I remember a time when I didn't care ... about politics or how it affects our daily lives, choices and decisions. I am not only talking about when I was in Singapore, but also my first years of "innocence" in Australia. Maybe I was still living in my wrapped world then, but I remembered being a little puzzled over the fuss that people were making about the policies passed down by the government.
I know many people still avoid talking about politics, because like religion, it can be a topic of passion and argument. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, which is not something I learnt from Singapore, because of the authoritarian leadership practised, which may be what is suitable for them. What I learnt from my experience in Australia is to care ... not only about my own welfare but also to think more about the less priviledged and how decisions/policies passed down affect them in their everyday life.
It is easy for us to dismiss many issues just because we are not confronted by them everyday. Just because we have our basic needs of food, shelter and belongingness needs being satisfied doesn't mean that everyone is as lucky as we, even though we seldom acknowledge that we are fortunate.
The world is changing ... not only because natural causes, but also the choices we make and the leaders we or the majority believe represent us. I don't want to engage into a what's right or what's wrong argument here but there are fundamentals individual rights that we should fight for.
What I am talking about today is the Australian government and the decisions they are making in the coming months. I am not even talking about gay rights. I am talking about the ABOLITION of the unfair dismissal laws and the changes to the industrial relations which affects everyone, which many, even the Christian institutions (who this government have strong inclination) are protesting. In the near future, we may no longer be protected by unfair practices, giving the rich and the institutions power to do anything they want. They are rewriting history and moving backwards in individual rights. They are undoing what great individuals have fought for us in the past, and many of us are sitting here not worrying, and sometimes, chastising the institutions for protesting.
In today's world, everything revolves around money ... university places are no longer a priviledge for those who work hard, because you have to have money too, or you will be left behind. If you have money, you can afford to immigrate to Australia. If not, will you be left on a detention centre, mistreated like a caged animal, by a government who only recently, changed their laws so that children will not be locked up in these detention centres. It took a few courageous people to do it, and thank God they did.
Nowadays, Government policies are no longer about inspiration ... it is about fear ... that we will lose the "luxuries" that we have grown accustomed to. The stranglehold they have on us as we sink deeper and deeper into debt just so that we can live the life that we so rightly deserve.
Where are we going to? Where is their conscience ... where is ours? Do we have to have a breakdown before we can achieve that breakthrough? Can we fight to keep our rights? I don't have answers to all these questions and so may you. I don't know if I was happier when I didn't care because it infuriates me to know that there are selfish people ruling the country. I believe in loving and sharing and we always take care of those less fortunate than us. So, for me, even though it hurts to see where we are heading, I know that by caring, I can hopefully make a difference.
I want to plant a seed in your mind, so that we will think when it is time to make a choice ... and hopefully, you will think not only with your head but with your heart as well ...
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