A whole new world

When you experience a mind shift in perceptions,you see things differently from those with a herd mentality.Those with a herd mentality have been brow beaten by the conventional societal forces to accept the status quo,not to pose a challenge to
it.It starts from the familial conditioning of behaviour to the mass indoctrination by orthodox religion and public education on what constitute a good or a bad person.When we buy into that narrative,it becomes a form of social conditioning that sinks into our subconscious on what constitute success.Do well in your studies to make your parents and nation proud,The more money you make,the more successful you are,those who bum around chasing personal dreams are losers,a good person obeys the law and not challenge nor question it,you are a grown up because you have a cushy job,so marriage and the obligatory 2.0 kids and a landed property is the mark of your achievement.Branded luxury items show the world you have a certain status and class in life.
                My self searching leads me to one conclusion.You can be broken if you keep on chasing the status quo and comparing yourself to societal norms.The yardstick of success has to be changed to Are you happy? Do you have self fulfillment? What have you done to improve the society around you?
             Mass indoctrination through public education sells you the stories of your past ancestors.So historians like Howard Zinn are anarchists in that they challenge the official myths that Christopher Columbus enlightened the savages with civilized behaviour and he sought to free the savages from ignorance and a primitive life but the savages were not as destructive as the invaders who stole their native lands.
 So if we look at Dr Farish Nor's book 'What your history teacher didn't tell you."it paints a different version to the official history of our nation.When I introduced it for Eu Jun to read,he got all fired up and read about the French revolution online and wrote a piece advocating republicanism and challenged the narratives his history teacher taught.Teaching should be the lighting of a candle to dispel darkness not a forcefeeding of information to cram the brain with facts and more facts without thinking critically about it.
               Browsing through Noam Chomsky's book,Optimism over Despair,he puts his  critical analysis of current affairs in a logical,convincing angle.Loss of jobs in the US should not be blamed on immigrants coming to snatch away the jobs of the locals but as the practice of capitalism that seeks to maximise profit by lowering cost of production or evading corporate taxes which saw many factories move offshore to countries with lower cost of production,to be nearer to target export markets or being given generous tax shelters.When the state opts to increase corporate taxes to finance healthcare or public housing,these big multinationals are globalised entity and so they relocate to places that offer them tax breaks and so on.If the city of San Francisco increases the tax rate on tech companies like Square,the CEO would relocate to another city that offers more attractive tax rebates.It's human nature that they seek the best deal possible by shopping around different places to seek maximum return on investment.They also seek to maximise returns for investors and shareholders.
         In asking Noam Chomsky this question,it's interesting that he sees that civilization cannot survive "really existing capitalism".What did the interviewer define as "really existing capitalism",since the late 1970s,most advanced economies have returned to predatory capitalism.As a result income and wealth inequality have reached spectacular heights,poverty is becoming entrenced,unemployment is skyrocketing and standards of living are declining.Moreover really existing capitalism is causing mass environmental destruction which along with population explosion is leading us to an unmitigated global disaster.Really existing capitalist democracy is radically incompatible with democracy.Really existing capitalism is a human creation and can be changed or replaced.

           Chomsky reminded the interviewer of a quote from the Analects defining the exemplary person as "the one who keeps trying ,though he knows there is no hope."
Was the current situation as dire as that?
     Chomsky said "We cannot know for sure.What we do know,however,is that if we succumb to despair,we will help ensure that the worst will happen.And if we grasp the hopes that exist and work to make the best use of them,there might be a better world.Not much of a choice."
          The butterfly effect is such that the idea of interdependence is vital to the survival of everyone as an insignificant event in one remote part of the globe could have catastrophic effect in a faraway corner of the globe.Could fracking cause unstable seismic activity in the core of the earth and trigger a tsunami or earthquake in another faraway part of the globe?Who knows? so we cannot operate in isolation and global institutions like the UN are needed to coordinate multilateral cooperative efforts to study global phenomenon like the rise of sea levels or melting of ice caps.
           Multilateral effort would be needed to prevent collapse of nation states,the rise in international refugees or another nuclear war for as Chomsky predicted there are two grim shadows that loom over everything that we consider: environmental catastrophe and nuclear war.
                   I wouldn't need to peer into a crystal ball to imagine a future in which the dehumanizing effect of technology cause human society as we know it to undergo radical transformation.People would be increasingly alienated as they cut themselves off from contact with society as they don't need real time and face to face interaction to function.We could shop online,interact and socialise online,work online,have love relationships online and even have sex with non human robots.
            What does it mean to be a human in this world would be the next big question if our jobs become redundant,relationships are with artificially intelligent non humans and the question of marriage,family,birth and death take on an altogether different level of understanding.Artificial intelligence makes better predictor of causes of diseases,make more strategic moves and even paint art better than the human counterpart.Where does that place humans in the world today?
That world is already at our doorstep so we better figure it out fast.


                     

tribute to Leonard Cohen

Democracy

It's coming through a hole in the air,
from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
It's coming from the feel
that this ain't exactly real,
or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
From the wars against disorder,
from the sirens night and day,
from the fires of the homeless,
from the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
It's coming through a crack in the wall;
on a visionary flood of alcohol;
from the staggering account
of the Sermon on the Mount
which I don't pretend to understand at all.
It's coming from the silence
on the dock of the bay,
from the brave, the bold, the battered
heart of Chevrolet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin'
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
From the wells of disappointment
where the women kneel to pray
for the grace of God in the desert here
and the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.
It's coming to America first,
the cradle of the best and of the worst.
It's here they got the range
and the machinery for change
and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.
It's here the family's broken
and it's here the lonely say
that the heart has got to open
in a fundamental way:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
It's coming from the women and the men.
O baby, we'll be making love again.
We'll be going down so deep
the river's going to weep,
and the mountain's going to shout Amen!
It's coming like the tidal flood
beneath the lunar sway,
imperial, mysterious,
in amorous array:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
Sail on, sail on ...
I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

---

Traduction de Jean Guiloineau :

Démocratie

Elle arrive par un trou dans l'air,
depuis les nuits de Tiananmen Square.
Elle naît du sentiment
qu'elle ne peut être vraiment réelle,
ou qu'elle est réelle mais pas ici.
Elle vient des guerres contre le désordre,
des sirènes qui hurlent jour et nuit;
des feux des sans-abri,
des cendres des homos :
la démocratie arrive aux USA.
Elle arrive par une brèche du mur,
sur un flot d'alcool visionnaire;
du récit renversant
du Sermon sur la Montagne
que je ne prétends pas comprendre entièrement.
Elle arrive dans le silence
sur les quais de la baie,
du coeur courageux, hardi et délabré
de la Chevrolet :
la démocratie arrive aux USA.
Elle vient de la tristesse de la rue,
des lieux saints où les races se rencontrent;
des vacheries homicides
qui ont lieu dans chaque cuisine
pour savoir qui va servir et qui va manger.
Des puits de déceptions
où les femmes s'agenouillent pour prier
la grâce de D--u dans le désert ici
et dans le désert très loin :
la démocratie arrive aux USA.
Vogue, vogue
O puissant vaisseau de l'Etat
Aux rivages de nécessité
entre les écueils des rats
et les grains d'adversité
vogue, vogue
Elle arrive d'abord en Amérique
berceau du meilleur et du pire.
Ici se trouve l'étendue
et la machine du changement
et ici la soif spirituelle.
Ici se trouve la famille éclatée
et le solitaire dit
que le coeur doit s'ouvrir
de façon fondamentale :
la démocratie arrive aux USA.
Elle vient par les hommes et les femmes.
O ma chérie, nous allons faire de nouveau l'amour.
Nous descendrons si profondément
que la rivière en pleurera,
et les montagnes crieront Amen !
Elle arrive comme le flot de la marée
sous le balancement de la lune,
impériale et mystérieuse,
en amoureux appareil :
la démocratie arrive aux USA.
Vogue, vogue
O puissant vaisseau de l'Etat
Aux rivages de nécessité
entre les écueils des rats
et les grains d'adversité
vogue, vogue
Je suis sentimental, si vous voyez ce que je veux dire :
j'aime ce pays mais je ne supporte pas le décor.
Je ne suis ni de gauche ni de droite
je suis simplement chez moi ce soir,
et je me perds dans ce petit écran impuissant.
Mais je suis têtu comme ces sacs de légumes
que le temps ne peut faire pourrir,
je ne vaux rien mais je tiens bien haut
ce petit bouquet sauvage :
la démocratie arrive aux USA.




the raspy voice that's gruff and scratches
the rough Life he has gone through ups and down
the serene wisdom he gained as a Zen monk
pours out his vision of the future
All the dents and wounds he cannot erase
the imperfect,the broken and the flaws
he sees and accepts rather than reject
for they moulded him
and strengthened him as steel
is forged in a tempest of fire
his words echoes
"forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in."
 

Himalayan rhapsody

There is something about high mountains at the top of the world that is uplifting to the human spirit. I love the peaks and clear blue skies,the simple lives of the rural communities and their adherence to rituals as a rite of passage in life.
 As an intuitive person with a strong affinity for nature,my soul resonates with the Himalayan rhapsody.In my heart,I knew at once, my final resting place would be in Bhutan,my childhood Shangri La,the place I saw a double rainbow for the first time in my life and a Buddhist nation still uncorrupted by gross capitalism unlike Thailand.I've always been drawn to the die hard romanticism of untainted culture and environment of Buddhist monarch states like Mustang,Ladakh,Bhutan and Tibet.
  The romance of the king of Mustang and his consort or the last king of Sikkim and his American bride or  Princess Wen cheng are so like the fairy tales of the past.
Guess I hope they preserve their unique culture and not sucuumb to the monotony of ubiquitous globalization.So I thoroughly support the activism of Laurence Brahmn
in the Himalayan Consensus to have environmentally and culturally sustainable tourism
            When water cuts due to pollution or hacking cough due to haze gets me down,I cheer myself up by looking at my dream home in Bhutan and think of a sustainable life that's possible


               I

Will history repeat itself?

It's pointless to bear grudges and bitterness towards those who have wronged us.
They will have to face their fate one day even if the laws of Man do not punish them.The Chinese have a saying," Heaven's net is inescapable,it will not let even one wrongdoer go scot free."
       In a war,the powerful have to bear responsibility as they have blood on their hands in sending youths to die for "their cause" or "ego".The unarmed civilians suffer harm and injury and loss of property and stability.
     So Jeanne Wakasuki Houston accounts of her family's internment in the second world war was suffering beyond their control.That's the price to pay for war.The same suffering would be experienced by the Jews interned in death camps in Europe.
         But the nationalistic government was proud that it was the only Asian nation that dared to wage war on a Western nation just as a militaristic govt managed to lock horns in the Russo Japanese war and the Sino Japanese war.The untold suffering on civilians was not limited to migrants of Japanese ethnicity but worst horrors befell the victims of wars in China,SouthEast Asia  and Russia.The prisoners incarcerated were released alive unlike the Jews or the Chinese killed in the Rape of Nanjing or the Koreans made into free labour and sex slaves.But people have to move on,we forgive our enemies and put the past behind us.So the Americans have helped a lot in giving aid for the reconstruction of Japan and transfer of technology have propelled it to be an economically advanced nation,the former enemies have become allies in the international economy.So too has China learnt to put the past behind and work in tandem with Korea and Japan to boost economic developments in their respective nations,thus improving the lives of multitudes of civilians and establishing an affluent middle class.
       So we the civilians have to be vigilant against the rise of ultra nationalism that aims to oppress others in the name of "national pride".It was with outrage that a nationalist Japanese went to dishonour the dead by kicking on a statue of a comfort woman in Taiwan.The victims of war are pawns in the chess of war and to vent their anger in such a manner would be equivalent to the  action of the American blogger Logan Paul making a mockery of  Japanese suicide victims at a suicide forest by making fun of them.The golden rule applies do  not do unto others what you do not like others to do to you.Respect is a two way street.Just as tourists,we should respect the local cultures and do not pose naked in public in a church or graveyard so too our sense of decency is violated when foreign visitors take nude pics at our holy sites.
       International prejudices can be reduced if we observe the golden rule of behaviour and remember for every action,there will be a reaction,whether it is a positive or negative backlash.

One Self:Two Cultures

Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston  describes the conflicts of being torn between two diametrically different world of East and West in her article"One self:two cultures."

I was spending most of my time with my new Caucasian friends and learning new values that clashed with those of my parents.It was also time that I asumed the duties girls were supposed to do,like cleaning,cooking,washing and ironing clothes.I cannot remember my brothers performing domestic chores while I lived at home.Their reciprocation came in a different way.They were very protective of me and made me feel good and important for being a female.My brothers taught me to ride a bicycle and to drive a car,and took me to my  first dance.
   My brothers encouraged me to run for school office,to try out for majorette and song leader,and to run for queen of various festivities.They were proud I was breaking social barriers still closed to them.It was acceptable for an Oriental male to excel academically and in sports.But to gain recognition socially in a society that had been fed the stereotyped model of the Asian male as cook,houseboy or crazed kamikaze pilot was almost impossible.The more alluring myth of mystery and exotica that surrounds the Oriental female made it easier,though no less inwardly painful for me.
   What my brothers were saying was that I should not act towards Caucasian males as I did toward them.I must not wait on them or allow them to think I would,because they wouldn't understand.In other words,be a Japanese female around Japanese men and act Hakujin around Caucasian men.This double identity within a double standard resulted not only in confusion for me of my role as a female,but also in who or what I was racially.I would try to be aggressive,assertive and come on strong toward Caucasian men.i musn't let them think I was submissive,passive and all-giving like Madame Butterfly.With Asian males,I would tone down my natural enthusiasm and settle into patterns instilled in me through the models of my mother and my sisters.I was uncomfortable in either role.
     Although i was attracted to males who looked like someone in a Coca Cola ad,I yearned for the expression of their potency to be like that of Japanese men,like that of my father;unpredictable,dominant,and brilliant-yet sensitive and poetic.I wanted a blond samurai.
       When I met my blond samurai,during those college years in San Jose,I was surprised to see how readily my mom accepted the idea of our getting married.
      She felt that my husband to be was strong enough because he was acting against the norms of his culture,perhaps even against his parent's wishes.From her vantage point,where family and group opinion outweighed the individual's,this willingness to oppose them was truly a show of strength.
         I realized a very basic difference in attitude between Japanese and American cultures toward serving another.In a Japanese family,to serve another could be uplifting,a gracious gesture that elevated oneself.For many white Americans,it seems that serving another is degrading,an indication of dependency or weakness in character or a low place in the social ladder.
       My father used to say'Serving humanity is the greatest virtue.Giving service of yourself is more worthy than selling the service or goods of another."
         Now,I entertain according to how I feel that day.If my Japanese sensibility is stronger,I act accordingly and feel comfortable.If I feel like gong all-American,I can do that too,and feel comfortable.I have come to accept the cultural hybridness of my personality,to recognize it as a strength and not weakness.Because I'm culturally neither pure Japanese nor pure American does not mean I am less of a person.It means I have been enriched with the heritage of both.
         My children's biracialism is,indeed,a factor in their identity and self-image,but I feel their struggle will be more to sustain human dignity in a world rapidly dehumanizing itself with mechanization and technology.My hope is they have inherited a strong will to survive,that essential trait that ethnic minorities in this country have so sharply honed.


-In reading her article,I feel that she has come to terms with both cultures and has accepted both culture's strengths and weaknesses.The ethnic minority would appreciate the potential of multi diversity,not being afraid to acknowledge the weakness of one's culture and being proud of its strengths.
     So to be harrassed by insensitive provokers with stereotypical comments and jaundiced viewpoints,the best response is not to fall into their mud slinging taunts and rise above the fray by keeping our cool and let it fall on deaf ears.It only reflects badly on the provokers rather than the victim of abuse.Let the mad rants on the colour of the skin,the slanting eyes or  bearded face make fools of themselves and not let our confidence be shaken.Everyone is beautiful,each in its own ways.Dare to be different and think different.Only those with deep insecurities will make themselves look good by making others feel bad 

The pilgrimage of a seeker

seek and you shall find
when the time is right,you will meet your teacher
the answer is in you if you seek within

I have been a carefree and happy go lucky person until my world fell apart.
I was dead at heart .
If something is too good to be true,then it's not true.
The apple polishers always have ulterior motives,their true colours will come out sooner or later.
Emotions make us vulnerable,control it or it will tear us up
But I've learnt to trust and hope again
that changes are possible.

Why compare yourself to others/there will always be those who are better off than you and those who are worst off than you.
I am true to myself ,why put my happiness in another person's hands?

As Helen Keller said'Alone we can do so little,but together,we can do so much."

Individual is shaped by the environment

Humans are brought up and grow up within a specific culture determined partly by language and geography.A positive way to look at it is human nature is changeable and an individual has the option to choose how he likes to live.In other words,the ability of humans to do or be whatever they wish is limitless.
   Conversely,some argue that humans cannot change their conditioning and they act out,carry out behaviours which are entirely shaped by their upbringing,and cultural constraints.This brings forth another paradox,why is it a group of children born into the same family and with the same cultural conditioning can have such vastly different personality traits and attitudes?But in nationalistic behaviours,humans tend to believe strongly in their own way of being.This sets up the idea that one set of values is intrinsically superior to another set of values.Differences in viewpoint are not valid if one believes that their own cultural norms and values are the only norms and values.
      If a different culture has different values and the two come into conflict,then the defense of those values embodied in culture may lead to serious conflict.They come into conflict as a result of one culture holding the view that they have the right to impose itself on another.
      Dire consequences may arise between nations,countries,potential business partners and individuals as a result.Some detrimental aspects of culture are fuelled from extreme nationalism and patriotism.In the extreme,these notions give rise to war and to the idea that it is appropriate to wipe out a people who have a culture different from one's own.An understanding of differing cultural viewpoints is essential for world peace and also for international business dealings.
   There are several indicators to understand cultural differences among different societies:
:power distance index measure the degree of inequality in a society
:uncertainty avoidance index:the index measure the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain situations
:individualism index:measures the extent to which a society is individualistic or communalistic
:masculinity index.It measures the extent to which the dominant values are assertiveness,money and things(achievement) versus the femininity index based on relationships