Life is so simple. COMPROMISE!!!
I admit. Sometimes it is just so difficult to do so. But then again, small little things in life could just set a person off so easily.
Just look at the case of A. Cheong! She wrote a Facebook post on Malay weddings being too loud and noisy, and got bombarded by tonnes and tonnes of comments and was eventually (not that it took very long for NTUC to decide) dismissed from her job.
But when she posted that comment, she probably did not think it that big of an issue to post a few words (inclusive of vulgarities). Well, too bad for her, she lives in the era of the internet and social meda networks, where nothing you say is private.
If only she had compromised.
In our lives, how many times a day do you have to compromise? If you live in a house with people, and you do not have a luxury of having a private bathroom, doesn't that mean you have to get up earlier to use the bathroom or having to wait for your turn? If you do not have the income to invest in a car (or you're smart enough to not to do so), doesn't that mean you have to either share a cabin in the MRT with 50 other people or a "limousine" with another 100 people or best, cycle on the road, just to get to work. All these are compromises!
So why not be able to compromise to a little noise "pollution" (and I mean pollution as a term of comparison)? As compared to other religions who have to tolerate a month of air pollution when the Chinese celebrate (or should I say commemorate) the Chinese Ghost Festival, and burn lots and lots of papers and incense. I imagine the smell and the air would not spare anyone in Singapore.
Although I don't imagine the other races and religions would be too happy with the pollution (I mean, I really cannot imagine them jumping around with joy exclaiming "Yay! More carbon footprints created! =D), and they may whine and groan about it but hey, they do not spill expletives and insult the entire community. Not publicly at least. And I am not pointing fingers or anything. I mean, I have some grouches abput anything and everything. I am human, so bite me. But nope, I learnt not to post every little thing that I am unhappy about on every single social media platform or any internet accounts that I own. I don't even write it down anywhere! I just file it in the many little archives in my brain and leave it there till another day comes and I take it out and grumble about it a little and file it back into my head. I bet loads of people do that! So just live with it! Life goes on.
And to Miss Cheong, if you ever get to read this. If you're so cranky over gongs and drums, I suggest you move to a property that is usually free of gongs and drums. Say landed maybe? And I would strongly suggest getting freehold property. Cos given those genes of yours, your next generation would probably be in need of properties that are free of gons and drums as well. Although after this scandal, I think you may have some trouble finding someone who is willing to be bound in a holy matrimony with you.
Oh but if you do not have the funds to do so (living on a freehold property is not cheap!), then I would suggest you not complain so much and start to learn how to enjoys living in matchbox houses.
And just a side note, landed property does not seem so viable as well especially during public holidays like.... Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya.... I mean... What if your neighbour(s) give parties? :O Are you going to rave on the internet how they're causing congestion on your driveway as well? Honk the cars away? -.- Get real. Do not think that this occurs only in Singapore. Other parts of the world where the density of the population is not half of Singapore also faces the same issue whenever there's a cause to celebrate (or sometimes mourn). So why not you kick of your shoes and just breathe in fresh air and just live?
Lastly (what a nice way to end off, I know), to all races and religions in Singapore and all over the world, I strongly believe (and trust me, this I say without a single trace of sarcasm), that all of us are equal. Sure, some friends and acquaintances of ours may come across as "dumb", "blond", "hypocrites", "evil" and whatever horrible terms people can think of, but really, they are not representatives of a race or religion. Believe in good. Then again, I can only speak for myself. After all, I am one who does not believe in a specific religion. I just believe in god. Please note that this god and the God in question are different. Mine is not capitalised. Which also means I believe in a higher being out there always looking out for us and protecting us, guiding us. It is just that I do not believe in a religion. Even so, I have come to respect each religion that I have come across. Because the people I love and care about do believe in them. So if someone that you love and care about believes in something, who are you as an outsider who does not know much about their beliefs to berate and defile their beliefs?
Perhaps it is because I am living in a multi-racial and multi-religion country, having been "exposed" to different people who have various degree of belief in their religion, that I have learnt to respect them. If you want people to respect you, you have got to learn to respect them. Them, not only them, but everything about them. Habits, relationships, lives... Everything.
