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paradox of our time

I found this piece in an old magazine with papers torn and ragged. I was about to throw the heap when suddenly this article caught my eyes. It is powerful enough to make us think twice; to make us remember something we so often forget easily. It is strong enough, if contemplated, to review the pile of contrasts that we have created and forcefully dumped at the backyards of our homes, and then deliberately neglected in the run for life, livelihood, etc. It goes:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less well being.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We have learned how to make a living, but not a life. We have added years to life, not life to years. We have been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour. We have conquered outer space, but not inner space; we have cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We have split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have become long on quantity, but short on quality. These are the times of tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom.

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