Monday, July 28, 2008

Has materialism poisoned our minds?

Our society is now progressive and modern technology has allowed life to be much easier, laid-backable and comfortabler than ever before. Ever wondered how they made butter in the Middle Ages? A huge churn of milk has to be used and all you get is actually enough butter to spread on one side of bread. And churning is hard work. Now we can have pre-packed butter easily.

As above, my topic for today is materialism. Is it a good thing? Sure, it feels good to be more affluent than others and have more to show off.

But what does the conscience say?

Are we as content as we should be?

Nowadays, having a degree is everything. It lets us have a comfortable life with a comfortable wage and have a comfortable safety net as we retire. When we get a degree, we have more job options, such as lawyers, architects or teachers. That being said, you are bound to be paid a lot as you have made good contribution to the society.

Now let's take a look at who I feel also contribute to society worth mentioning.

1. Farmers and food cultivators
What? you may say. But this is really true. Food is a necessity in life. Let's reflect. When was the last time you ever thought of that poor man or woman who has to toil for hours in the back-breaking work to ensure YOUR rice is there? When was the last time you thought of the fisherman risking his life in the sea to ensure YOUR constant supply of seafood when they themselves don't have the luxury of the time or money of having good seafood themselves? And the dairy farmer, who has to work EVERY DAY to make sure he has enough to eat himself.

Let's think about it. The food industry can never rest. Nor are there sick leaves or job raise or something like that. Only the rising inflation and cost of basic necessities face them.

2. Cleaners
This may be a degrading job for people of "higher standards". however, let's reflect and appreciate them for a while. I mean, when was the last time you cleaned the vomit off the floor in a shopping centre/public place out of your own accord? Nope, we just wait for that foreign worker or the old uncle/aunty to clean that up.

In England, the wage of the cleaner is 7 pounds an hour. Would you do that?

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My basic implication is here is that we are being dreadfully unfair to ourselves and fellow human beings. We think we are so important, so deserving of what we have done, when others like who I mentioned above actually should deserve more (The list above is non-exhaustive btw). They don't have degrees, or money to have something like that. Yet their job is so essential, and yet they are treated unfairly.

Some (not all, though) who earn a lot can be undeserving of the money sometimes. We have people who constantly injure Mother Earth for their personal needs. I don't think my time is worth even talking about this people. But good for you if you are not, and have contributed to society (and not to Global Warming I hope...).

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Next, I am discussing the matter on how selfish a lot of rich people can be. Take a certain country I shall refer to as Country A. It is well known for its financial power. But look in the country itself. People are denied of basic healthcare (try not getting an insurance), and the infant mortality is horrendouly high for a developed state.

The country mentioned has spent a lot of money sending people to space, providing aid (with strings attached, without a doubt) etc. Let's discuss on the aid part.

When DCs send aid, they expect returns from the helped country, such as agreeing to the country's plans, buying their products, etc. What are they trying to do, make the whole world worship the leaders? Why not have goodwill since they already have surplus money spending on projects like "wars against terror", sending people to space, having "nuclear talks" (which is weird as the country in question is the only country in the world who has used a nuclear weapon before, and it makes more noise on others)and what not?
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Let's look in our own society. Money seems to be everything now. We just have to have that latest gadget, fashion and what have you. Let's take a moment to get rid of the materialism mentality and appreciate what we already have, and be thankful to all those who made living possible.

The most cursed of a man is one who clings to his belongings --Book of Philosophies

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

A Traveller Down the Road

A traveller down the road
Traversing down the signboardless way
He walks into the unknown
He cares not,
Though he knows not,
What lies ahead

A traveller down the road,
capturing pictures along the way
It resides in memory
He cares not,
Though he knows not
What lies ahead

A traveller down the road,
Journeys by the day,
learns something at the end of it
He cares not,
Though he knows not,
What lies ahead

A traveller dow the road,
is a thinker
He understands what is there
He cares not,
Though he knows not
What lies ahead

A traveller down the road,
Knows what he is to know,
But more importantly appreciates what there is to know
He cares not,
Though he knows not
What lies ahead

A traveller down the road
Is already much wiser
He cares not,
Though he knows not
What lies ahead,
In this road called Life

-The Book of Philosophies

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Another bucket of photos

Here are some more pictures from my trip!



Downtown Amman


This is actually appetizer for our lunch...


A donation box


Dome of the Rock


Inside the Site of the Last Supper


Where the last supper took place


In the Dead Sea


We will...


Morning in Amman


A friend and I had the privelege of taking a photo with the King of Jordan


His highness King Abdullah II of Jordan


Israeli water


Israeli youths

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Jordan's Queen Rania speaks...


Her Majesty Queen Rania of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

I was watching Her Highness Queen Rania of Jordan's YouTube video on stereotyping and how to break it down. Essentially, the stereotyping she touches on are women's rights, misconceptions on Arabs and the Muslim religion.

One of her point intrigues me. Everywhere in the world, people must have heard of unequal rights given to women in the Arab world. She is right about one thing: Is it just the Arab world or is it a world wide issue? One of her point includes 1 every 3 women in the world are abused. Not exclusively to the Arab world then?

Anyways, today's topic of the day is interaction between leaders and the lead. Some like H.H Queen Rania chooses to VideoBlog (or Vlog as it is "properly" called) and others like Dr. Mahatir of Malaysia writes his own blog.

Whatever the case, direct interaction between leaders and the lead is very important. It creates trust between them (as in H.H Queen Rania's case where individuals post a question and she responses to them personally on YouTube) or may express what the leaders feel and deem necessary for the country (as in Dr. Mahathir's case). With direct and no middle management interaction, the trust the commoners put in their leaders can progress a country, this is where both sides benefit.

To see HH Queen Rania's videos, visit her YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/QueenRania

or visit her very own website at
http://www.queenrania.jo/

Visit Dr. Mahathir's blog at
http://test.chedet.com/che_det/