That is what I intend to do this year, which is why I am going to brush up my knowledge of two languages, one of which I already have a slight working knowledge, and who which I could never pronounce before.
I wish I could say the same for Malaysia. In a way, some things are better than they used to be. That is a slight consolation. However, our appreciation of all things cultural and intellectual are still stuck at a very low level. Maybe we forgot to acculturate ourselves in our striving for the greenback (or whatever colour paper money) and platinum card. Despite our so-called economic ascendancy, as a nation, we are still very vulnerable to scammers, schemers and con-arists, especially if they are from the First World.
Thanks to the wonderful world of the internet, at least we no longer have to feel like a frog under the coconut shell. Information gap stil exist, and the literacy rate in this country is not as high (when I say literacy rate, I mean the ability for someone to digest information beyond high-school level). Potboilers and trashy magazines (uh-oh, I just revealed myself as a cultural snob, when in actual fact, I do read trashy stuff as well :P) are the mainstay of one's diet. People would not mind spending lots on other luxuries but most find it painful to spend too much on books. Despite the govt's tax allowance. I have friends asking me for book receipts just so that they can claim tax relief, even if they seldom buy a book themselves. And these are not high-school dropouts, but my peers from university! It is interesting that what Orwell wrote about in relation to the working-class English society is as applicable to the middle to upper-middle class members of Malaysia. Books or cigarettes, mon cherie?
Lets talk about religion. Everyone is minding their ps and qs. Hard-nosed pious religious types are now stabbing, shooting and clubbing the so-called "liberals" who are are leading the flock astray. Interesting how the same kind of thing is happening in both the Christian and Islamic world. I refuse to call it internal conflicts within the East and West, since the religions of the BIG BOOK (or BOOKS now?) did come from the confluence between east and west. Forget Huntingdon's theory on the clash of the civilization. From my vantage point (not very high since I am rather short), just let these people hack each other to death. figuratively speaking. It seems that these people are more interested in appearing holier than thou than and may God give them the best place in Heaven. Poor God must be experiencing continuous de-ja-vu with His (Her? Why do we think God is male?) recalcitrant attitudes of His (Her?) human creations. I marvel at His (Her?) patience, coz if it had been me, I would take back their ability for free will. You give them free will, they try to take it away from their fellow men. Bugger. Also, I refuse to see Goddess as the female counterpart of God. For me, it's just a cop-out. And a Goddess doesn't have the same Authority as God.
As a parting thought, I sugest that those who have not read Orwell's essays to do so online. Now! http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/O/OrwellGeorge/essay/ShootingElephant/.
P.S.I wonder what Nostradamus would have thought if he were alive today. Next entry wold be about the semantics of the word "Metaphysics".
Shalom
