the tsunami that hit so many countries is indeed a tragedy. am deeply saddened by people who have lost their loved ones over the holidays... but in light of this i am disgusted by some of the comments i heard over the news and read in the newspapers. yesterday. i read about this family of 5 who escaped the tsunami coz they managed to run to high ground in time. and when asked if they were disappointed that their holiday turned out to be a disaster (literally), they said that it wasn't a waste... at least they got to see a disaster first hand. on the news yesterday, this man was being interviewed as he was en route to thailand for a holiday. when asked if he was still going, he said that he cancelled the trip but would go if he wasn't married. and when asked why, he replied, "it's good to see a crisis. it's good to see crisis and rise above it." i wonder if he knows what he's talking about. i just hope that when he sees a crisis first hand that he'd live to tell his tale. and to the man who felt that his holiday wasn't wasted, i can't believe that he can feel excited that he saw a disaster first hand, with probably thousands of people losing their lives underneath his feet.

talk about compassion.

by far, i haven't read about any singaporean who survived and came back safely who say that they were saddened by what happened. i heard "patong is now ruined!", i heard "it's exciting to see a disaster first hand", i heard "we're lucky". sometimes i just feel that singaporeans are so cold. i can't believe that most people feel like they've just had a hollywood experience, starring themselves. i think these people don't really know what they're talking about.

sometimes i think singaporeans are really ugly, really selfish. we complain and complain and are never satisfied. we complain that there're too many charity shows, we complain that there're too many policies telling us what to do and what not to do. we complain and complain. but when given an avenue where we can act upon what we say, we just sit back and hope that things will take place by itself. it seems like everyone's waiting around for a free lunch. take away the charity shows... can we see ourselves as a society that is aware of the community of people who're in need? take away all the policies... can we be trusted to be trustworthy citizens, responsible and considerate for our actions? just look at the number of deaths caused by accidents on the road.

when i read in the papers our response to certain issues, like this and the casino, i am deeply saddened. an educated society? more like a literate society. educated? maybe not.

seeing all these things only challenges me to be different. to be that change, ok, maybe not be that change in the world, the very least, in my own world. that would include the people who're in my life right now and the people whom i bump into day in day out. to be a shining light, by the grace of God, to a world that seems so blind. to allow myself to be moulded and not hardened by difficult circumstance and situations.

there's more i can say but i think you get the picture. i remember a signature on my friend's email, "to change the world, be the change in the world".

{ Tuesday, December 28 }