Answering the question of whether or not we are living in the best era would require me to travel to the past to assess the quality of life and compare it to what we have now and honestly, I think that would be quite an intriguing journey. Unfortunately, I cannot time travel, but surely I can make my analysis and draw conclusions from the books I’ve read about the history of the world, the tales I’ve been told by my parents, and of course, the factual information that is readily available on the internet.
One of the first things I would like to think of is the fact that in the past era, education was a luxury. There were fewer schools and many kids from low-income backgrounds could not afford to go there because of the stifling poverty across many countries. And for those that did attend, most ended their formal education at the primary level. But in this era, there are statistics to show that many more children are enrolled in schools compared to the 1900s and we have much more people graduating from universities than ever before.
Another insight would be from medicine. Back then, a lot of people died from diseases, not only because they could not afford drugs or treatments, but because there were not enough medical facilities to handle many cases. Most of these conditions were grossly under-researched or without solutions. Also, hospitals could not afford some equipments needed for diagnosis and they lacked funding for improved healthcare, all of which led to a lot of strange deaths.
However, in comparison to this era, there are now many vaccines that help prevent people from infectious diseases. Mother and child mortality rates have decreased and hospitals have improved care and conducive environments for patients.
Another point to note is that in the past era, communication was never seamless. People often used the mailing system to reach out to their loved ones who lived overseas or in the next city, and they had to wait for weeks to get it delivered and then months to receive a response.
But in the present century where technology has led to the production of mobile phones and a more stable internet, it has become much easier to communicate with our friends and families who have migrated, and even work remotely with people from all over the world. It has also become easier to ship items in and out of countries, with proper communication channels and tracking systems to ensure smooth delivery. Millions of people are now able to stay updated on their health and safety anytime and anywhere and have access to global news without needing a radio around or standing by the roadside to read headlines from newspapers.
Lastly, in the past era, women across the world had little to zero rights. They were seen as lesser humans and most times, they had to perform to prove themselves worthy of access to things men naturally had. Many young girls were forcefully married to wealthy men as teenagers, women were harassed and assaulted as though it was right. Even worse, society reduced their worth to house keeping.
But these days, there are some laws that exist to protect women’s rights in many regions. Most of us can now vote and own bank accounts without caveats. We can express our opinions publicly, be fierce and bold about our image and independence. Most importantly, there has been some shift in the way women view marriage and childbearing, with many of us exercising our autonomy and right to simply exist.
To add to this, we now have more technologies that make our lives easier, from the agricultural sector, to media, health, and engineering. So, it is clear that this era is unarguably the one with great technological advancements, better standards of living, improved laws, and human welfare.
I do admit that the world still sucks and there are disadvantages in this present age as well, but to deny that the world is a much better place today would be to deny the awful history and struggles of the ones before us, including those who fought to give us a better world. This era may not be perfect as it isn’t balanced, but we can at least be thankful for all that we have right now and the tremendous improvements we have made regarding the quality of our lives.
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