Paradox of Our Time

The paradox of our time in history is
That we have taller buildings
But shorter tempers
Wider freeways
But narrow viewpoints
We spend more
But have less
We buy more
But enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families,
More conveniences
But less time
We have more degrees
But less sense
More knowledge
But less judgement
More experts
But less solutions
More medicines
But less wellness.

We have multiplied possessions
But reduced our values
We talk too much,
Love too seldom
And hate too often.

We have learned how to make a living
But not a life
We’ve added years to life,
Not life to years
We’ve been all the way to the moon and back
But have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour.

We’ve conquered outer space
But not inner space
We’ve cleaned up the air
But polluted the soul
We’ve split the atom
But not our prejudice
We have higher incomes
But lower morals
We’ve become long on quantity
But short on quality.

These are times of tall men
And short character
Steep profits and shallow relationships.
These are the times of world peace
But domestic warfare
More leisure but less fun
More kinds of food but less nutrition.

These are the days of two incomes
But more divorces
Of fancier houses
But broken homes.
It is a time when there is much in the show window
And nothing in the stockroom.