"Money is the key to happiness". Do you agree ? Why ?

Money is of course very important for human beings to lead a decent and
satisfying life. unlike animals and plants, money defines the existence of
human society as we cannot live without it. Money is an important exchange
for food, shelter and clothing.

Many people believe that money si the root of all evil. But contrary to that, I
believe and agree that money is the key to human happiness. it has become
indispensable in our lives when humans began using money for exchange of
goods and services instead of he barter trade which was popular hundreds of
years ago. Humans work to earn an income that would enable them to bring
food to the table, clothe themselves as well as indulge in pleasures that can
be obtained only through money.

When we are able to afford goods and services, it inevitably grants us a lot of
happiness, satisfaction and stability in our lives. In many poor countries such
as Africa, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and others, millions live in misery due to
extreme poverty. They are deprived of happiness, dignity and a sense of
direction n their lives as they live from hand to mouth and their future is at best
uncertain. Thus, it would be foolish to think that money causes distress, and is
the root cause of immorality and evil behavior. On the contrary, most of us
earn an income through legal means which allows us to maintain a good
standard of living. it enable us to travel for holidays and have access to good
food, medical facilities, and a lifestyle that grants us much happiness and
satiety. Many parents admit that they slog at work so that thy could provided
comfort and stability to their offspring. Money especially comes in handy when
a family member is stricken with a disease and cash is needed for treatment.

Unhappiness results when we are denied the above. Many families struggle to
make ends meet and the lack of money almost inevitably sows seeds of
unhappiness. They are exposed to continuous bickering, quarrels and
ultimately, misery.

There are of course those, due to greed for more material wealth, resort to
illegal means to become rich quickly. They commit robberies, murders and
cheat to get ahead in lives. However, this does not grant them the happiness
or the peace of mind. In the case of robbers and murders, the constant threat
by the law enforcement authorities closing in on them, creates jitters and a life
full of uncertainties and fear.
Hence, money would always be looked at as the most or at least one of the
most important keys to happiness. it has become a part of what defines us as
human beings as it allows us to live a life of dignity, happiness and
contentment.

City or Countryside
Before townships and cities developed, people lived in villages in the
countryside. Facilities are, no doubt, better in cities, but city life has
become associated with stress, crime and pollution.

Life in the city is very hectic. Traffic congestion is

a perpetual problem. At work, fierce competition, deadlines and
meetings await the city dweller. Always in a hurry to avoid the rush
hour traffic jams, to be time for appointments or to stay one step
ahead of other, people in cities have little time to relax. In the
countryside, life is much more relaxed, there is little hassle and no
point in competing. Villagers go abut their tasks during the day and
rest in the evenings.

Living in towns and cities is also becoming dangerous. Houses in cities

are fenced in and many house owners also install grilles and alarm
systems to safeguard their homes. With the rising crime rate in cities,
a woman walking alone at night or displaying jewellery is courting
danger. In the countryside, houses may not even be locked or have
fences. People there usually know one another and outsides are easily
spotted. Any villager who commits a crime will be ostracized or
punished, or both. Furthermore, villagers help each other.

At the same time, pollution has become a household word in cities.

Exhaust fumes from motor vehicles pollute the air, and there is always
the noise of the traffic. Anyone who has lived in one of the crowded
housing areas in the city also knows that residents are often
involuntary eavesdroppers to a neighbor's family quarrel or are forced
to listen to music from somebody else's radio. In the countryside,
houses are further apart but there is close rapport between villagers
or townspeople as they meet frequently. Furthermore, the countryside
is known for its fresh air and quiet surroundings, which is good for
one's physical and mental health. The countryside, ahs, unfortunately,
a few job opportunities and places for leisure. It also has an
inadequate public transportation system.

If I could live in the countryside and yet have the same opportunities
as I have in the city, I would definitely prefer the countryside because
life there is not as stressful as that in the city and yet is much safe and
healthier.

Young people are slaves to fashion. Discuss.

Young people, or teenagers, are an invention of the American
exploitation of the early 60s. The contemporary hype built them up
into a separate class of society, and since jobs and money were
plentiful in those days, the promotion of fashion in dress, music,
politics and general outlook proved very profitable. Prior to 1960,
people aged under eighteen were children; above eighteen, adults.

The cult swept the USA, then Britain and Europe, and finally many
Eastern and Far Eastern countries, even where it was proscribed, as in
China and pre-Gorbachev Russia. The promoters made full use of two
factors common to the thirteen to eighteen age group; adolescent
insecurity, and the concomitant desire to conform to peer pressures.
Hence they became slaves to fashion.

As already indicated, fashion applied not only to clothes but to the

whole of life. Some of it was harmless enough. Throughout history, the
instinct to conform to current clothing styles was an unchanging
phenomenon in the adult world. Up to the 60s, young people wore
school uniform; in leisure hours, adult clothing. The radical change in
the early 60s reflected the post-war instinct to defy conventions which
were basically pre-war, and therefore associated with adult repression.
So the tee-shirt and jeans culture was born, the tee-shirts carrying
anti-establishment legends, references to hard left social policies, the
lure of uncontrolled sex, the support of homosexuality, the attractions
of the drop-out culture, and the wonders of the fast-growing
hallucinatory drug scene.
As mentioned, some of this was inevitable and harmless. Some of it
was pernicious. The pernicious element was centered in San Francisco,
though it later infected London, Paris, and other major cities.

Alongside this arose the pop music cult, and the successful stars and
groups became the objects of hysterical teenage adulation. Presley,
the Rolling Stones, the Beatles became the wealthy heroes. The
subversive and corrupting views of some of them did immense harm.
The fashions they set became irresistible.

In the later 60s and 70s, violence as well as drugs, alcohol and
indiscriminate sex became fashionable. In Britain, for example,
teenagers of both sexes joined one of two fashionable groups, the
Mods and the Rockers. The Mods wore trendy, velveteen styles and
rode mopeds. The Rockers dressed in leather and rode powerful
motorbikes. Large groups of each faction would foregather in the main
seaside resorts and engage in pitched, sometimes bloody battles.
Later, the same cross-section turned to violent protest, vandalism and
football hooliganism. The police have managed to stamp out most of
this, and most teenage hysteria is currently connected with the pop
scene and the occasional acid house party. For thirty years, the slavish
following of fashion has led many young people astray.

But not all. Every coin has two sides, and despite all the foregoing,
many, perhaps the majority of young people, are proving to be a very
fine generation. Certainly they conform to teenage dress norms, enjoy
pop music and modern dance, but in all essential respects they are
first-class, certainly far more worthwhile than most of my
contemporaries at the same age. We were conformist to adult ideas
and attitudes, but in many ways we were lazy, self-interested, and
entirely lacking in any real social conscience. We were quite oblivious
to the overseas poor, the environment, the victims of disaster,
whether natural or man-made, and to the animal world. In fact, we
were selfish, and rather self-indulgent. No drugs, certainly, but plenty
of cigarettes and alcohol.

Today, many admirable features are seen in the young. They are
individualistic rather than conformist. They eschew smoking, drugs and
alcohol. They are fitter and generally more athletic than their
predecessors. Many do social work in their spare time and some spend
a year on voluntary service overseas. They have a conscience about
people less fortunate and about the well-being of our world. They work
hard and prepare for a market in which jobs are far from plentiful.

Admittedly, the media nowadays bring the world's suffering and

problems to their attention with an immediacy unknown in earlier
days. Yet the fact is that they respond. They are slaves, not so much
to fashion, as to their consciences, and that is by no means a bad form
of slavery.

Young people are slaves to fashion. Discuss.

Young people, or teenagers, are an invention of the American
exploitation of the early 60s. The contemporary hype built them up
into a separate class of society, and since jobs and money were
plentiful in those days, the promotion of fashion in dress, music,
politics and general outlook proved very profitable. Prior to 1960,
people aged under eighteen were children; above eighteen, adults.

The cult swept the USA, then Britain and Europe, and finally many
Eastern and Far Eastern countries, even where it was proscribed, as in
China and pre-Gorbachev Russia. The promoters made full use of two
factors common to the thirteen to eighteen age group; adolescent
insecurity, and the concomitant desire to conform to peer pressures.
Hence they became slaves to fashion.

As already indicated, fashion applied not only to clothes but to the

whole of life. Some of it was harmless enough. Throughout history, the
instinct to conform to current clothing styles was an unchanging
phenomenon in the adult world. Up to the 60s, young people wore
school uniform; in leisure hours, adult clothing. The radical change in
the early 60s reflected the post-war instinct to defy conventions which
were basically pre-war, and therefore associated with adult repression.
So the tee-shirt and jeans culture was born, the tee-shirts carrying
anti-establishment legends, references to hard left social policies, the
lure of uncontrolled sex, the support of homosexuality, the attractions
of the drop-out culture, and the wonders of the fast-growing
hallucinatory drug scene.
As mentioned, some of this was inevitable and harmless. Some of it
was pernicious. The pernicious element was centered in San Francisco,
though it later infected London, Paris, and other major cities.

Alongside this arose the pop music cult, and the successful stars and
groups became the objects of hysterical teenage adulation. Presley,
the Rolling Stones, the Beatles became the wealthy heroes. The
subversive and corrupting views of some of them did immense harm.
The fashions they set became irresistible.

In the later 60s and 70s, violence as well as drugs, alcohol and
indiscriminate sex became fashionable. In Britain, for example,
teenagers of both sexes joined one of two fashionable groups, the
Mods and the Rockers. The Mods wore trendy, velveteen styles and
rode mopeds. The Rockers dressed in leather and rode powerful
motorbikes. Large groups of each faction would foregather in the main
seaside resorts and engage in pitched, sometimes bloody battles.
Later, the same cross-section turned to violent protest, vandalism and
football hooliganism. The police have managed to stamp out most of
this, and most teenage hysteria is currently connected with the pop
scene and the occasional acid house party. For thirty years, the slavish
following of fashion has led many young people astray.

But not all. Every coin has two sides, and despite all the foregoing,
many, perhaps the majority of young people, are proving to be a very
fine generation. Certainly they conform to teenage dress norms, enjoy
pop music and modern dance, but in all essential respects they are
first-class, certainly far more worthwhile than most of my
contemporaries at the same age. We were conformist to adult ideas
and attitudes, but in many ways we were lazy, self-interested, and
entirely lacking in any real social conscience. We were quite oblivious
to the overseas poor, the environment, the victims of disaster,
whether natural or man-made, and to the animal world. In fact, we
were selfish, and rather self-indulgent. No drugs, certainly, but plenty
of cigarettes and alcohol.

Today, many admirable features are seen in the young. They are
individualistic rather than conformist. They eschew smoking, drugs and
alcohol. They are fitter and generally more athletic than their
predecessors. Many do social work in their spare time and some spend
a year on voluntary service overseas. They have a conscience about
people less fortunate and about the well-being of our world. They work
hard and prepare for a market in which jobs are far from plentiful.

Admittedly, the media nowadays bring the world's suffering and

problems to their attention with an immediacy unknown in earlier
days. Yet the fact is that they respond. They are slaves, not so much
to fashion, as to their consciences, and that is by no means a bad form
of slavery.

Young people have more problems than adults. Do you

agree ?
Every person. at some point of his life, will encounter problems. I
agree that young people have more problems than adults, especially in
today's world where things are changing quickly.

Certainly, adults have their own share of problems. I have known of

adults who face financial difficulties, particularly if they have a family
to support. Some also have health problems, and there are others who
worry about finding a life partner or trouble with their marriage.

Young people have their own problems. Our problems are harder to
solve because there are often no clear-cut solutions to them. One of
the areas that can trouble young people is the search for identity. This
is an inevitable problem in a teenager's life. He is no longer a child, yet
not quite an adult. Some younger people who have been pampered
and sheltered during their childhood years find it hard to become more
independent. I know some students who come from such backgrounds
and they have trouble adjusting to teenage life. They still expect
things to be handed to them. Sometimes their parents make decisions
for them.

On the other hand, there are those who want to be 'instant' adults. To
show that they are grown up, they feel that they have to smoke and
keep late hours. As a result, they miss out on normal teenage
activities like sports and other extra-curricular activities which they will
never expe rience again. Some young people also rebel against
conventional ideas to assert their identity. It is typical to show their
rebellion in their choices of clothes and music. But those who have
weak family ties may run away from home. or be caught up in bad
company.
Young people also become more aware of their looks and the opposite
sex at this stage. Among some of them, there is a tendency to judge
people by their looks. I have heard boys and even girls disparage a girl
for her plain looks. This attitude can make the less attractive girl self-
conscious and unsure of herself.

During the teenage years, young people begin to show an interest in

dating. There is so much pressure from the popular media which
constantly features stories and songs about couples and romance.
Some students realize that dating will interfere with their studies, but
they may feel like 'nerds' if they do not date. Young people who date
often cannot handle the pressures of the relationship as well as their
studies. As a result, they suffer failure in both. Nowadays, young
people face a lot of pressure to do well in their studies. For most of us,
we know that academic success is good for us, but at times we do feel
the stress. No one wants to disappoint his parents.

In many ways, it is wonderful to be young. There are so many things

to learn, and the whole world to explore. But I think we have more
problem to resolve than adults have. I suppose overcoming these
problems will lead us on the path towards adulthood.

How important is discipline in your life?

The creation or development of self-esteem is the motivation behind
discipline, whether self-imposed or not. Pride is the main factor
impelling us to make the most of our lives and to fulfill our perceived
actual or potential role in society. Thus, discipline makes for self-
respect. Most of us are naturally lazy and selfish. Parents and
dormitory prefects had to drag me out of bed. Schoolmasters begged
me to try to use my brains a little more. My school peers ragged me
unmercifully as I stuffed chocolates and sweets into my mouth and
therefore put on fat. However, by my early teens, two factors-
conscience and outside pressures, caused me to review my life-style. I
was letting down parents and school. I decided to do some academic
work, to lose some weight, and to build some muscle.

A minority of people seem to be born with a single-minded motivation

which leads them to achieve, irrespective of outside pressures. Most of
us grudgingly accept discipline exerted from outside. This tends to
sharpen our perception of what we could achieve and to appreciate its
value. So, a decision is reached, or not, as the case may be. Imposed
discipline becomes increasingly unnecessary as it is replaced by self-
discipline. We begin to set ourselves standards well beyond the
minimum expected by others.

So discipline becomes important in three contexts. First, young people

are inclined to emulate a role model either in sport or academics, or
even the pop scene. Second, there is a realization that we owe
something to the aspirations of parents, whose expectations spring
from love. Third, we are all the products of the society in which we
live, and there is a case for saying that we should try to put something
back. Unfortunately, in some western countries, many young people
became the victims of drug and anarchic manipulators, and chose to
opt out of responsibility. In the 60s these people formed an alternative
culture, and are now the parents of some of the worst elements in the
younger generation. In Britain, four out of five crimes today are
committed by teenagers. There is also a large body of so-called new
age travelers who cause nuisance all over Britain and refuse all
dealings with normal society, except insofar as they expect to live on
state handouts, funded of course by the taxpayer. Since 1960, part of
the problem has been the steady erosion of the nuclear family.
Another part has been the absence of moral training in the state
school system. A third factor has been urban deprivation and
unemployment. The old saying "example speaks louder than words"
has much truth in it, and the exceptions prove the rule. Self-discipline
involves taking decisions. Where there is innate weakness, however,
the factors mentioned above will tip the scales in the wrong direction.
Even when the background is unexceptionable, there are isolated
cases where young people go the wrong way. This could be due to
genetic weakness.

Many activities are personal rather than communal. The artist, the
writer, the solo musician, the athlete, must all set themselves targets.
To achieve these means self-imposed discipline. However, this self-
discipline becomes a pleasure the more it is practiced. The novelist
Trollope earned his living in the postal service. However, his ambition
was to become the most prolific writer of the 19th Century. He
achieved this by getting up early and writing 2,000 words every day
before he went off to work. He did this for most of his life.
Most people have a religion, and discipline has its relevance here, not
only in the context of regular prayer and scripture reading. Our faith is
often tested by disappointment, failure, or loss of a loved person. So
there are dark periods when only discipline can save us
from apostasy. Mention must also be made of the armed services.
Here, the same principle of an external discipline designed to lead to
self- discipline also applies. An obligation to national service is usually
resented by young people at the time. However, its value is nearly
always appreciated in later life, for two reasons. It will carry a person
through hard as well as good times. It will instill a sense of obligation
to other people.

Moderation in all things, however. If discipline is important in your life,

so be it. It is when discipline becomes obsessive that it has real
dangers. A slimming campaign may be good. When it becomes
obsessive, it may lead to anorexia. The psychological dangers of
obsessive discipline are inflexibility, serious-mindedness, pomposity,
lack of humor and the loss of a sense of fun and enjoyment. No
workaholic can ever be a good family man or woman. And alienation
from others may lead to severe nervous disorders.

Health or wealth, which is better ?

"Look to your health: and if you have it, praise God, and value it next
to a good conscience: for health is the second blessing that we mortals
are capable of. a blessing that money cannot buy". - lzaak Walton

These are words of wisdom and none would question their validity.
But there are times when people do value money over health. When a
person has been deprived of a thing for too long, he longs for it: and
as money is the commodity most in demand people want money to
fulfill their needs. It can help rent or build a house. It can buy
medicines, clothes, fruit and food: it can pay for the small pleasures of
life as well as the big ones - from a cup of tea to a holiday abroad.
Aesthetic and cultural enjoyment - tickets for the latest play, an
evening at the opera, an expensive book, the latest L.P. - all these
money alone can buy. There are far too many things which are out of
the reach of the middle and the working classes. A good education,
expensive sports and games like skating and golf, traveling in comfort,
owning the gadgets which add comfort to life - these are things which
people with limited incomes cannot buy. The unprecedented
unemployment of the thirties was responsible for a great deal of
human misery and resulted in the loss of self-respect and dignity. It
also forced people to recognize the worth of money and resulted in a
disproportionate attachment to the material world.

There is no denying the value of money and the pleasure of enjoying

it: but there are basic issues involved. If money can be got only after a
huge amount of sacrifice, is it worth it? Is it really necessary for
human beings to go on increasing their needs and temporary
pleasures? Or would it be wiser to impose a self-restraint on one's
needs? People get so busy in getting money that they forget how to
enjoy it. Engaged in getting money, man has no time for his family or
his friends and at times no time even for his health. On the other
hand, the pursuit of money may adversely affect both his physical and
spiritual health. He may overcome his initial scruples in his desire for
power and money. The question then is how much evil is justified to
get to the good.

If one has to choose and even if there is no choice, health is better

than wealth. A healthy person can look after not only himself but also
others. He can be a useful member of society and of a family. He can
be generous and sympathetic and be constructive in his thinking. An
ailing person whether man or woman is a drain on others. And money
can buy medicines, pay for a visit to a health resort or long
hospitalization but it can neither buy health nor happiness. It is
immaterial that a man can buy an expensive pair of shoes, if he has no
shoes. Ultimately it is equally irrelevant whether a man is dressed up
in the most expensive clothes, or drives the latest model of an
expensive car. What is important is how good a human being he is.
And for this he needs health. If he is healthy, his whole approach to
life will be governed by this factor. Ask a man who has been through a
long illness and an equally long spell of poverty and he will chose
health. Money is the value of the man-made world - not of the world
God created. Health is a god-given grace and let us be grateful for it.