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©2003-2007
People are such fragile things. We think we rule the earth, but evolutionarily and emotionally, everything about us says that we really could do much, much better.
How easy it is for us to break a bone, get sick from an infection caused by something microscopic, or fall ill from being exposed to the elements. How easy it is for us to act blindly, to be persuaded into violence, or to inflict pain upon others.
If natural selection were truly a way to weed out the undesirable and to advance the fittest, then we probably shouldn't be here. In so many ways. Through our own efforts, we have been spared.
God's will? Intelligence? Complacency. Hubris.
* * *
Years ago I met one of my many cousins. She had graduated from the best university in Taiwan - bright, young, vivacious, happy, assertive, and inevitably would have been very successful.
The next thing I heard about her, she had decided to become a Buddhist nun. She was not religious and had everything going for her. In our culture, it is a huge deal to become a Buddhist nun. It used to be that people didn't choose the route unless they were despondent or desperate. Essentially, your family is no longer your family, as you must be unattached to everything and everyone.
Her mom had tried not to show it, but apparently she was completely heartbroken by this decision.
I've always wondered what would compel an incredibly educated and successful person to suddenly decide to give up everything and live a truly ascetic existence.
A philosophical awakening? No one knows. Sometimes I think it's because she has seen through the sadness of this world.
Taiwan may be turning into the most democratic place in the world.
No, really. Even more so than the U.S., the self-proclaimed shiny example of democracy, where people are deemed unpatriotic simply for speaking out against the president or disagreeing with the administration's policies.
Did I mention every single vote in Taiwan counts? No silly republicanism that basically suppresses the voices of minorities.
The Middle East may be big news here in America, but on the island slightly smaller than Delaware and Maryland combined, yet housing a population of more than 23 million people, the Middle East is too remote and foreign compared to around the clock reports and calls for the Taiwanese president to step down.
President Chen is currently mired in controversy. It started with reports of his son-in-law and his wife trading stocks based on insider info. Since then, it has spiraled into a wholesale investigation of his and his entire family's financial activities - anything from allegations of paying for his daughter's maid out of the country's treasury, to reports of his wife "loaning" expensive jewelry from merchants that are disguised solicited bribes.
What does the activities of his family have anything to do with him, right? Over here, politicians are responsible only for their personal dealings, not of their families.
But not in Taiwan. Chalk it up to Confucianism, which is alive and well. What one does implicates the entire family, just as the heads of companies are always responsible for the well-being of their companies. One person loses face, and you all lose face.
Because his wife and son-in-law are such close family members, president Chen must've known something. There's no hard evidence that he did, but still.
As with anything, there are pros and cons with this mentality, but I'm sure we've all heard, "The apple does not fall far from the tree." Sometimes America could use a bit more of this. The Bush family, anyone? Corporate responsibility? People like Ken Lay and Jeff Skillings would be completely humiliated, kowtowing in public, apologizing for their failures. More parents would be taking responsibility for their childrens' lack of sucess in school.
So, as I was saying. Citizens and public officials alike have been condemning president Chen. Actually, more like drawn out diatribes and open verbal abuses. Even some people in his own party do not support him. Certain politicians have made all sorts of nasty comments and speculations in their own talk shows on TV. Another one has started a mass protest/movement to get the president to step down, collecting close to $10 million Taiwanese dollars (the last I heard) via TV broadcasting and newspapers.
Better example: President Chen is openly anti-China and pro-Taiwanese independence. Many do not agree with him and have spoken out against him. Guess what? No one is telling them to shut up! No one is calling them unpatriotic! No one is censoring them! It is such a far cry from merely 20 years ago, when people were not allowed to criticize the ruling party, among other things. People used to "disappear" or got sent to prison for this sort of thing.
In fact, it is so free now that political meetings sometimes degrade into shouting matches between legislators. A while back I think American TV even aired footage of politicians picking up chairs and throwing them at each other. It can get chaotic. Frankly sometimes I'm not sure how they get things done.
Two sides to every coin.
But everyone is allowed to say whatever s/he wants, whenever s/he wants. You try verbally abusing others, they'll abuse you right back. No one will tell you you don't have the right to speak. Politicians don't ever have to hide their opinions or cater to the "constituency."
Gotta love democracy.
Back. Sort of. From all sorts of places.
Too many thoughts to put down. Too many things neglected. Too many words unsaid.
Ever noticed that when you have almost all the time in the world, you are the least productive? And then you don't even know where to begin.
I'd be a terrible housewife.
