CIVILIZATION; Before & after

I was alone at home one evening watching a movie and i was really enjoying myself because I was tired after the day’s work. I must confess I was a bit shocked when I got home and discovered there was light (knowing the kind of country we live in, this is a luxury) …but hey, I felt it was my lucky day.

As I was enjoying myself, PHCN struck!

People in the neighboring compounds rushed off to put on their generators, plants et all. I was about to do the same and then I started thinking and asked myself…what if there was no electricity in the first place?? What if we were not civilized????

 Civilization according to the English dictionary, is defined as an advanced stage of social development. Note the key words ‘advanced’ and ‘development’.

BEFORE CIVILIZATION

This was the era our fore-fathers lived in. It is also known as the ‘old school’ era. In this era, electricity, technology, media, health-care,   machines, mobile phones et all were nowhere in sight. As children, the boys learnt how to work on the farm, plant and harvest crops e.t.c. In those days setting animal traps, climbing trees and firing catapults were some of the things they did for fun. The girls learnt how to plait hair, wash clothes and fetch water from the stream. In the night, the children would gather at the village square under the full moon and listen to folk tales from their grandfather or an elderly man in the village.

During this time there was nothing like sickness, illness or disease (at least that's what they were made to believe). People lived till their 90's or  even if they died as children, they were termed 'outcasts'

To make money, the man would have to farm and set animal traps and sell his produce at the market so he can feed his family. The women in this era had no other duty than to cook, clean, wash and raise the children. Each time the children did something bad, the man when reporting them to his wife would refer to them as ‘her children’… Here, the women cooked with firewood and stored drinking water in clay pots. One important feature you should know about the people of this era is that they were not poor….there was just no CIVILIZATION!

…..Slowly, this era began to fade.

AFTER CIVILIZATION

Hmmm… Say hi to the ’new school’. This is the era we now live in.

 This era has brought in a lot of advantages and it has come to stay. We now have electricity, internet, media, laptops, smart phones, medicine, machines and all sorts of gadgets. The children no longer play outside anymore, its all about play-stations and Barbie dolls. Parents now read bedtime stories to their children (as opposed to folk tales of mbe the tortoise and okoro the hunter that were told in the past). With civilization, came 'Ground breaking' diseases like cancer, H.I.V, tuberculosis...e.t.c Now, there are different ways of making money because of all the technology and media we are exposed to. People now do businesses online(e-business), play football and do other stuff and at the end of the day, they smile to the bank. Who would have thought that people actually get paid for talking(i.e commentators and mc’s) ???...the wonders of civilization…lol

The women no longer sit at home and raise children….they work. They also go out to seek daily bead for their family just like the husbands do. With all the advantages we see, there are also disadvantages. People are now getting lazy, addicted to smartphones, media et all (most of us are guilty #lol). Lets not forget the harm the fumes from generators, cars e.t.c  is causing to our environment.

I sat on my chair in the balcony thinking about all these as I was enjoying the cool breeze. I felt like a free being as I stared at the sky and saw how beautiful the moon and stars are. I was still enjoying the serenity of the evening when I heard a knock on the door…my parents were back. I came back to reality and put on the generator…I didn’t want them walking in the dark.

I have lived a great part of my life in the city and I have had the chance to visit the village (during the holidays) and I can actually say both places are cool. The former has a lot of gadgets and technology but it also has a lot of noise and congestion while the latter has no technology but in most cases there is peace and serenity. I’m still not sure of the one I prefer.

The world as we know…is a global village. Which do you prefer?? Civilization or un-civilization??

GRACIAS!