Some of those who voted YES had this to say:
• Yes, Nagas' core values are almost lost to our greed for money. The best option to arrest this is going for a set/holistic system of education, not just of schools and churches, but right out from families and individuals with a zeal to revive ourselves again as worth being Nagas.
• The lust of money is due to lost of moral values. C.S. Lewis says, "Education without moral and spiritual values produces more clever devils." Too many educated Nagas in terms of degrees without moral values who act like clever devils in stealing money to satisfy their greed which is idolatry. How sad it is to see many believing in God but worshipping money.
• Yes. Money and love for money have totally degraded our value. As a race in this world we may be judged as the worst race of not knowing the value of money, way to earn, sense of guilt. We have been blinded by money, people rate someone foolish if he fails to earn holding a high post. People with money are adored, praised. Even churches look for moneyed people for huge donations! Is this not shameful? Money can buy everything but not peace, sleep, inner happiness and contentment.
• We are not honest, hard working, helpful etc etc. All money-mongers. Forgotten the values of our forefathers coz of greed.
• Reason is below our nose. Move around to any office of department no bribe no bread...
• Oh yes we will sell our souls for a rupee and our grandmothers for 2. From the Church to the CM its about making a profit by any means. Honesty is a swear word we only see it in the Bible.
• Nagas are living in that situation where survival is for the fittest, but they forget that no human being can survive on their own. It’s a tragedy that some of the Naga leaders think they can survive and do things on their own without taking the larger society into account. This single minded greed is what is destroying the Nagas today. And let us not forget, every single one of us – you and I included – are responsible for this.
Some of those who voted NO had this to say:
• Why take such a moralistic stand. Is it not true that the richer are getting richer and the poorer are getting poorer. Going by this account, does it not indicate that only the rich and the educated are the ones that have lost their core values and self-respect due to their lust for money power.
• There are many reasons why Nagas are losing our values and self-respect, and so I don’t think it is wise to blame only our lust for money. It is a fact that money is a necessary evil. No one dare say that we can survive without money. Of course the abuse of wanton need for money is absolutely wrong.
• It is not completely lost. We still have our conscience and hindsight (at least some do). Values and self respect in the Naga society can be retrieved with determination collectively. Kuknalim.
Some of those who voted OTHERS had this to say:
• Each generation is a new society coming to life. It perfectly applies to Nagaland. What concerns the Nagas today is that we live in the eyes of others and have a quasi-pathological preoccupation with reputation. Social judgment as a personal asset and as a family asset is considered as vital, while forgetting that it is not appropriate in the civilized world. The Naga history is still essentially without history. For which in our present time we are magnificently ruined. Among those changes can be identified are the process of “individualism” a trend to “secularization” a “materialistic” orientation in the very concept of time. So lust and the pursuit of lust for money has become a sort of the defining characteristics of an “individuals” life in Nagaland. Nevertheless, what an unfortunate conscious ruined revolution.
• Bookish education, is perhaps to be blamed...because there we're not taught our rich cultural values as a whole. Our lackidaisical attitude towards religion is also a factor but it's my believe that once we're educated about ourselves, our cultural and moral values, the rest will fall in place...
• When it comes down this real question, I believe it is a phase among us. but nonetheless a very fatal phase we are going through which can really decide our future like what has happened in western countries or 'westernized countries' like Singapore, Hong Kong etc. There are a lot of reasons why it has come to a head now- where we are only concerned about money, personal comfort, the Right Now. But a main cause for all these developments is because we are drifting away from our roots, not to confine us to identity but identity from roots is what constitutes us. if you can understand where i am going with this, the main point is to accept our roots and relate to the future or present. if those things are not there, we will just become decadent, without ethics, indifferent and complacent
