Liberty and Responsibility

‘In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.’ (Ephesians 4:26-27)

 

Recently a protest organiser threatened to deface poster of a senior office-bearer here. It was reported that on his Facebook posting, he wrote that a huge poster would be put up for protesters to vent their anger by ‘spitting, throw eggs, splash dog poo, draw graffiti and kick’. Such appalling thoughts, even though not eventually carried out in actions, warrants a concern by all. In fact, I noticed that there is an increasing number of netizens who have been warned and asked to retract their postings over the social media in the last few months.

 

Defacing can be carried out on different platforms such as posters, public possessions, religious buildings and currency notes. It is a deliberate attempt, not a sudden one under provocation. This is a wrong way of expressing anger or hate. There are other legitimate and lawful means people can choose to make their protests. Early this year a British father has been sentenced to six months in jail for spraying purple paint across a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey. His defense was that he merely defaced the royal portrait with the word "help" to highlight the helplessness the divorced fathers faced, being denied access to their children. I was shocked by the comments made by the newspaper's readers.  Most of them do not see it is as a serious crime.

 

We have to treat every human being with respect and dignity, ascribed a sense of worth, being valued as who he is. This also include objects that carried symbolic significance. In fact, dignity and respect are the key principles of Human Rights Act. Everyone know them by human instincts, their inherent values, even in a most primitive society.

 

This society is slowly opening up for diverse, alternate views, and space for expressing them. We should treasure such trend and not to use this liberty irresponsibly. If we cannot do that, then we do not deserve such freedom and it may be taken away. The argument that total self-expression is the key to modern good living is absurd. It is a fact that our human nature is self-centred, inherently evil. We have to learn to be self-restraint in what we expressed, not more and more new legislations to censure us.

Mother's Day

‘Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honour your father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise-- "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."’(Ephesians 6:1-3)

This year’s most popular video clip for Mother’s Day is one from American Greetings Inc. The video is about a fake job been created and posted on internet and in newspapers. Real interviews were conducted online. The shortlisted applicants were told of the job’s requirements. It entailed high level of mobility (such as long hours of standing, bending, moving about). There would be no annual/sick leave, lunch break, medical benefits, pension, salary, bonus etc. The candidate must also have good interpersonal skills. After digesting these information, all these applicants came to the same conclusion, that is, it is utterly insane or inhuman that any person in this world would ever do such a job. However, they were told there is already one person doing such job - the mum!

 

Most of us take mother’s work for granted. It has been estimated that the average stay-at-home mum’s “salary” for 94-hour work week is estimated to worth US$113K a year. However, no country in the world so far take mum’s work into account when computing its GNP. Mother is the most undervalued person one can think of. It’s no wonder that more married women would rather work outside their homes, helped by the availability of child care facilities and family-friendly policies. With the passing of my mother’s generation, my generation of mothers belongs mostly to working- mother category. There are pros and cons to such trend.

 

On the positive side, we are able to contribute financially to the family, so our children have access to better healthcare, nutrition, education and opportunities. Studies have also shown that working mother’s children exhibit higher level of confidence and independence.

 

One of the drawbacks of being a working mother is that it is utterly tough (almost impossible) to balance work and family commitments. We are stressed out, fatigue, and too tired to interact with our children. They therefore received less discipline and less support from us. It can be a case of our kids being cared for by different people and received different types of discipline, which lead to confusion and behavioural problems later on. I feel that we are beginning to pay the price of being a working mum- our children are more rebellious and disobedient. Our bonding is also not as close as the previous generations. A meal out on Mother’s Day may not carry as much meaning as before as time goes by.