WE ARE HAPPIER THAN OUR FORE - FATHERS
Good day, Mr. Chairman, panel of Judges, co-debaters, ladies and gentlemen. I am standing before you to support the proposition that "we are happier than our fore-fathers".
Our fore-fathers belong to the old times when life was brutish and old-fashioned. Definitely, we are happier than they f because our fore-fathers lived hard and uninteresting lives, in most cases, in their caves. They were not liberated even in their though s and they passed through this world in severe hardship. They didn't enjoy modern, fascinating and comfortable life that we are enjoying today.
My attentive audience, you will agree with me that education is light. If education is light and our fore-fathers were not educated then we can say that they lived in darkness. Since our fore-fathers lacked education, they could not invent anything or gadget that could make their existence worthwhile. They lived a life that was dull and drab, devoid of the interesting inventions of our time. They could not read or write hence, they could not put down history nor invent gadgets that could esult of l make uman nce pleasurable. This made the days of our fore-father difficult.
As a result of lack of education, our fore-fathers could not practise mechanised farming. Though they found pleasure in farming as occupation, they practised farming with difficulty. They used the traditional tools like cutlass and hoes which made farming during their time a drudgery rather than an occupation. At their homes, there were no household gadgets like refrigerator. blender, gas-cooker and other "mechanical slaves" that can make household chores like cooking interesting.
Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to imagine life without adequate means of movement from one place to the other. The only means of transportation then was foot. They trekked long distances but nowadays we have the various means of transportation. We have vehicles, airplanes and ocean vessels at our disposal. Furthermore, nowadays we do not need to embark on wasted journeys or unnecessary ones as we can communicate with every part of the world through telephone and fax machines. These modern methods of communication and transportation were not available during the days of our fore-fathers. In fact, we live in a global village where there are constant and uninterrupted connections and relationships among people of diverse culture and tradition. This makes us happier than our fore-fathers since there is truth in the saying the more, the merrier".
I know that my opponent will want to argue that our fore-fathers lived longer than we do nowadays, but tell me what the benefit of long life is when it is not lived in comfort. Definitely, it is not how long we live but how well. Though we may have shorter life span than our fore-fathers. we are happier than they because we have many modern things at our disposal. We have good health facilities, sound knowledge of hygiene and modem equipment which make living worthwhile and interesting I hope that with these few points of mine. I have been able to convince you that we are happier than our fore-fathers. Thank you.