Beginning with the invention of the steam engine, we see a shift from an agricultural society to an industrial society which altered the course of history. The ‘speed’ that was introduced at that time is now thriving more than ever before. Technological Revolution has brought such an amazing ‘speed oriented’ change in our life, society, state, and human history.
This tech-led revolution is different from the ancient revolutioms in multiple manners. But the most important of them is ‘the structure of power’. The power is not distributed among continents now but the oligarchy of the few. And these few are those who control the data. Thanks to the world of ‘dataism’ that we are now in constant fear of surveillance, being tortured, or being alienated.
Technology has affected the narratives. It has destroyed cultures, eradicated civilizations. It has built its world of so-called ethics, morality, decency, and intellectualism. As today’s algorithm is in the hands of Western Power, their ‘constructed ideologies’ are now the only yardstick to measure the length and width of morality and knowledge. For some understandable reasons, the subcontinent part of South Asia is heavily under the influence of the power-dominated culture.
Living in Pakistan or India, decency lies in following the footsteps of the westernized world. Even if you speak your cultural language, adopt cultural traditions, and act under cultural heritage, you cease to be a ‘decent man’. This is the very reason why our identity_ our indigenous spirit_ is decaying. At this point, technology has furthered the gap. Because it is easy for the dominant powers to internalize their wills among masses, the western-culture is thriving at a rapid speed at the cost of native cultures.
No doubt technology has helped us to call out the oppression and mitigate its impact, yet it has also created an invisible but invincible wall of oppression_ alienating oneself from one’s tradition. The western concepts of beauty, intelligence, decency, and ethics have centralized our brains. We take it normally. This trend is also eradicating creativity and producing ‘robots’ whose only task is to obey whatever is commanded.
During these times, there is a crucial need to revive the local values. We should not feel guilty in speaking the local language, nor should we be ashamed of our local heroes. We must realize now that progress is not adopting a foreign culture, but valuing one’s own culture. The definitions of tragedy and comedy remain the same as we’ve ingrained in our minds. Biased Syllabi are not supposed to teach us what is morally good or morally bad.
-Muhammad Abrar
September 1, 2021
2 Comments
Sir!✨👏
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