An Angry World

The invention of air travel has made the world a smaller place. Nowadays we can travel from one part of the world to another in a matter of hours. Every day, hundreds of thousands of people move around the globe. Air travel has made us more aware of different peoples and cultures. It has also created much friction between the natives and the newcomers. Air travel has encouraged the movement of people and goods. Cargoes move at a faster pace than yesteryears. One can find Japanese apples in America, Philippines bananas in Japan, and ‘made in China’ toys all over the world. Our farmers face intense competition because imported food is cheaper. We lose our jobs because others can do it more cheaply somewhere else. The world has become more interrelated economically.

 

The invention of the internet and social media has made the world more connected. We can send a message almost instantly from one part of the world to another. Every day millions of people connect with one another in cyberspace. Cyberspace has enabled us to share ideas and ideologies. It has also made us aware of inequalities and atrocities in many parts of the world. Supporting a movement nowadays is as easy as ABC. It is just one click away. A message or picture on Facebook can get so many ‘likes’ that we no longer feel alone and powerless. Feelings of injustice and anger get magnified tenfold. The world has become more interrelated emotionally.

 

Coupled these two inventions and the world becomes a life volcano, waiting to explode, wanting badly to spill its heat out……..  

 

Our world is getting angrier. If you don’t believe me, go out and eavesdrop on people’s conversation. Whether in the trains, at eateries, or in shopping malls, I hear people complaining about this and that. A normal conversation between two people almost always involves complaining about someone or something. We are always finding faults in others and in things not within our control. Even our dramas (at least the ones my mum watches) are appealing to our sense of injustice and making us curse and swear at the characters depicted.

 

Perhaps you may call this democracy or freedom of speech. Or you may say that our sense of injustice is getting stronger, that we need to fight for our rights. While fighting for macro issues like world peace, human rights, child abuse, etc. are things that all of us should engage in, fighting for micro-personal-issues are filling us with unnecessary anger. Anger is a very powerful weapon and left unchecked can do more harm than one can imagine.

Each time I get angry over something or someone, I think of that song by Eagles, which has lyrics that go: “Get over it, get over it. The big bad world don’t owe you a thing…..It’s like going to confession every time I hear you speak……Some call it sick; I call it weak…..Get over it!” There is really wisdom in this song. And each time I think of asking people to change, I think of that song by Michael Jackson: “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change……”

 

That’s my philosophy in life: Get over it, the world doesn’t owe me a thing, changes start from me.