Which Independence Day are you talking about?
Haiti, of course. It was immediately followed by another Independence Day on January 4th, and...
Which country now?
Myanmar, of course. After a while, I thought Cinco de Mayo was fast approaching, and then in a rush, came July 4th and 14th.
I know why you remember all these dates--it's because you make them an excuse to eat and drink beyond what is needed for survival.
We are here to live, not to survive.
But some people do not have that choice. Only when our survival is guaranteed, we can start thinking about living a life.
I used to think that it was mainly in developing countries that biological survival is on everyone's mind, but now I think developed countries without social safety nets are just as bad.
I agree. Lack of good social welfare system means that, at any moment, you may be thrown into a situation where basic food and shelter become an issue.
And yet, the developed countries set themselves apart by the name 'developed.' Quelle audacité, je dirais.
Well, they've got the latest technology.
According to that criterion, the capacity to construct a functional nuclear bomb makes a country developed. What do you think about the case of Pakistan?
All right, I concede that it is has to do with the standard of living as well.
We are back to our starting point. If a citizen of a certain country has to worry about whether s/he would be able to find food and roof the following day, we cannot say that the standard of living in that country is high. In other words, social welfare system is necessarily linked to standard of living, and hence, how developed that country is.
The countries with meager social welfare systems often have weak public infrastructure, I have noticed.
Some of us are unaware that blackouts should not happen if we want to call ourselves developed. What good are all these electronic gadgets and devices when electricity is not guaranteed?
If they stick to their get-it-if-you-think-you-deserve-it principle, everyone should be generating electricity on her/his own.
I sense great reluctance, even refusal, among certain circles to admit that societies work best when there is cooperation, and that any cooperation entails give-and-take elements. You can't have everything your way, because if everyone behaves for her/himself alone, we all lose in the end.
Tragedy of the commons!
I think that applies not only to resources which are limited or non-renewable. It has a wider application, in fact, to all facets of life. Isn't it ironic that Garrett Hardin was a Texan? Anyway, the reason why I referred to the days for commemorating countries' independence is that...
Every clock and watch you own is letting time pass like a maniac, and you just don't know where it is disappearing---right?
The last time when I thought life was too slow, I was nine-years old. I was anxious to engage myself in marvelous undertakings, similar to or greater than what I was reading.
For instance?
To establish a theory that is more powerful than the general theory of relativity.
Some others had the same idea, and because they were considerably smarter than you, they came up with the superstring theory. I hope you are aware of that.
It's very hard for me to get over that one.
Do you have an alternative to propose, you mean?
No, I am bad at physics, but I do know that something that attempts to explain everything does not explain anything.
Rather lame, my comrade! I would not go that far, but it is true that generalization may pale in front of a specific example. At the same time, only through generalization we can make use of our experiences and knowledge, because that is a necessary step for extrapolation.
... We got sidetracked. I was thinking about Independence Days, because my experience of late has led me to conclude that it is extremely difficult to live by the principle of liberté, égalité, fraternité.
Some may not want to live by liberty, equality, and fraternity. By the way, July 14th is not an Independence Day, mind you.
Don't you think very few would deny its greatness, though?
Ah, talk to Confucianists. Surely they would disagree that parents and children are equal.
You may be thinking that the principle does not go down well in traditional societies, but the ones without social safety nets are also transgressing it.
How so?
How can one's liberty be guaranteed when the society turns away as you lose your job? Or equality, for that matter? What kind of fraternity is it, if a company cuts thousands of workers, but the executives have the same pay that is several times more than that of employees who are laid off?
Indeed. Power should come with responsibility, and if the companies are not doing well, that must be because the ones at the helm are not making the right decisions.
Put differently, they are the ones who should shoulder the burden, but instead, they let go of the people who worked for them in the way they ordered to... We got sidetracked, yet one more time! What I wanted to talk about is liberté, égalité, fraternité on a personal basis.
I take it that you still want to.
Suppose what you say does not interest a certain person, and what s/he says does not interest you.
That happens more often than I care to admit.
Further suppose that you two are family members or friends.
I understand that it happens among family members, but friends? I wouldn't become friends with such a person to start with.
What if it is gradually revealed that you two cannot carry out a conversation that is interesting to both, but at that point, it is too late to call off the relationship?
Are we talking about some kind of an old-fashioned courtship?
No, if it were courting, calling off wouldn't be difficult. I'd simply say that I am no longer in love.
It's again your problem, eh? How did you get into that kind of situation?
Well, I happen to be a good listener.
That's a very bad joke. I hope you realize that.
I babble away when I am with you, but with others, I am more restrained. It is my strategy to listen to the other party and find out which thoughts of mine could be blurted out.
And?
What happens in the cases that I am concerned about is that I listen and listen and listen. As they found out that I am good at empathizing, they started unloading everything onto me. The reward is that I have become one of their best friends.
What's wrong with that?
Judging from their stories, there is little of my thoughts that would be appropriate to discuss.
Have you tried?
I have. They don't cut me short, but only give acknowledgment that they are listening. I can even tell that they are waiting for me to finish so that they can relaunch their own stories. Some of them give me blank stares, and some others make a face. Some even said that I must be crazy.
Shouldn't you exercise eloquence to make your stories more attractive?
What if I understand them, but they do not understand me?
I thought you didn't want anybody to understand you.
It's different from your not understanding me. Theirs is at a more fundamental level.
Is that supposed to be a back-handed compliment?
The problem is that, if they think I am a good friend of theirs, I feel I should not let them down. I am also made to feel guilty for not being as eager as they are to see each other. My-spouse/partner/lover-did-this, my-mother/father/sibling-did-that, my-neighbor-did-what, my-child-did-this-and-that, my-in-law-is-terrible-beyond-belief, my-boss-is-a-nightmare, my-dog-is-the-only-consolation-but-she-too-can-be-from-hell, my-health-and-weight-are-blah-but-can't-do-anything-about-them, my-car-had-to-be-fixed-and-imagine-what-I-had-to-go-through, and so on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and... Please, I can't take it any more!
You may not like talking about personal details, but that is why people think you are stuck up, even secretive, you know.
It's not that I don't want to talk or hear about such subjects. It is only that they should not be the main topics. It would certainly be unfair to say that they do not say anything interesting. Sometimes they do.
Are you aware that you are insulting them?
But it's mutual! Anyway, the point is: however marvelous liberté, égalité, fraternité may sound, it is difficult to practice it, even at personal levels. In the relationships that I described, there is no equality and little liberty. I don't dare think about fraternity.
Has it ever occurred to you that they may be thinking exactly the same about you?
I truly wish they were. I will be freed of my guilty feelings.
May I deduce that you are not going to introduce me to them?
I told them about you, but they have completely ignored the information.
How can anyone count you as a friend without acknowledging the existence of our project?
... You see?
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