How can we control population of the world without interfering with individual rights

As the earth gets burdened with more population, the resources are bound to exhaust quickly. Therefore, it is important we take certain initiatives to control the population of our country. There are laws on family planning but they aren’t implemented rightfully in all parts of the world. Often people are made undergo sterilization or are not allowed to have their freedom in choosing the size of their family. Instead of forceful implementation of family planning laws, people should be made aware of the consequences of having a larger family they, on their own, are encouraged to size their family according to their income. This will motivate people to participate in family planning and the result will be very encouraging. Family planning is important because we need to conserve our resources for the generations to come. If we don’t do this, our population explosion is only going to overshoot the carrying capacity of our earth and our resources will no longer sustain for long.

Textbook knowledge has not much use in real life situations

Textbooks provide us with facts and figures. Facing real life struggles requires presence of mind and wisdom to apply the learned knowledge. For example, there are various books available on learning how to drive. But one cannot simply learn the book by heart and claims to be an efficient driver. One can learn the scientific theories from textbooks but cannot become a doctor. Similarly, to tackle problems in real life one should have experience and a sense of good judgement. Textbooks are a mere means where various data is collected and compiled for easy learning. They are never absolute and should not be taken literally. Just as experience cannot be created but should be felt, textbook knowledge cannot be used literally in real life. One needs imagination, curiosity and understanding brought together with the will to learn. 

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.

Teaching is an art and not everybody can become a great teacher. To be a great teacher, one needs an undying passion and love towards the work one is doing. Great teaching comes with dedication. Great teachers always set a positive example for their students and are also great motivators. They encourage and bring out the true potential within each student. Another great characteristic of a great teacher is that he/she is extremely patient. They do not flinch in explaining things to their students a hundred times over. Their tenacity and passion towards their work and students is what sets them aside and makes them inspiring. They not only construct destinies but also help make better ones. Therefore William Arthur rightly said, “The mediocre teacher tells. A good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires”.

Self imposed discipline is more effective than externally imposed discipline

‘Self-imposed discipline’ as the term suggests comes from within. Whereas externally imposed discipline is either forced or made obligatory. Most parents and teachers are of the opinion that children tend to display traits of self-discipline and self-control only when they are given the external push. But what parents fail to realize is that children who are made to submit to parental authority in their childhood end up as rebellious teenagers and delinquent juveniles. It results in a lot of anger and anxiety to well up inside a child and burst at a later stage. Self-imposed discipline on the other hand comes with a lot of freedom and space. The child is allowed to make mistakes and learn from them instead. This allows the child to have a broader aspect on living life well and growing up as a responsible individual. Therefore, it is rightly said that self-imposed discipline is more effective than externally imposed discipline. 

Education is all that is left when all that is taught is forgotten

Education is not just memorising facts; it is the effect that an individual has on his personality. True education is the sum total of one’s personality. If gathering facts is all about education a computer might be a well educated machine because it can store even more information than a human brain. When we are in school, we learn so many things that we would never be able to remember all of it unless we were to keep using it later in life. We, as humans, don’t typically seem to be able to simply remember everything we hear or read. Instead, we only remember things that matter to us or that we use over and over again. For this reason, our education tends to consist of those things that we learn in ways other than through school books. True education helps us to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially.

Donating organs to save life is a divine act

Saving another person’s life is the highest act of virtue one can indulge in. It is truly a divine work if a simple act of donating organs can be used by someone else who is in dire need of it. Most of us lead a healthy life, unknown to all the misery and pain a few others have to go through. Not knowing if one will be alive to see the next dawn is nothing short of torture for the one undergoing it. If our little donation can give a few of them a glimmer of hope, then it is indeed a good deed. Doing good to others can never fetch any harm. All it does in return is fetch us more blessings and gives out a hope that there are people who care for others. Thus, one must donate blood or organs, whatever is within our reach. Donation Good-Do Nation Good.

Universal franchise should be made mandatory

If there is one freedom that should not be granted in a democratic country is freedom to exercise or not to exercise one’s franchise. In many democratic countries including the West a good percentage of people don’t go for voting. In India the average voting percentage is just about 50% mark. Most of the time people who don’t go for voting are the educated and the rich class. For them it doesn’t matter who comes to power as long as they are able to live in peace and prosperity. This allows many undeserving candidates to win the election and come to power. If universal franchise is made mandatory, more people will come out to exercise their voting preferences and this will help us to get an effective government that will represent the true voice of the people.

Advertisements – A Bane or A Boon

Advertisements have become a part of our lives. We cannot live without them; they attack us from all sides. Step out of the house and they stare at you from all corners, promoting products from needles to CDs, from cricket bats to gold watches. At home every five minutes T.V. programmes are interrupted to tell us what toothpaste we should buy, what kind of salt is good for us or even which toy to give to a new baby! So many kinds of goods are displayed, so many temptations are presented that the poor consumer does not know what to buy or reject.

Advertisements are a help because they tell us about a new product. Without them one would not know what advance has been made in any field. We will not be able to learn about the merits of a new product. It can be anything-  a new medicine, a new book, a new school, a new hospital- the list is endless. Advertisements also lead to competition and better products come in the market.

As long as the competition is healthy it is good, but advertisements have become cut throat-see the Cola War. The competition between Coca-Cola and Pepsi has made them spend millions on advertisement. Film stars are roped in to make the product popular. Films are advertised with huge posters. Sometimes they prove dangerous for drivers! Some advertisements are in bad taste. Some of them are so attractive that they persuade people to buy things which they do not need! For example, housewives rush to buy things at sales which they do not need, but buy them because they are cheaper. 

No one wins a war; but everyone loses it

In a battle death and destruction take place on both the sides. It kills innumerable number of people, families get displaced, children become orphans and countless number of people becomes maimed for life, properties destroyed and so on. Residential areas, public infrastructure, hospitals and the very basis of human existence get destroyed in a war. It results in poverty and misery for countless number of people. No war can be won without any loss. Hence in a war there are no victors. Death and destruction are equal on both the sides. Wars bring untold miseries as well as political and economic instability. People’s lives and daily existence come under threat. It would be difficult to find jobs or live our normal day to day life. A large number of people are displaced and have to constantly move about for safety. People suffer emotionally and physically.

The Deforestation Menace

Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non forest land. This removal or destruction of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity, causing global warming and drop in rainfall. It results in less water in the soil and moisture in the atmosphere. It effects the medicinal conservation and the recharge of aquifers. Deforested areas become sources of surface water runoff, resulting into flash flooding.

In general, deforestation affects the whole environment, causing the greenhouse effect, population shifts and extinctions. It accelerates soil erosion. The tree roots bind soil together. If trees are removed from the steep slopes with shallow soil, it increases the risk of landslides and can threaten people living nearby.

As a result, the world we hand over to our next generation would be without the bounties of nature. Deforestation needs to be replaced by afforestation. Global warming should be tackled by reducing the use of air conditioners and fossil fuel. Recycling of paper should be practiced. Man should behave like a responsible creature and must think that this earth is a gift from our ancestors and we have to keep it safe and healthy as a legacy for our children.

Poverty is the root cause for most of the crimes in our society

No one is born criminal. Most of them become criminals due to certain compelling circumstances in life. Poverty is the major cause for many crimes. Persons become criminals not because they want to, but because they are forced due to poverty. Another back is that a large number of poor people live in bad neighbourhood where crimes are a way of life. It causes social unrest when you have people that are looked down upon by people of a higher economic class (or any class for that matter). Lack of education that goes hand in hand with poverty further contributes to the problem. Most people with regular work and reasonable source of income they will want to lead certainly a decent life, rather than indulging in criminal activities.