A Complicated World

I'm having trouble explaining world affairs to my children. They saw a picture in the papers of a dead girl emerging from the rubbles in Palestine. They asked me why she died and I said that somebody bombed her house. After that, they looked pensive.. thinking, maybe? My daughter appeared confused, as if thinking "why would anybody kill someone so young?". No further questions after that, and they went off to play.

I'm confused myself. It's like the world's gone mad. If we get down to basics, the rule of law (or 'common sense', as my students call it- rightly or wrongly) lives should be preserved. Simple and easy. Rule of war says that civilians should not be endangered in any way. Why are civilians killed then?

Another intriguing prospect is this: are all the major world events related? Terrorism & the Palestine occupation, for example. Is there a cause & effect or am I just not making sense?

When all the wars end, will there be peace.. or will there be more civil wars? Will there be 1 ruler of the world? Must democracy prevail regardless? Can't countries just be left alone?

As usual, I don't have the answers. On the one hand, I value our country's freedom and independence yet it bothers me that in another part of the world people are in fear & are running for their lives. However, I do believe that there are still many sensible people around who actually make a difference, despite being overwhelmed by fools. I'll leave it at that for now.

Pre-Merdeka Thoughts

Here are some thoughts as our country prepares itself for its 49th Merdeka celebrations, by me, an ignorant fool but with honest intentions. Call it a "wish-list" if you like..

I wish that...

• We will keep growing as a nation, while preserving the environment around us
• We all will eventually learn the meaning and the spirit of the Rukunegara, and not treat it as a funky catchphrase
• We will find something in common that will hold us all together as a nation
• We stop referring to ourselves as a particular race and instead, be proud of the fact that we are "Malaysians"
• We will focus our attention away from reality TVs and pop-star wedding(s) to issues that matter; issues that require us to reason and take a stand
• We will find in our PM the leadership we so desire

God knows I so love this country. I walk the earth today a free (wo)man in a free country, because courageous people in the past have made this possible. And as we get stressed up preparing for the Merdeka performances, let us not lose sight of the beauty of this country and its spirited people. Let Malaysia be known as a great country, with better things to come.

Relative Happiness

"Happiness is a state of mind" so I've heard. I'm at the point in my life that I've decided to be happy, regardless. If I'm feeling crabby, a little 'time-out & time-off' will usually do me good.