I have simply been shocked at the extent of alcohol abuse by males in Sri Lankan villages. People in my village are often seen quite inebriated after 5 pm. Their wives suffer mental and physical abuse, their children are malnourished, as their fathers spend their income on drink.
I have rarely seen this matter addressed in the media or by the politicians as it almost seems to be a taboo subject. The general impression is that there is nothing that can be done about it. This is simply unacceptable as the society does not discourage alcoholism and the young people are simply shown the way by the elders.
Only volunteers try to do something about it but their efforts are insignificant to tackle such a big issue. A Buddhist country that closes taverns and bars on Poya days is still unable to prevent a greater level of consumption on that day. So laws are not the answer, some serious soul searching and a real plan to encourage abstinence, supported by the temple is the answer. The social costs are too great to ignore and this cannot be left to a later a date.
Friday, June 29, 2007
scandalous
The United States, a country that prides itself on being the foremost democracy and the defender of the free world, has scandalous skeletons.
Among them are: the state of the Health care system where 50 million Americans out of a population of 300 million have no health coverage. Included in the 50 million are 10 million kids. Then there are over 20 million people living in the country illegally, some of who were born there. No one has the political guts to address the issue.
Elections have no campaign finance reform whereby the wealthy can effectively buy votes, by influencing public opinion with their money. The blowout in the sub prime lending market will eventually affect millions whose houses will be worth a lot less than what they paid for them due to lending practices that were not regulated.
Iraq war strategy is a shambles and is only a drain on resources and a sure way to incite hatred overseas of all things American. The level of pollution of vehicles and businesses is not reduced. Homeland security is targeting certain minorities, who rightly feel it is a police state for them.
These scandals don't affect the majority of Americans, so there is no great rush to solve them. Its the poor 20% of the country that suffer.
In Sri Lanka, a potential paradise on the other hand, a country grappling with crippling fuel prices, a war that is costing lives and money,an economy with prices spiralling out of control, corruption that has reached all levels of society, a crime wave that is made worse by the inability of the police to apprehend and judiciary to timely prosecute and convict, and politicians who are distrusted by all, the poor 80% of the population of 20 million, suffers the consequences directly. Nothing positive is being done for them.
Which is more scandalous?
Among them are: the state of the Health care system where 50 million Americans out of a population of 300 million have no health coverage. Included in the 50 million are 10 million kids. Then there are over 20 million people living in the country illegally, some of who were born there. No one has the political guts to address the issue.
Elections have no campaign finance reform whereby the wealthy can effectively buy votes, by influencing public opinion with their money. The blowout in the sub prime lending market will eventually affect millions whose houses will be worth a lot less than what they paid for them due to lending practices that were not regulated.
Iraq war strategy is a shambles and is only a drain on resources and a sure way to incite hatred overseas of all things American. The level of pollution of vehicles and businesses is not reduced. Homeland security is targeting certain minorities, who rightly feel it is a police state for them.
These scandals don't affect the majority of Americans, so there is no great rush to solve them. Its the poor 20% of the country that suffer.
In Sri Lanka, a potential paradise on the other hand, a country grappling with crippling fuel prices, a war that is costing lives and money,an economy with prices spiralling out of control, corruption that has reached all levels of society, a crime wave that is made worse by the inability of the police to apprehend and judiciary to timely prosecute and convict, and politicians who are distrusted by all, the poor 80% of the population of 20 million, suffers the consequences directly. Nothing positive is being done for them.
Which is more scandalous?
conviction of belief
I am generally very clear in my attitude and opinion on many subjects. I am always prepared to hear an argument that may result in my changing those beliefs. In that sense I am not blindly rigid. I can use sense, reason and logic to come up with my core beliefs.
It is important for us to have a strong view on subjects that matter, and be able to defend them in any way one can. It is not blind conviction,as a result of someone's opinion, it must be reasoned and rational. We are not all born debaters or can we articulate our views as well as another person. All you need is a sense of what is right and wrong, with an element of common decency and morality and all problems of the day are solved.
Religious extremism is a root cause of many of the problems and conflicts in the world, and actually run counter to the true teachings of the religions these extremists purport to defend. It is a shame that the overwhelming populations of the world who have the same goals and ambitions for their families are suffering due to a minority of extremists, who we are unable to neutralize. That is the indictment of society today.
Hold an opinion with conviction, try and back it up with reason, and defend your opinion when attacked. Your attacker may change his opinion as a result.
fear of death
Death is part of life, and in that sense a natural process of the life cycle. If one has tried to live a life that is wholesome, and decent, one does not have to fear death.
Our minds are too full of unfinished business, that we fear that we are not ready to die. We should just clear our minds and realize we can then face death at anytime without fear. It is more important to make sure those we leave behind are adequately reinforced, not with money, but the ability to carry on in our absence. This is what we fail to do in our race to try and live longer and fight death.
We don't know when death will take over our lives, so we must live life in the knowledge that we can leave this earth at anytime. This gives strength for the rest of the time we live and can improve how we live our lives.
We can prepare for death and live a full life in the meantime.Ironically it may actually prolong life and improve the quality of our lives in the process.
Our minds are too full of unfinished business, that we fear that we are not ready to die. We should just clear our minds and realize we can then face death at anytime without fear. It is more important to make sure those we leave behind are adequately reinforced, not with money, but the ability to carry on in our absence. This is what we fail to do in our race to try and live longer and fight death.
We don't know when death will take over our lives, so we must live life in the knowledge that we can leave this earth at anytime. This gives strength for the rest of the time we live and can improve how we live our lives.
We can prepare for death and live a full life in the meantime.Ironically it may actually prolong life and improve the quality of our lives in the process.
extremism amongst the diaspora
I have lived my adult life in the UK and the US, until my return in December 2004. There are large communities of Sri Lankans there, as well as of course in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Most of the people have settled in those countries and are unlikely to settle back in Sri Lanka, with the majority having taken the nationality of their adopted land.
A high proportion of these people, some who were born in those host countries, have views that are more extreme than the people in the Island. I refer to the ethnic conflict. This is very unhelpful in reaching a consensus, and a solution that will satisfy the majority of the people in Sri Lanka.
The people in Sri Lanka want peace, and are willing to compromise. Those outside the country, on the Tamil side, fund the terrorism, and on the Sinhala side, rabidly oppose any solution that is remotely acceptable to the Tamil minority. The problem for the country is more from outside than from within. The overseas Tamils willingly or unwillingly have financed the conflict, which has killed more Tamils, thereby defeating the aim and the defence secretary is a member of the diaspora, who appears to favor a military solution.
It is a shame that the developed countries which fund and fuel much of the extremism, take a back seat in the solution, when they have a direct responsibility. They can make a difference, but are unwilling to get involved. The conflict is a Sri Lankan one that can be solved internally. External pressure for a solution is required, rather than cutting of aid, at a time when military aid is sent to terrorists via the diaspora.
The influence of the diaspora is under appreciated and rarely addressed as they are the ones fighting a proxy war, and the actual fighters are mere pawns who are disposable.
A high proportion of these people, some who were born in those host countries, have views that are more extreme than the people in the Island. I refer to the ethnic conflict. This is very unhelpful in reaching a consensus, and a solution that will satisfy the majority of the people in Sri Lanka.
The people in Sri Lanka want peace, and are willing to compromise. Those outside the country, on the Tamil side, fund the terrorism, and on the Sinhala side, rabidly oppose any solution that is remotely acceptable to the Tamil minority. The problem for the country is more from outside than from within. The overseas Tamils willingly or unwillingly have financed the conflict, which has killed more Tamils, thereby defeating the aim and the defence secretary is a member of the diaspora, who appears to favor a military solution.
It is a shame that the developed countries which fund and fuel much of the extremism, take a back seat in the solution, when they have a direct responsibility. They can make a difference, but are unwilling to get involved. The conflict is a Sri Lankan one that can be solved internally. External pressure for a solution is required, rather than cutting of aid, at a time when military aid is sent to terrorists via the diaspora.
The influence of the diaspora is under appreciated and rarely addressed as they are the ones fighting a proxy war, and the actual fighters are mere pawns who are disposable.
love and romance
The greatest satisfaction in life is to love and be loved . We may love someone, that person may not love you. So we spend the next period of our lives trying to convince her to love, if we decide she is the one.This invariably results in failure as the I love you, you love me connection is usually instant or within a short dating span.
If we believe there is a soul mate out there for us, we spend a lifetime searching for this soul mate. Most people give up on this idea after a while and just hook up for practical reasons other than love as is done usually in arranged marriage situations and marriages of convenience for procreation or companionship.
Of course a friendship through time can become intense and then one day you realize you are also truly in love. If only the friendship is reciprocated and not the love, then it is not complete.
Many cynics don't believe in love and think it highly overrated, and rarely happens. I believe that often love is not permanent. It can take various forms and grow as it matures, but it can also disappear as in 'fall out of love for no obvious reason' than 'I don't love you any more'
In the realm of love there are books, poetry and all things written, but the bottom line is when you know you truly love someone who can also say that it is reciprocated, there can be no greater earthly pleasure. It does not matter if it is only for a short period, the intensity of ecstasy is enough when both feel the same.
Don't confuse this with sex, it can only be an optional byproduct of love.
ulterior motives
I am a very simple man. At least I like to think so. I am sure those who know me will contradict me on this. However for the most part, I speak words that truly reflect my feelings. This brutal honesty can at times be hurtful in the village, and is not diplomatic for them but at least it is truthful. I have made a few enemies from telling people the truth about who they are.
The people in the village I have noticed are full of double speak. That is they never tell the truth, and trying to decipher this and get down to the truth, is very hard, as I am not used to the game they play. While they are relatively simple folk, they have a great ability to talk in riddles and not say what they mean or mean what they say. This is most irritating when it relates to the methods adopted to part me from my hard earned money, which they think falls from trees literally for me!!
I fall into this trap time and again, and accept people at face value and then get conned, not knowing that what they said is not what they meant. When they borrow money, it is never the intention of paying unless, tough terms or repayment are extracted and collateral taken. Promises are made that are never kept. No one's word is their bond.
You might wonder why I live amongst such people if they are out to take you for a ride at every juncture. I thought about this for a long time and came to the following conclusion.
Actually people from all walks of life are like that with ulterior motives, so that I cannot run away from that. It just took me a while to realize that in a developed economy it is more subtle, and the sales talk can cost you a pile more and I have suffered far greater financial loss as a result. Hey how come I returned to Sri Lanka with hardly any money after years abroad. I was somehow parted from a life time of earnings, by those closest, through a devious method called divorce.
So this level of rural village double speak is the least costly, though more apparent and often you cannot escape without satisfying their hunger, but the price is not great in the scheme of things.
The people in the village I have noticed are full of double speak. That is they never tell the truth, and trying to decipher this and get down to the truth, is very hard, as I am not used to the game they play. While they are relatively simple folk, they have a great ability to talk in riddles and not say what they mean or mean what they say. This is most irritating when it relates to the methods adopted to part me from my hard earned money, which they think falls from trees literally for me!!
I fall into this trap time and again, and accept people at face value and then get conned, not knowing that what they said is not what they meant. When they borrow money, it is never the intention of paying unless, tough terms or repayment are extracted and collateral taken. Promises are made that are never kept. No one's word is their bond.
You might wonder why I live amongst such people if they are out to take you for a ride at every juncture. I thought about this for a long time and came to the following conclusion.
Actually people from all walks of life are like that with ulterior motives, so that I cannot run away from that. It just took me a while to realize that in a developed economy it is more subtle, and the sales talk can cost you a pile more and I have suffered far greater financial loss as a result. Hey how come I returned to Sri Lanka with hardly any money after years abroad. I was somehow parted from a life time of earnings, by those closest, through a devious method called divorce.
So this level of rural village double speak is the least costly, though more apparent and often you cannot escape without satisfying their hunger, but the price is not great in the scheme of things.
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