Man in the Mirror

SO after the whole excitement about maybe entering the Perdana Essay Competition, I kinna just *urgh* when I finally get the chance to read the T & C and the format. They want graphs and stuff in the essay for one titled "It has been said the era of Government-Knows-Best is over. What do you think are the implications of this?"

Forget it. I'll post here instead. Have a read!

"Man in the Mirror

As much as we would like macro changes to many different things in many different fields, the harsh reality is that many a times we fail to realize that it is the micro changes that we make, would be the defining factor at the macro level.

Aptly put by Howard Zinn (Remembering Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky), we have often forgotten that the countless small deeds of many “small” and “unknown” people had been the main driving force behind the many “big” deed that ultimately ended up in historical books.

The best example of such saying was also portrayed in a Chinese movie, none other than the famous “Bodyguards and Assassins”, where it showed how the many “small” and "unknown” people sacrificed time and lives even, for the greater good of their motherland and the protection of their leader, Sun Yet Sen whose assassination would have ended the revolution struggle.

Ultimately however, it is Sun’s name that ended up in historical books and not these unknown people mentioned.

So what am I trying to say?

What I am trying to say is, as insignificant as words spoken and actions done without second and wise thoughts, should we all fail to realize that our nation’s or rather, our home’s progress is heavily dependent on the man in the mirror.

Or crudely put, if we maintain the level of apathy and ignorance, or rather if we are so bullish and naive in believing change would happen without us changing ourselves, from the inside out, what are the odds of improvements, changes, and chances of our home surviving in a world so loaded with competition and a constant need to move forward at bullet speed?

We have often pride ourselves in our mutual understanding, in our tolerance with each other, in a nation claimed to be so diversed in race, religion and culture. But tolerance just goes as far as it can get before it reaches a boiling or melting point for that matter.

Our pride extends to our acclaimed move for “Merdeka”, the bloodless way; in how we achieved independence without the need to shed blood, and our unique constitutional rule, which ensures freedom for all.

Perhaps, after tasting freedom, peace and some sort of stability for so long, we have chosen to live our lives, in chasing our dreams in a manner that we have developed our famed “tidak apa” attitude. We have forgotten how to be the responsible citizens that our country so needs right now.

Let us not choose to forget dark days and only look at the sunshine. For all that matter, dark days are the days that we learn most from. Let us all be frank with ourselves, that the latest developments and fracas in our home lately, have opened our eyes again towards a dire need.

That need is to move forward.

And we can do that by first looking and then changing that man or woman in the mirror."

Probably worth a try entering the competition but don't know how to steer it onto that title's direction. Ah well.