast majority of mankind in their hemisphere
is feeling at any given moment. In religious terms they live in a manmade
paradise and think of themselves as gods of Greek mythology or Torahic
traditions.
4. Capitalism
and the conspiracy to take money from the poor and give it to the rich became
apparent only after the publication of Carl Marx’s famous book. With the
ability of the kings to impose taxes at will curtailed by parliaments, the
merchants took their revenge on Robinhood. Although statistical per capita
income in developed countries is so high that everyone could live in luxury,
the reality is far from it. Most of the wealth belongs to 10% richest and the
average person lives from salary check to check, often worrying about the needs
of himself and his family. Thanks to the welfare system in UK, I did not see any
homeless or starved people on the streets as is the case in some states in USA.
6. The United
Nations Organization that was formed soon after the Second World War to prevent
future wars and to develop harmony among nations of the world has gradually become
an international institution to authorize aggression. The actions and inactions
of the UN Security council, clearly dominated by five veto wielding nations,
have easily identifiable shades of racial, religious and socio-economic system
discrimination.
7. Sex
education or reinvention of the basic instinct of life by the naïve has resulted
in erosion of difference between sex and masturbation. While I was there in the
early 70s many strange things happened. Homosexuality was legalized. Homosexual
societies were formed in universities. John Morris of The Sunday Times became Jan
Morris by surgical operation. A man was acquitted of murder charge on the alibi
by of his friend’s wife that he was with her at the time the murder was
committed. Later, proof was found that he had committed the murder and he was
indicted ---- sounding the death knell for feminine honor. Frontal nudity became
acceptable on stage. This time when I was there, I didn’t find any husbands and
wives, there were only civil partners, and to my consternation they could be
any combination of two-legged living things.
8. Eradication
of beauty to promote sale of cosmetics is the least noticed disaster of human
history. Ladies first offered themselves as models to painters and gradually
became canvas themselves. It is hard to find a city-woman who would look
beautiful for a whole month without the help of a beautician or the consumption
of a large quantity of cosmetics and use of many electromechanical tools and
implements.
9. There has
been a remarkable change in the role of press and journalism from seeking the
facts and educating the public, to monitoring public opinion and soliciting readership
for commercial purposes. The distinctions between news, propaganda and rumors
have become extinct. Live television broadcasting has dramatically changed the
spirit of sport. The quality and admirability of sport are measured by their entertainment value. The span of glory for an athlete depends on the whims of his
sponsors and managers.
(Copy Right: Muhammad
Nasim, mohnasim@gmail.com)
