Modern Western behaviour focuses so much on aggressive competition, selling yourself, beating your rivals, getting ahead, making a quicker buck, that the sense of getting our act together as a community has largely been destroyed. TALK BACK Have your say Click here. Mass media are a dominant influence on public opinion, for their news stories, advertisements and their opinion pieces. The United Kingdom newspapers available in our shops are an interesting commentary on Western society. In South Africa also, stories of anti-social behaviour, the breakdown of morals, dishonesty and crime are dominant.
Religion is another influence.
It is now popular not to believe in God. Many people in all religious traditions have become fed up with the teaching or practices of the church, mosque, synagogue, temple or traditional customs and no longer take part in them, except for funerals or an occasional festival. They can no longer accept the way in which faith is presented and have left the regular community of believers and become individuals tossed about on the ocean of unbelief. This is understandable, but it leaves a major gap in many lives. People used to associate goodness with God, but if God doesn't exist, ethical behaviour is up for grabs.