It's been an amazing week despite all the workload that's been piling up and the up-coming 2 midterms next week. God knows how Im gonna cover everything that's been taught and excel in these exams, but for now, since its the beginning of the weekend, I shall allow myself some time-out and keep this dry and empty blog alive. =)
If you guys haven't watched Heaven and Earth (1993), do try to get the movie. It's about the life story of this Vietnamese girl, Le Ly, and how she went through the horrendous suffering, trauma and torture during the Vietnam war between the Việt Cộng and the communist forces in the North. Her life took a turn when she met this US soldier, one of the 'enemies' who killed her brother who joined the communist forces, one whom she herself once fought against to protect her homeland, one who'd caused so much suffering to her and her people.
War. Made us question ourselves, or at least I did, why? For whose benefits? And now after almost half a century, there is still war going on in the Middle East. Blood bled for a cause no one is certain of. Does terrorism really only exist in the Middle East? When people say oh we should all join forces to fight against terrorism, why do we more often than not relate that statement to fight against Islam? And while people are crying, mourning for their dead loved ones, some of us are complaining about getting fat (that's me - felt so guilty bout it), or ranting about dont know what to eat for dinner, or having no money to buy the newest Gucci bag. When we look at the media that shows us people who were blasted into pieces, events that are happening every day in some parts of the world right now as you're reading this, how many of us really felt anything in our hearts? Even if we do, how many of us can really understand how it's like? How many of us actually cared?
Truth is, most people dont wanna think about it. It's too cruel, too upset to think about. Why torture ourselves with this kinda big worldly issues when we have other things to worry about? Those aren't happening to us or even happenning anywhere near us, ay. So we rather keep ourselves occupied with who's the next top model winner or who's the next american idol. Whether Nicole Richie is so skinny she can be blown away by a gust of wind. Whether Paris Hilton's new shoes can be ordered online. Whether Britney Spears is ever gonna get her nice body back, or if Reese and Ryan are gonna get back together.
I'm not condemning those who cared about those stuff. I'm not gonna make comments suchs as 'ohmygod, how shallow these people are' or 'how ignorant'. For all we know, those events can be just as real to them as those dying soldiers and war victims are to their family members. And it all boils down to our reality - how each and every one of us perceive reality. Some people are oblivious about the things going on in other parts of the world because they dont read or come across them. Some just cant handle the fact that there are so much malice, inhumanity, vengefulness in this world, and the thought of it gripped them with fear, hence they turn to escapism.
I had the opportunity to watch this movie during the International Education Week 2006, which was celebrated in my uni from November 14 till 16, and I had the chance to meet Le Ly, the author of the book Heaven and Earth too. A wonderful lady, she's working with the Peaceboat, and some global village project or something of that sort (i cant remember). After watching the movie, after listening to her talk, I felt I'm such a lucky person to be here, to be me, regardless of how blurcase I can be, how lost I am sometimes, how inferior I sometimes feel. And if you're reading this right now, you're just as lucky as I am, if not more. We all have a great life, and we all have something to contribute and offer, and the best part is we have nothing to lose. So why not?
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