beauty, war, parking fees
beauty
I think that a person is beautiful if I think that he/she thinks she/he is. Confidence plays a big part in a person’s physical well-being and it even radiates outward to undermine preconceived perceptions or standards. On the other hand, one need not have a well-trained k9’s nose to smell the difference of a true self-confidence from insecurity heavily wrapped in opaque plastic with the words "confident" written all over it in bold letters.
war
Why are there rules on how to wage war? if the nations in conflict are bent on killing each other (which is what war is all about) it is but natural to expect everyone involved to throw in everything and anything they can get their hands on to kill or to keep himself alive. A person who would want to end another person’s life in not in his right mind and with that, no one, whether insane or in a fit of rage, would be ble to think rationally, let alone draft rules or even laws on how to do about his killing spree or how he wanted to be murdered. Killing is killing, someone will end up dead, whatever manner it is done the end is the same. Rules, agreements, treaties or laws won’t change the outcome. Rules only apply to playing games.
Having said that, if wars have rules to follow, then wars are only games. If that is the case, then why don’t they just include it in their rules to issue soldiers only squirt guns: whoever ends up less wet wins. Anyway the object of the game is to only prove who is right through might. In boxing, anyone can tell who is a better fighter in 12 rounds. The judges don’t ask the fighters to kill each other just to determine who is better.
In fact, I have a good idea, less gory, straight from Rocky movie (I’m not sure if it’s part IV): why don’t the conflicting countries just send their best boxers to fight each other. Example, say, Coalition vs Iraq –but everybody knows Iraq’s boxers have no match to their world-class western counterparts. By just comparing the tale of the tape anyone could correctly guess who will win, which is exactly my point. There is no difference between sending boxers and actually going to war: Everybody knew, except for Saddam or did he?, who is going to win. But they still went to war anyway.
Going back to the idea of sending boxers, it should be included in the rules that the weight class will be done away with since the weight reflects the military might of a nation because if it were otherwise, for example- God forbid- there will be tensions between, say, Mexico and U.S. and a third party decides that they fight in superfeatherweight division, U.S. will be pulverized singlehandedly by Eric Morales. Why look far across the Pacific? Philippines can have a big chance to finally chalk one up on the ‘wars won’ column if the weight division were enforced. But if it will be, as I proposed, an open tournament (or war, as it takes on a new, less destructive meaning) everyone would expect the top nations to be throwing in their heaviest, genetically enhanced heavyweight which will also serve as the symbol of their military, technological and economic advancement. But of course, that behemoth dude could be an import. U.S. could be represented by an African. Will this be allowed? by all means. It’s actually part of a country’s flexing her economic and political muscle. It’s part of ‘war’. Besides, importing fighters symbolize and only reflect today’s fusion of everything brought about by globalization. What is globalization for if not to turn our world into one global country?
But if that is the goal of globalization then wars will eventually become obsolete. In a world where everything from ideas to goods are traded globally while people migrate, it is not far-off to imagine a war when a soldier will be face to face with his enemy who turns out to be a former neighbor whose family left their native land in search of greener pastures. Then one of them shoots with a gun whose parts are assembled, quite sadly, in his enemy’s country where labor is cheap. The ironies could go on forever.
But the final irony lies in the phrase "rules of war": Rules are created in civilized conditions while war is by nature, barbaric.
justice
If I am a filipino everyman (why should I not be?), then I could explain or at least understand why filipinos are good and bad citizens at the same time.
Example:
I pay jeepney fares, automatically. To even try not to pay is like trying to think of sleeping standing up– nobody thinks of that. Paying jeepney fare is natural to every filipino like what I mentioned above, it’s automatic. Now here comes the jadewell on-street Pay Parking. Unlike in the jeepney where the driver doesn’t go to every passenger to collect fares, the parking attendant, on the other hand, runs like hell to all vehicles attempting to park in his assigned area to collect parking fees. Inspite of showing professionalism and legality (which ironically is exactly the qualities lacking in most of jeepney drivers) by their uniform and quick-to-issue receipts, I am still reluctant, and at times outrightly rejecting, to pay. Why is that?
Some filipinos are like Dr. jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They work industriously and honestly abroad as if they’re not the same lazy and unscroupulous government employees just a few months back here in their homeland. Why is that?
Given the opportunity, maybe I won’t fare better.
Theses expats or immigrants, I think, believe that what they do is justified. It is manifested in the amount of compensation they receive and the fear and respect of the law.
I don’t like to pay jadewell because, for reasons I cannot explain, I strongly feel it is wrong, unjustified. No matter how they try to hide it behind the cloak of professionalism and legality, it won’t convince me otherwise.
