Are We Happier Than Our Forefathers?

Long years ago stress was never a part of anyone’s dictionary. However, today it is the most common
word used by everyone ranging from a 13-year-old child to a 95 year old adult. What is the reason
behind the frequent usage of this word in the modern times? Earlier, primitive man survived on bare
essentials of life & yet he was stress free but today even though technology has gifted a luxurious life
to man we are stressed.
Earlier man had to roam from place to place in search of food & shelter. Today the modern man can
even work by sitting at home through technologies like laptops & cellular phones. Yet today man has
been confronted by various diseases & has to tackle stress. Why is it that a primitive man working
several times harder than the modern man had time for pleasure activities but a modern man has to
make work his leisure and work to no end. Technology & modern equipments were to make man’s life
stress free & relaxed but instead it had has adverse effects on man’s life.
A few centuries man had not even heard of fatal diseases like “ aids” however today every
research & technology is being to find a treatment for this disease. Man has found medicines &
treatments for the tiniest of the creatures on this earth but yet has failed to discover a cure, which would
save the life of a fellow mate. Science and technology has made it possible to reach the moon but is it
of any use because we don’t have time to go & even meet out old parents who have taught us what a
moon is & how to reach there.
These facts make me think, “ Are we happier than our forefathers?” in my opinion we are not as
happy as they were. Our forefathers lived a stress free, contented & happy life but today these words
are only seen in the dictionary. If we desire to live like our forefathers then it could only be possible in
the Himalayas because in this world we require money for minimal needs & necessities & to earn that
also we have to work very hard.

Are We Happier than Our Forefathers ?

Now, do you find yourself lucky to be born in the machine age, do you? Just turn around the dusty
pages of time and you’ll find it all – all that you’ve ever coveted for, those-must –take-a-glimpse at
least hamlets , no barking bosses , no quotidian workload ,no acrimonious peers ,no ringing cell phones
and junk mails , no irksome traffic et al. All that you envy lied in their closets (read: ancestors).
The age we live in is doubtlessly a sophisticated one and our machine civilization may soon initiate
a crusade against the Almighty Himself in its insatiable thirst to trounce the fundamentals of Mother
Nature but the edged sword dangling over our heads cannot be ignored. Dallying with nature is as good
as inviting forces of annihilation for supper and that is exactly what the social animals seem to have
done in past couple of centuries.
All the glitz that the Google driven generation sports only forms the surface of this otherwise bleak
and hypocritical society. In contrast, our ancestors actually mastered the art of living; they had a very
good idea of their limits and never dared to tamper with them. They knew that a sleep can only be
earned after a hard days work and eventually – they were satisfied.
We crave for the ‘moolah’ but ultimately turn towards the spiritual gurus for gaining tranquility
(which some dub as ‘Nirvana’). We have ‘it all’ but we are bereft of ‘it’. And as ever polemical Irish
author Oscar Wilde put it, “We know the price of everything, but know the value of nothing.”
We’ve got what we craved for but have lost all we’ve had. It’s high time we try and get back to our
roots or else verisimilitude of happiness will betray us at some part of lives.
I pen all this rubbish to convince you, and if at the end of it you still feel lucky to be born in
machine age – man you’re impossible!

[Essay] Are we happier than our forefathers

Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 4:57 AM
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Today’s generation enjoys the fruits of science and technology. they have a better standard of
living because of increase in per capita income. Today there are two incomes in the family – mother’s
and father’s. There is more education, more material comfort like TV, internet, i-pods, mobile phones
and speedy means of transportation. However, when we compare our lives with the childhood and
youth of our grand fathers we find that on the whole they had better lives than ours. They had time on
their hands and lived a less hectic pace.
Modern youth is a victim of time and fame. The idea of material acquisition has led conflicts in
society. It has led to alienation of the family and loneliness in life. People are ready to sacrifice health
and happiness in order to pursue material happiness.
Our forefather’s had time for picnics, to be with nature. They gave importance to practical
education, spent time with nature built strong bonds in society, had time for the family.
Life was not mechanical for them. Many ladies did not study much but they were not superstitious or
backward. they led peaceful lives happily with their pots, pans and children. They managed the house
within their means and civilization still progressed. The modern men and women live on the edge.
They are not able to cope with problems. Though they have received education, it does not make them
better human beings. They are not able to adjust themselves with changing times. They have no quality
time to spend with their children and families.
Family values are dwindling and depression and shallowness have crept into people. There was
never the fear of evils like terrorism which has crept into our lives. We wish we could bring back our
forefather’s peace and security in the present times.

NEW

We people living in the modern times feel that the present century is the most glorious period of history
and that we are far better than our ancestors in every respect. If we go deep into the matter, we will find
that our ancestors were much better off in some respects particularly in spiritual values. Undoubtedly
man has progressed and modern civilization has advanced in scientific and other fields. Today we
believe in liberty, equality and fraternity although we are still far away from this cherished goal.
The present time is the age of science and technology. Man is no longer a prey to superstitions and
foolish customs. There is less ignorance, oppressive customs and practices are steadily! dying out. The
working classes are better off than in the past when they had to work for the whole of their lives like
serfs. The percentage of literacy has gone up. The status of women has improved and they are
considered equal to men. In short, we are living in a truly civilized society.
No less, remarkable is our progress in social sphere. Oppressive and unjust social practices have been
discarded? Women are no longer looked down upon as mere goods In matters of religion too the world
is more enlightened and tolerant. Religious massacre is a thing of the past. There is wide-spread
appreciation of art and literature, craft and science.
It is an irony of fate that in spite of this plenty and riches there is something which fills us with dismay.
We are not truly happy. We are discontented. There is restlessness and discontent. There is the constant
fear of another nuclear war which might destroy everything we value. We might once again be forced
to live the life of our primitive forefathers. It is indeed paradoxical to say that we live a life comfort but
we are still less happy than our ancestors.

NEW

All around us we see hundreds of things which are the gifts of modern science, so we possess many
things as compared to our fore-fathers. But can we say that we are really happier than our forefathers?
It is hard to answer this question. Let us see what kind of life they led. Well, there can be two views.
One of those ,who are now become very much acquainted with the scientific inventions and can not
imagine to live without them and second of those ,who prefer hard work and want to live a simple life.
In the modern world, we see that life has become tremendously busy. People don't have time for their
families' .They have become more materialistic and want to perform work within seconds and comfort,
thanks to these inventions. Although the life has been made comfortable and luxurious by these
inventions but this has also given rise to unrest .Man has forgotten to work hard and now he just wants
comfort and easiness in life.\\Earlier ,life was quite and simple in the sense that there was less noise all
around. The invention of these machineries has definitely corrupted the environment in the sense that
they have increased the noise pollution as well as the air pollution.
Life was harder earlier but the man was happy internally as he had no desires of such things, but as the
world progressed there were inventions day by day, making man a slave of such luxury. Man now can
not even imagine living without these inventions because now these have become a part of his life.
In those days there were no railways, electricity, telephones, motor cars etc. The recent induction is of
robots and cell phones. No body had thought of the radio, or even gramophones. There was no
electricity and the comforts which we now have they never thought of .There was nothing like Medical
Science and in times of epidemics thousands died.
We enjoy these advantages which our forefathers did not have. We wonder how our forefathers lived
without the comforts and luxuries which we are now so common.
These are some of the blessing of science however this happiness is not unmixed with sorrow. Science
has given us terrible weapons of mass destruction. When consider that science has given us Atom
Bombs and Hydrogen Bombs which wipe out entire nations in one time ,we begin to wonder whether
science is going to prove to be a problem rather than a blessing. We still feel doubtful if we are really
happier than our forefathers. In fact our whole life has become a great hurry.
We hurry from one activity to another and we hunger for rest. Our life is hustle and bustle, excitement
and worry. How ever, let us ask ourselves if it is really the fault of science or the scientist? The
scientists invented the aero plane which serves as the wing of man. However the politicians used the
aero plane as a bomber to destroy thousands of people whose fault is it? Certainly not of the science
.Science is not the enemy of mankind but it benefactor. Science has in fact contributed immensely to
human happiness.

Are we better than our forefathers?

By Asifa Malham

Have you ever pondered the fact that we are better than our forefathers? If you think otherwise, I’ll
explain why I think this way. Most people say that our forefathers’ lives were very peaceful. We have
technology at our hands and we have made atom bombs and weapons. For destruction you might say,
but that’s not true because we are making these for our protection.

Our forefathers lived without many modern amenities and inventions such as electricity, aero planes,
microwave ovens and more, whereas we cannot even imagine life without laptops and cellular phones.
Even children play with such things.

The greatest drawback of the lives that our forefathers led was that of education; the people were
mostly uneducated and were unaware the major issues of life. Their thinking was limited to their
surroundings and they were not aware or bothered about what was happening in other parts of the
world. We are living an active life, whereas our forefather led simple, idle lives. We have clear
concepts in our minds whereas the people who lived in the past had many complex issues in their
minds. Young never knew the philosophy of life and children were busy with playing games only.

Today, we can communicate with people in different countries within no time — thanks to telephone
and email.. However, in the past it would take months to send message from one country to another or
one place to another.

Today, people possess knowledge about every layer within the earth whereas our forefathers living in
the past were only familiar with well water. We can even touch the skies, thanks to the major strides
that have been made in the field of commutation.

The sky is the limit when it comes to development and progress in our age.

We have overcome time and space and are covering large distances in a short span of time. While in
the past people travelled on foot or in horse driven carriages now we have bullet trains and super sonic
aero planes.

Of course, all these facts prove that we are leading better lives than our forefathers but it is a fact that
the next generation will be better than us.