We need to do more than Imagine--think, feel, see
Imagine no heaven, no hell below us
Imagine all the people living life in peace
Everyday as I ride on the Freeway, I drive past a sign that says "Imagine. John Lennon alive today." IT is hard to imagine, as hard as it is to imagine the lyrics in his songs. yes the times were different then, people were more idealistic then. But the difficulty for me to imagine some a utpoic state on earth has nothing to do with cynicism. There are still many people who belief and hope for world peace beyond "miss Congeniality's" making of it into a private joke about Miss UNiverses. Perhaps it is the slow dawning of the fact that world peace will not come anytime soon. It is always only a matter of the distance, the distance we are from the wars, physically and mentally. The violence, the conflicts have been on going and as always, it is the history will be complicate things and keep some of these deep seated grudges, burying them even deeper into consciousness. When John Lenon wrote the words and uttered the much misquoted "that they were bigger than even Jesus Christ" he was criticized and labeled Satanic. I didn't understand what the big deal was, perhaps he was really evil, that's what people used to say.
But maybe, he got it right. He asked people to imagine the improbable. In those days and even now, not impossible. People get angry but it asks people to put behind them put away what matters most to them. Their worldview their faith, their identity, their differences. Our world is divided into political entities, but these run deeper in our lives than we think they do. 'We the citizens of Singapore" beyond the daily rote reciting, has a certain reality in our existence. It makes sense, we see ourselves in this way. I am a Chinese, some others are not. we define ourselves and others according to these differences, and sometimes, even if we know eradicating these differences might in deed be able to bring about peace, we are unable to let go of them.
John Lennon was right, if there was no heaven, hell, no religion, we will indeed be a happier race. BUt see already, how controversial what I'm only echoing is already becoming. Because sometimes it is hard to admit taht the very things we treasure and stake our very lives on are the causes of division and the very obstacle to peace.
GOing back to the seemingly irrelevant Miss UNiverse, only a title in name of a shared world, shared universe, it is nonetheless a contest between countries, rooting for their own, and a contest between races, nationalities, peoples.
Today is the first day of the Hanukkah--festival of lights for the Jewish faith, they mentioned peace and tolerance between religions, races, ethnic groups, yet today my sister felt the slight sting of racism. Today is also International migrants' day. But to my mind, the very placement of international next to migrant makes no sense. UNless it is meant to be a oxymoron. Because to be international is to blur national boundaries and embrace a larger entity, but at the same time the word migrant emphasizes the very real existence of these borders.
If turned on the very head, JOhn Lennon's song sings the answer to the ongoing problem in our world. IT is our need for differences, and how it is almost impossible to move beyond some of these fundamental obstacles we put for ourselves on the road to a "peace" which is more than just another favourite word of meaningless utterance.
The opposite to "peace" is not war, it is a deep seated and stuborn inability to see beyond differences.
It is clear that with the current division of the world, peace is not a true achievable goal except as a mere shallow mask. If we simply accept that peace means the absence of war, then I think we are all missing the very important truth John Lennon's song touches on. Peace in its truest sense is an sbsence of differences on a very deep level.
There
.. I wonder if u are resigned or anguish.. it is hard to tell ur tone..
but i think it is somehow unevitable that differences of any sort will breed grudges, anger and any neg feellings. Even if we are of the same race, breed colour, even if we are born on a single joined land plate, i think people will still very essentially have diff.
it boils to our genetic itself. It is unique at its very most. That is an innate trait and that make us unique and also give us a wantin to be unqiue. I cant find any soul till date who wants to look exactly like someone else. Everyone wants to look diff in some aspect.
And in the macro level, I think it is this diff that people hold, that they ambrace as a cause to live and die for- to be a breed diff, and in their own eyes "special". with these, we have all seeminly unneccessary strifes and fights over value , religion, and colour. We fought for our cause!!
It is innate, even if we hare the same colour, race, we may fight over the pattern of our finger prints.
Yet, my stand, is not the who or want or even why the diff. Call the spade a spade, a kettle a kettle, i think it is education and awareness that matters. People are drawn in to a purgatory msot of the time without knowing why. They jus know thye are part of a grp, living for a common cause. Have they thought about hatred? have they consider the wonder and compassion of a life?
Hatred is what we should be fighting.
in gen, (sorry a little bliical) but I want to share. There was a common language once then. And the people grew so powerful that they wanted to build a tower to reprecent themselves. It was a tower to honor themselves. They have started worshipping themselves. Then God sent diversed them.
Even with a common language, people fought with none other, but with God.
Hey Li, dear girl, no I'm not anguish, maybe a little resigned but it's more of a musing really. Thanks for your replies, they always help me put things in perspective.
I kind of miss our debates.
Anyway, yes, I do think we are people who tend to focus more on differences than on things which bind us and are common between us. Is it an innate desire to be recognized as unique individual in the world so we know our existence is a special one? Or perhaps it is a socialized idea that we must learn to differentiate between us and others?
The first thing we become acutely aware of as a child is a "me", "I" vs a "you", "they". Sometimes, I still feel like I'm being too idealistic--but it is not impossible. Sometimes we feel connection on a deeper level with other human beings which look past differences--physical or mentally, or religious. And all these connections and relationships are so womderful and miraculous.
IT is just sad that these connections are still a rarity in general. And so many unhappy things I read in the news stem from unnecessary hatred of one group against some other group of people who have the same desire for peace and happiness. But there doesn't seem to be a way out of this continuing grudge & hatred--it sometimes get depressing, even though I am really a very lucky person to be so far away from these miseries.
But I guess none of us are truly unaffected by this kind of hatred which sometimes find us in places we least expect. Or simply someone's inability to look past differences.
... think this is interesting and it seemed never ending.. but here I go again...
S'pore for example has emerged from lanes-divided housing streets to a rojak of multi-racial living block, from a myraid of migrants to a national day of billion colours and bland of thick cultural songs. We come far to co-exist as A nation. And this comes from, much reinforcement, of " together we stand, divided wer fall", a
one people, one nation, one Singapore " anthem.
It is a living exemplfication and that diff can co-exist. Take a marriage for eg. Much over-looking and tolerance has to take place to go beyond the diff in personality, preferences and style in working and focus on living together. the focus in on the family, in co-existing.
I think mocking bird itself, is a wonderful story that draws prejudice to nothing but a unfounded conjectures of fear and awkwardness. ANd most sadly, sacrifice of teh innocence has got to teach us the value of life.
I think, there will always be diff. Always. No one and nothing can change it, but mankind's intelligence and expericence should go beyond feelings and gut feel to undermine fear, hatred and underscore LOVE, and tolerance. Education and focus has got to highlight all these.
National anthems are a reinforcement of strength as a grp, a nation, but national sentence of others that sings another song is hatred. Teach a child "I", give him a name, let him know he is an individual, is divine, but teach him, "I. only." is menace to himself and mankind.
It is all influence and teachin.
okia lah.. no more bombbarding ur blog!!
now that I think about it, it's fun, that u are in another country with more things and perception to share with me...
wahahahah!!