The Era Of Rising Turpitude

Did you know that your heart is where you conceive ideas or attitudes? Did you also know that no one ever gives birth to something they haven't already imagined? Allow me to explain by narrating a short story. 

Siya, a 45-year-old engineer, is happily married to his wife Amahle (40). The couple has two beautiful boys, Khwezi (12) and Enzokuhle (9). Recently, the family relocated from Durban to Johannesburg after Siya received a promotion at work. Nevertheless, despite Siya and Amahle's excitement over the salary raise, the transition has put an emotional strain on their marriage. As expected, the tension caused by frequent contentions has caused the couple to drift. Consequently, Siya has taken notice of his new female colleague, Omphile. Three months down the line, Siya and Omphile are having an affair. Keeping this story in mind, read the second question from the first paragraph once more.

You see, our actions are simply thoughts acted out. Every action a person takes is preceded by prior visualisation. To put it another way, actions don’t just happen; they are first conceived in the mind through imagination. Therefore, the saying "I don't know why I did it; it just happened" is inaccurate because one thought always leads to another. Indeed, the moral climate of our day is worsening and will continue to deteriorate with time. People fail to take responsibility for their actions, and dishonesty, bribery, fraud, theft, defamation, and sexual immorality (to name a few) are gradually becoming the norm in our society, regardless of where you are in the world. This is a sickening tragedy!

Why, then, do people commit crimes so readily? Is it because crime is not punished quickly enough? Or is it because people's minds are constantly set on conjuring up evil? These are undoubtedly difficult questions to answer. Perhaps another factor at play is the chilling reality that morality as we know it is perverted — the idea that what's wrong for you might not necessarily be wrong for me.

To some extent, the rising identity crisis contributes to the erosion of morals since more and more individuals are unsure of themselves, rendering them vulnerable to manipulation, deception, and unethical behaviour. One thing is certain for sure: we are living in an era of rising turpitude, and wickedness will not allow those who practise it to escape.