Subjects like history (from secondary school) and topics like politics in GP (from JC) always bore me and I always avoid them if I can. But as I grow every day, I find that I've reached a point when these two aspects actually piqued my interest??
I think I became more interested in history partly due to me being curious about our origins, why we are where we are today, with so much developments and progress today how had life been before all the inventions got invented? Why do we have kings and queens in the past? Why do I feel so eerily frozen in time when I stand on the grounds of Rome, as if I am living in that era that has long been gone but its soul is still alive... History is a way of understanding the past and a way to look back and appreciate what we didn't before.
Actually I don't even know if I understood history right. All I remember from history classes in school was artefacts and Indian caste systems... hmm I don't remember much anymore but the history I am interested in is way different from that.
Actually I think I'm just curious about the different ideologies of life. And to understand and know more about it, I can't help but have to understand the environment and the people who lived in that certain period of time...
Omg. I'm digressing so much. Think I'm a little more talkative (in my mind) today because more than twice I mentally told myself "I've got to blog about this today" and yes today I actually listened! Most days my thoughts end as that - thoughts.
My point today is really more about politics. I never really am super interested in it. I don't know why. But I think when I made my first vote, it got me thinking more seriously that now we have the power to vote for our leader, to vote for the kind of future we would like to live in. Maybe in Singapore we don't see the impact on us that greatly because we are a small (but mighty) country afterall.
But wow the US presidential elections??? It is really shedding light on a lot of things to be honest.
I was at client's place while the votes were being tallied and announced... It was about after midnight in US but sunny afternoon in SG so I actually get to witness the live results from when HC was leading to when DT took over in what was like a eleventh minute turnover of events. It happened so fast and so unprecedentedly that I think before we even make a sense of what is going on, DT won.
I don't really wanna pollute the online world any further by giving my two cents worth on whether I wish DT or HC won (that's why I'm here on my personal blog) because honestly, I don't think we have a right to complain about the results or even criticise the elects simply because we do not live in America. We can never fully understand the problems they face and their urgent hopes for something to be changed and it is plain arrogant of people to freely criticise and act smart as if they understand what America needs better than Americans themselves. When I see people saying extremely mean and insulting things to both Presidential Elects, I just feel so frustrated because the world has evolved to a point when irrational and absurd comments by anyone are so visible these days whether the viewer want it or not. I wish I could filter them (which always happen to be the majority) out but I can't. I mean, you have to realise that these are two human beings too at the end of the day, and they have lived through half their lives and probably had a few more years life experiences than you. More importantly, they are accomplished individuals themselves in their own ways so we cannot blindly disregard that part of them that is undeniably great which made them successful and hence influential in the first place... What gives you the right to break the very basic value of respect?
Which brings me to my next point on the dangerous role of the media in this whole election. I only realised this after reading this https://lhuwenkai.com/2016/11/09/trumpwins/ and boy, the light bulb in my head just lit up. Too tired to read through that really long article again (I read it on my 1hour commute to work this morning) but the gist I took away was how yes, DT triggered many bad bad bad controversial topics, unapologetically, but the enormous way in which the world reacts to it is completely out of control. Or as I infer from the article, everyone fell into businessman DT's lofty trap according to plan.
"What is sorely lacking in this election is empathy for Trump’s supporters. The first rule to prevent a conflict is really simple – never deny someone their feelings. When someone tells you they’re angry at their government, it’s stupid to tell them that they have no right to be mad. When someone tells you they’re frustrated at their jobs being stolen by the Chinese, it’s bonkers to tell them they’re stupid for thinking Trump will fix things. When someone tells you they’re fed up with the direction the country has been headed under Obama, it’s ridiculous to tell them they should be grateful to have such a “cool President” and have no reason to be pissed. You can argue with facts and logic, but the moment you deny someone their feelings, you have made it personal. That is how conflicts between their parents and children develop, when the former always deny the latter’s feelings – how they should feel grateful instead of frustrated, how they should feel happy instead of angry etc.
You see a Trump supporter ranting down his problems in poor English, and instead of a) helping him, b) disproving Trump’s logic, or c) using facts and figures to debate with them, you laugh at them. You make fun of their lack of education, you make fun of their appearance, you make fun of their states and stereotypes. Heck, most people even go as far as to suggest anyone who votes for Trump is “stupid, ignorant, racist etc.” Okay then, what do you expect these supporters to do then? Turn and run over to Mommy Clinton? Begin volunteering at the local Clinton campaign office? Start making calls and canvassing for votes? Hell no, they’re going to vote for Trump as a royal f*** you to your own bigotry you righteously claim to dispossess. I honestly don’t blame them."I am not on DT's side, neither am I on HC's side.
But first I feel sad that there are people who voted for X not because they believe X can bring the country to greater heights, but simply because they don't want to see Y win.
Second, I also feel sad that half of the voting decision for those voting, must have in some ways been strongly influenced by the online media that fabricates news and articles and videos which may not even be true complete?! It is very likely that it is more often than not one-sided and imagine people really do take the untrue ones seriously, imagine people make their choices based on interviews and articles which appeal to the emotions of the very people voting, rather than accurately and unbiasedly giving two sides of the coin for better quality information. Look at the floods of news outlets that are all squeezing to get a piece of the media pie that I find it harder to differentiate which are the legit quality ones and which are the more profit-driven ones.
That's the problem with the media today and I am quite sick of it. It is so noisy and chaotic and biased and it just no longer serves its purpose.
Gone are the days when things are simpler, when news outlets and the media prioritise serving quality news rather than profit-making ones, when our minds are less polluted by unnecessary voices.
I'm learning a lot from this whole saga and I also learnt that this election is not one for the weak-hearted, you have to have crazy stamina. I can't imagine how exhausting it is too for everyone involved for something of this scale... how often you get attacked and you have to defend and attack back... how much your mind gets screwed over and over again. Even though DT may have had the ultimate trump card in this race to turn things around and outrank all the odds against him, which says a lot about his influence... I think this is only the beginning. The beginning of a new direction that the world has to move forward into whether willingly or not, or the beginning of mad times ahead that could potentially tears more than bind.
Can't help but bring in Spiderman's "With great power comes great responsibility" and I sincerely pray that US's new President will use this power wisely and carefully, for the better good of America and for the world.
Life goes on and time will tell. I don't wish to be so pessimistic yet.
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Once again... I can never seem to sleep before 1230am.
P.S Did I in some ways still shared my two cents worth afterall?? Actually I just wanted to rant...
But it feels good to put together some of my thoughts man. Even a little counts.
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