If the world lacks humanity, Gen Z can fix it

By Niyati Bali

Albert Einstein once said, “Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value”, and his words were absolutely true. They are relatable even in today’s day and age where everyone tries to run after money, fame and success without doing any hard work or practicing perseverance.

Humans are believed to be different from other living organisms owing to their humanitarian values such as respect, honesty, non-violence, kindness, unity and many more. But, these seem to have disappeared somewhere. Gone are the days when people used to care for their plants and flowers just like their kids, and feed birds, cats and dogs, food and water. Travelling at night was once upon a time safe for everyone.

Recently, we witnessed a heart-breaking incident that made headlines in Kerala where some people fed burning crackers to a pregnant elephant who later suffered multiple injuries and died. After reading that news, it seemed to me that humans are increasingly becoming cruel and heartless day by day.

Another instance that I read about was just as bad. Somewhere in India, a dog was beaten up by a group of people and was left to die on a highway. Fortunately, he was saved by some passersby.  

What was the fault of all these beautiful souls? Is it because they were living on earth, surrounded by people like us who don’t have kindness left in them anymore?

‘Be the change you wish to see in this world,’ once Mahatma Gandhi said. How fitting is this saying! Often, a small group of thoughtful, young and committed citizens are questioned about their ability to change the world. So, if Greta Thunberg’s parents had stopped her from expressing her opinion on important issues pertaining to climate change and global warming, then we wouldn’t have been able to cater to it at a larger scale. The renowned 17-year-old actress, Millie Bobby Brown, was appointed as the youngest Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 2018 because she raised issues such as education, bullying and ending violence amongst children.

According to me, the new generation to which we often refer as Gen Z, is powerful, full of novel ideas and technologies to come up with solutions to cater to global issues. So, let’s work and collaborate together to make this world a better place, grow and evolve so that we can regain our faith in humanity soon.