Modernization

Have you guys ever wondered if modernization is actually a good thing for our country?? To me, it is a double edge sword. There are its pros and cons. Yeah sure, the world is smaller now made possible with ever new technology. People dont generally have to work as hard as before, travelling is so much easier & getting something is easy,just by a click of a mouse. However at times, I feel that modernization has manifest itself into something that has made people lose the essence of their tradition, roots,culture & our values. When we were younger, we didnt carry around school a mobile just so that our parents are able to keep in touch with us. Need to call home? We just have to memorize our home number & queue patiently at the phone booth unlike kids these days with such latest gadgets, which I frankly deemed unnecessary.

Do you remember how during recess, our games were the good ol' fashion hopscotch, police & thief, congkak, 5 stones, zero point?? Now all these have become extinct, which is really sad. Boys used to tease girls, pull their hair & ride on bikes. But now, computer games & PSP takes the lead. Speaking of hp, when we made an appointment, we stick by it. Nowadays, its just an sms away stating that we will be half an hour late.

People have generally become more complacent. Singapore in particular has lost its culture. Old shophouses didnt serve the same purpose as it did 20 years ago. Those apeks who in the wee hours of the morning gather, each carrying a bird cage in hand, chatting thru kopis with the chattering of birds in the air no longer exist. That old cobbler under the blok has been replaced by Mister Mint. We have been roped into this whirlwind of change which is so thrilling that we somehow lost our sense of who we are as a person. We become self involved. I mean for women especially, we get caught up in how perfect our bodies, hair, boobs, skin, nails, face even our nether regions should look like that we get it corrected. Dont you think that modernization has somehow corrupted our minds? We dont take the time to stop & smell the flowers. We just rush through life so much so that at the end of the day, we forget what life is all about & our purpose in it.