Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, April 19th, 2024

Tendency towards Violating Moral Standard

|

Tendency towards Violating Moral Standard

Social norms and cultural values will have to be practiced upon in a society and intendancy towards the deep-seated values and beliefs and breaking societal norms are considered wrong. One is supposed to live according to culture and ethical standards in a community. Violating the mores and moral restrictions will lead to disorder and hurt the public feelings. Whenever one disregards the way of life in a society under the term of freedom, this will results in curtailing the freedom of others. 
The cosmetic changes into the fashion of younger generation, including male and female, in our country and the charms and attractions oozing from the stylish make-up of girls seem in conflict with the cultural values and deemed the western product. In other words, the advertising gimmicks and amoral serials and films have dominated the younger generation on a large scale and play unhealthy role in the community. The current fashions seen on streets, wedding ceremonies, birthday parties, etc. are in conflict with social values and considered a blatant anomaly. Needless to say that the dominant modern style is a direct threat to our societal norms and erodes the moral values, as it has done so, with the passage of time. The moral standards, which held strong sway among our forefathers, remain no more than nostalgia for the old individuals who have found their children vulnerable to cultural invasion.
Ill-fatedly, the present generation is a slave to modern fashion and can’t help adopting it. They seek to look the same as their favorite actor/actress, singer, dancer or film hero. Therefore, they walk, talk and dress in the same way irrespective of the social values, which are supposed to be practiced properly. Hence, there is a growing rift between the past and present generations and our culture and moral standards are susceptible to social harms. In a nutshell, the fashion-oriented girls and boys show great tendency towards modern styles at the cost of their ethical standards – which is a matter of serious concern.
It is believed, however, that it is not only the skin-deep changes we can see in younger generations, they are also prone to secular or radical way of thinking. Their mindsets change and they adopt different attitudes and new cultural standards. Besides the changes in appearance, they seek to alter their characters and build their personality as their favorite actors or actresses who come from completely different backgrounds and grown in a different culture with certain norms and values.
A group of sociologists believe that one’s character and personality are shaped on the basis of his/her interactions with others. They state that even one’s tendency towards crime is not natural but earned through interacting with criminals and being socialized in unhealthy environment – be it family, street, playground, etc. There are many other factors which contribute to make one’s character: Media, behavioral charms and attractions and redirection of motivations prompt one to be orientated towards a certain behavior – including immoral actions or crime.
If you ask a sociologist that why a number of individuals carry out suicide attacks among a group of innocent people without an iota of mercy, the answer you get will be that it is because they are born and bred in a radical environment and had interactions with fundamental ideologues. Radicalization and cruelty are not inborn and natural characters but acquired through relations with violent individuals and growing in a hotbed of extremism and terror. In another item, they have been socialized in a horrific and violent atmosphere along with ruthless playmates. Therefore, they think about spilling the blood of people in the cruelest possible way rather than humanity and sympathy. Their ideology is harsh and their worldview is dark and narrow. So, liberal and radical ideology is acquired via social interactions rather than being a natural phenomenon.
The second reason behind violence is said to be deprivation from social and financial assets. Whenever a group of people live a poor life, unlike many others, and belittled and regarded in contempt in one way or another, they ultimately resort to crime so as to vent their pain and mental pressures. Thus, economic challenges also force people’s hands to crime and violence. Scores of members of terrorist groups will succumb to terror and cruelty to alleviate their financial pressures and break the lump in their throats rather than being ideologues. This fact is obviously seen among the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group. Members of IS outfits rape women flagrantly – which is in strong conflict with religious values and social and cultural standards – and declared Jihad-e-Nikah to satiate their carnal desire for being deprived of capturing the heart of a girl or being able to afford going to cinema or a luxury hotel with her – perhaps unlike the people in their surroundings.
Therefore, it should be noted that social values and cultural norms are broken by both liberal and radical individuals on the basis of the said reasons. To mitigate crime and moral corruption and safeguard the culture against erosion, the government is supposed to provide healthy environment for the citizens, have control over programs being broadcast through media and also alleviate financial challenges. Moreover, the parents must have an eagle eye upon their children, consider their playmates and surf educational and sound channels for them so as to prevent them from violating moral norms.

Hujjattullah Zia is the permanent writer of the Daily Outlook Afghanistan. He can be reached at zia_hujjat@yahoo.com

Go Top