Mid-Week Rantings

What a whirlwind of a week this is turning out to be. I'm finding myself staying in school from morning til night for wed, thur and possibly even friday. What makes it worse is the timebomb that is slowly ticking at the back of my mind, aka assignments and research papers due. Having said that, I have found some time amidst all this for some introspection.

Tonight I watched Sepet during research methods class. Its basically a love story between a malay girl and a chinese boy in Malaysia. While the topic it deals with is controversial enough, I find myself increasingly shocked by the simple beauty and elegance in a film made in Malaysia. I never thought I'd find myself impressed by Malaysian or Singaporean fim-making. But here I am, in RSIS, being taught several whole new lessons, the least of which is never to underestimate the creative prowess of very backward countries.

It is ironic, isn't it? That the very institutions (such as religion, education, work, yadda yadda yadda) that promise to unite us, have driven us all further apart than before. We have all been categorized and compartmentalized into neat little identities which we subscribe to, with much zeal. The minute we take up that identity, then we cease to see ourselves as humans, but you, me and mrs jones. The minute we take up a socially defined identity, we find ourselves at odds with those who do not share this identity with us. And the thought of this possibility surely provides some discomfort.

I think the problem is with intentions. Every time we create an institution with the intention of doing something, we end up failing to do what we started out to do in the first place. Remember the IMF, Durai or Venerable Ming Yi? In stark contrast, when we try to suppress something that emerged universally, it comes back stronger than before. My favourite example is capitalism. Plainly put, a drive for money and success has turned Marxism on its head and given democracy a bad name in some places. Yet, it is so unerringly universal that no country in the world can escape from capitalism anymore.

Doesn't necessarily mean its a good thing, but it sure as hell is super consistent. Plainly put, ego and hubris have resulted in the humongous error of thinking that everything which we create and which we validate for each other is correct. Another seminal film, The Fight Club, proclaims that we made God in the image of our fathers. Yes, there may be divinity, but we have certainly perverted it with the centuries of bias in our construction of religion. Man is the architect of his own demise after all.

So Adam Smith was a political philosopher after all. The invisible hand is still the predominant force for organising society, whether economically or socially. Importantly, where do we go from here? Are we ready to let go of all the preconceived notions of identity we have found ourselves clinging on to for safety and security?

Are we ready to question every teaching, every notion that is passed on to us, just as Buddha demanded in the Dharmmapadda? (Yes, question even his own teachings, that was his mantra and a damn good one if you ask me.)

Ang Heng