The Opera Populaire

I guess having been blessed with a sheltered life, I take a lot of things for granted and fail to see some things happening right under my nose. It just strikes me that people can be really selfish and greedy out there. I din get the vibes back in S'pore, but here, it perpetually flashes its ugly face at you. Just wondering how much to reveal in a blog sometimes.

For one, we are all too familiar with the government here. I was indignant when I read about the demand for annual 13th-month bonus by the civil servants here, when poverty is increasing. The most recent tsunami at Pangandaran had also been played down and lesser aid given, presumably because the regime fears for its credibility after having gone through three tsunamis within 2 years (never underestimate the power of mystic beliefs here). And... um, with all due respect to a certain powerful personality here, I think it is not at all strange that poverty level is increasing at the same time as GDP is increasing.

On a micro level, there seems to be a prevalence of a mentality of "I am not at fault!". Perhaps the costs of living made it necessary to defend what little you already have, but I simply dislike the attitude of explaining what is black into white and not wanting to take responsibility. Maybe I'm just too used to the S'porean attitude of compliance haha.

And about greed....sigh...it explains itself, doesn't it? The Bible says:"Money is the root of all evil." How very true, I find. And with power accumulated, the greed just grow insatiably.

I dun think I have grown cynical. I am just recounting what I see or hear about and how I feel about those issues, something like what a journalist would do. Perhaps I will become cynical, if I stay here long-term and dun have God to keep me in check. It's just that being here sometimes remind me a lot of certain depraved places in the Bible, like Nineveh. It just reinforce once again how much we all need God.