Something’s wrong with our society

Many people have been utterly horrifed and disgusted and angry after hearing (and watching) the news of a 2 -year -old girl being run down TWICE by two vans, while passers-by just PASS BY. Here’s the link to an article with still pictures so it’s not so graphic cos I really can’t take watching the real video.

As a mother, my heart breaks for the parents of the child who was left to die on the road, with not so much as a glance from the people driving/ walking past. How is it that the people of Foshan in Guangdong, China have become like that? Is it only in that city? Or is it the whole China? Or is it because no one cares, so everyone thinks, ‘why should I?’

This piece of news made me think of two things. 1) Children are now not being valued in society as who they are, but as ‘sustainable population’ or ‘the future of society’ and counted in economic terms. 2) Whatever is slowly perpetuated and condoned in a society, no matter how bad it is at first, will start to become ‘acceptable’.

1) I am angry that children are now treated like refuse. All over the world, children are still thrown away in the garbage, killed in the womb, and when/if they arrive safely in the world, are frowned upon, shouted at, treated like they are a great big bother and should not be allowed even at cafes, restaurants or airports. Believe me, I’m not a ‘googoogaga’ person by nature ie: I totally don’t go gaga over a baby, or squeal and giggle when a child does something ‘cute’. I am rather nonchalant myself to my own kids’ antics and sometimes I feel guilty that I’m not amused at all when Littlelam says, “Is that funny?”. (Cos usually it’s something that involves a lot of cleaning up or time for me…). But I do realise that now the tide is against little ones. Yet its even harder for those who HAVE children to raise them right in today’s society. When they get older, they are but a statistic in schools. Well, at least in Singapore. Schools are more concerned with keeping their rating up, ie: make sure you get the best possible results from the cohort of kids, so try to get those ‘non-performers’ to drop out, or not take the exams, or beat and whip them to study till they end up with mental health problems. So there you have it. Our economic future.

2) People tend to be influenced by the majority, rather than influence. I experienced it when I first started living in the HDB heartlands. I NEVER used to dream of throwing stuff out of my high-rise window, but because so many people have been hurling hair, fur, tissue, fruit peels, water and other unmentionable items out of the windows, I gradually became hardened and if I had a small piece of paper or lump of hair and I was just near a window, I’d just chuck it over too! (oops!) I caught myself thinking, “Aiyar, since everyone does it, and they throw more digusting stuff anyway.” But I realise that’s really giving in to the negative ‘bochap’ and “I care only about myself’ attitude that is so rampant already!

I realise also that just because something is common and widespread in society doesn’t mean it is right! In China, there have so many reports of food products being contaminated by poisonous substances, but do the people involved stop? No. It’s how everyone does things so if you don’t you won’t survive. It’s always hard to be the lone voice, always hard to be the only one doing the right thing because sometimes the wrong thing doesn’t seem so wrong anymore.

Oddly enough, someone also just sent me this article written by a guy called Matt Moore, who, even as he struggles with homosexual tendencies, believes that his struggle is no different from any other Christian’s struggle with a particular sin. I think this is a very rational and accurate analysis and his article is extremely thought-provoking and brave. I’m just going to provide the link to the article here, but I found a few of his quotes to really resonate with me. I think it is so true, not just about homosexuality but about sin in general.

Here are some extracts:

“Homosexuality is no greater than any other sin- like adultery, fornication, etc. I asked God to let me look at this through His eyes and not my own. Culture has made homosexuality “NATURAL”. Because it feels natural. (” There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death”- Proverbs 14:12) Well based on that logic, pedophiles would also just be “born that way” and there should be nothing wrong with that. Same thing with adultery. Honestly, it’s just a matter of time before our culture decides that pedophilia and adultery are just as “natural” as homosexuality and should not be looked down upon, and that they should be accepted as a functioning part of society.

I then knew that homosexuality is not an “identity” or an “orientation”, it is a SIN stemming from LUST. It sounds like I’m downplaying the struggle people have with homosexuality, but I assure you I am not. That is just the simple truth of it. The world has made being gay as identifying and unchangeable as the color of our skin or eyes. But it’s not. It’s SIN. SIN that should be repented of just as any other sin. Sin that can be abolished and made clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. When you say that you were “born this way”, you’re absolutely right. WE ARE ALL BORN SINNERS INTO THIS WORLD. That is why Jesus said that unless we be born again, we will never see the Kingdom of God. When we start looking at it for what it really is, we start seeing and accepting that fact that homosexuality is in fact something that can be repented (turn way from) of and forgiven for.”

I was recently talking to a friend who was arguing that if we as Christians allow society to dictate what is ‘acceptable’ and not stand up for what God created as right, then we are not doing our job as Christians. She said that we have to dare to make noise to stand against the darkness then soon we’ll even be condoning pedophilia, porn etc.. I quipped to her that “Aiyar, Pedophiles are different lar, like murderers etc.. of course people won’t allow that in Singapore.” But she countered me by saying that just a decade or two ago, being openly gay in Singapore was a total taboo and considered as socially unacceptable. So what is there to say that ANYTHING, ANY SIN would start to be condoned as ‘natural’?

Many things to think and chew about, but this one thing I am certain. We all really need Jesus.

Earth Day, Everyday

22nd April was Earth Day and it got me thinking about why there was a need for this official day anyway. You know what’s my conclusion? Earth Day more applicable to rich, affluent people who are prone to excesses. Poor people don’t need to observe Earth Day, it’s already a way of life. Let me explain.

1) Electricity and Water wastage
Many of us in Singapore have parents or grandparents who still *tsk tsk* or worse, scream at us if we do not turn off the lights the second we walk out of the room, or leave the tap running. It’s really quite ingrained in my psyche, I must say. Many of these people who grew up in poverty in the 1950s to 1960s still retain very earth-friendly habits, not because they are specifically trying to be green, but because they are terrified of wastage and want to save money. EVERY CENT COUNTS. So,

- No flushing the toilet until doing No. 2, or till it stinks so bad you can’t even walk into the bathroom
- No washing dishes over running water. Oily nevermind, must wash it in a tub or basin to save water. (maybe that’s why stomachs are stronger eh?) Save water in a big basin from washing vegetables and re-use it to wash dishes.
- If toilet really stinky, use water from washing vegetables to flush toilet
- Always handwash clothes, toggling between multiple basins/pails to save maximum amt of water, which can then be re-used to flush toilet/ wash toilet floors.
- Never use the washing machine except for bedsheets, and only use the spin-dry function for a load of your handwashed clothes.
- Never use an air-conditioner because you either a) can’t afford to have one or b) can’t bear to use it cos it’s too expensive

2) Reducing Your Carbon Footprint
- If you don’t have money to go for an overseas holiday, you will never take an aeroplane anywhere, and even if you do save enough money to go somewhere, it’s likely to be very nearby anyway.
- If you have no money to buy a car, you can’t waste petrol, you either cycle or squash with the masses on public transport anyway!

3) Consumption Habits
If you are not well-travelled and have no idea what is the difference between caviar and a caveat, sushi or sashimi and Bolognaise or Burgundy, then you will not be hankering after fine food in the first place. You will likely eat the same staple foods that can be bought easily from the local wet market (and these are usually local produce or brought in from nearby). No fancy-shmancy names, packaging or freeze/thawed/air-flown nonsense to raise the price-tag.
Salmon is now being over-fished because of an increased demand for raw fish I reckon, and I’m pretty sure it’s not the only living thing that is being sacrificed for our voracious appetites. Don’t get me wrong, I really really love sashimi, but lately I’ve been feeling bad about it, and for the poor fish. Even things like organic produce – yes it’s supposed to be healthy and sustainable, but to fly it all the way across the world? Is it THAT sustainable? I don’t know. I seriously know many people who still stick to the food they’ve eaten for the past 50+ years and refuse any change – yet I think their consumption habits are a lot more sustainable than mine. The more we travel, the more cultures we are exposed to, the more we like to try out and the more things we think we should have , to experience, to indulge in. Sigh, guess it’s something that can’t be solved since progress is necessary and globalisation is not going to suddenly turn back its wheels.

Oh, and don’t get me started on the karang-guni people (not the real chaps collecting your stuff to re-sell and re-cycle). I’m talking about ordinary folks who simply refuse to throw things away and stash their entire homes with used cardboard, plastics bags, random odds and ends, ancient appliances that don’t work because “cannot waste!!!” There are more of this type of people in Singapore than we know of, I’m sure.  Until there’s a fire because of this kind of hazardous living conditions, no one knows.

My point is I think there is a need for balance in everything. While we want to make an effort to stay ‘green’, I think we shouldn’t take the high road if we happen to be more ‘environmentally-conscious’ by the book. Many generations before us were already practicing much more sustainable lifestyles, and are still passing that on to their kids. At the same time, we shouldn’t be so obsessed about saving money and stuff that we end up being a health hazard to ourselves or other people.

For me, I’m learning to save more water by standing in little basins while I shower, then using the water to wash the toilet floors or yes, flush the toilet. Also by placing a huge bowl under the running water while I wash the dishes, so I can save the water, and I’m trying my hardest not to keep forgetting to bring along a grocery bag with me each time I go grocery shopping. Oh, and rejecting plastic bags when I buy small items that can be stuffed in my bag.

And when it comes to recycling, kids’ arts and craft projects put items like toilet roll cores, old cardboard, boxes, drink cans, milk cartons and bits of string/paper/cloth to the best use. Just be creative! Happy Belated Earth Day!

Picking your fights

So here I am blogging when I have a tonne of work to do. But I had a look at my little blurb on this blog which reminded me that this blog is a platform for me to also express my thoughts and views — which are part of who I am.