THE WRITING ON THE WALL

Elevated official superiority of one specific race  - Apartheid.
NAZI GERMANY

Extensive corruption extra ordainare -  Extreme Financial Greed.
DICTATORS AND KLEPTOCRATS

Discrimination even in small matters increasing to Utter Intolerance - History Repeats Itself and Lessons Never Learnt.
1980s SOUTH AFRICA.

Blindness to not developing society by education, merit and open values - Self Impediment and Destruction.
OPPOSITE OF INDEPENDENT SINGAPORE.

Divide and Rule learnt from colonisers followed by an Independent Country - Socio-political disintegration.
MYANMAR

Loss of inherent culture by push to strongly implement practices borrowed from another country - Significant loss of one's own heritage.
RISKS FACING SOME EMIGRANTS

Numbers of specific demographics dwindling, increasing emigration, export of human talent and tightening of blatant intolerance - Huge social change happening for years already.
21st Century VENEZUELA.

Fissures embedded already in a specific race, many of whom already subject to a hand out mentality,  sufferance of being exploited by the powerful and rich and the suppression of true development of a race -  Fooling the people.
EXPERIENCE OF THE INDIGENOUS

#yongkevthoughts

Keeping In Touch

 So the Calendar marks another close of year.  For me, my posts here have reached their sweet seventeenth year.

I appreciate the contribution of friends and family around the world who have directly shared various valuable links and posts with me - theirs is such a rich tapestry of what concerns and inspires them.   Their taking time and effort to reach out to me is never to be underestimated.  At times we may have nothing to say, but such links and posts are just a valued way to keep in touch.

At the same time, have I sent to many Whats App messages, posted unnecessary photos or videos and spent more time on screen instead of doing other things?

It can be disappointing and sad that on the other hand, despite more effective ways of communicating in this technologically more advanced world, the world can witness less hellos, less reaching out, more scamming and more silence in varying levels of personal interaction.
Only messaging text adds more burden to the eyes, loss of social verbal skills and over use of light emitting screens. 

Social media in the worst criticism can be dominated by relentless flouting of divisive views that refuse to compromise,
dodgy video clips that may contain intrusive viruses and signs of personal boredom.  The beast can be addictive, all consuming and trivial in the end - we have to be mindful of this.

The sole reliance on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Tik Tok posts assumes everyone else spends time to check your posts.   The cyberspace can be full  of overloaded data like the debris circulating over Planet Earth.  Something can be amiss if one has not spoken to a Facebook contact in years - it can be obvious.  Individual brains can be transformed by the daily use of clicks, deletes and scrolling on a screen - are we becoming less patient, getting more sucked in on our stubborn beliefs and feeding on a dangerous addiction?

Getting connected in person is a different dish from broadcasting on Facebook, Tik Tok video clips or WhatsApp chat groups.

Apart from the agendas of obvious influencers social media mechanisms are often utilised by many to be a record of personal and family lives.  This virtual record is now dependent on wifi and external parties, instead of just the retro but independent photo album.  Many contacts can just be not interested in your personal or family records.  Those who truly are interested in you usually keep in touch in varied other ways.

Time is a personal asset that can never be replaced.   When someone offers you that, it is priceless.  Never take for granted when someone uses time, energy and interest to keep directly in touch.  Their time is an opportunity cost which can otherwise be used for their own personal development in their continuing journey of life.

#yongkevthoughts

Wheels of Change

 

The wheels of change keep on turning, even for simple routines in daily life.

There is no longer the past pleasure of visiting newsagents in Australia.  The quality and variety of print has reduced, with persistant rise in prices.  Such outlets still arw shelves for stationary - although they still sell greeting cards, that again is a shrinking industry.  Many newsagents now serve Australia Post functions in banking services.  Many customers tend to be older and visit the newsagent for lotto purchases and claims.
Newsagents can now be flooded with souvenirs and be collecting centres for dry cleaning.

Supermarkets sell insurance on site or online.   Their aisles are domimated by processed food with a common emphasis on high sugar, salt and preservative levels - and there are those confusing stickers on prices.  They are coralling us to self checkouts while not fully believing our integrity to do the right thing to properly pay.  We provide the revenue for their executives and shareholders - and yet are disrespected and mistrusted.

Who watches television any more?
Owners of such media fill up their propanganda and agenda to bombard our minds and sensitivities, instead of providing us with more balanced menus.
The alternatives can be no better.  Advertisements illustrate the reality that there is no such thing as a free lunch.  Streaming services force us to
lap up commercials - and even the creativity of ads has gone down in standards.

Politics in any society these days can reek of the dearth in leadership, uniqueness and care for the public.  It is obvious a lot of taxpayer funds are used for more selfish purposes than for what ideal principles call for. Parliamentarians reveal more of their streaks in self preservation, self entitlement and egoistic drives.  The use of increased political labels confuses the ordinary voter of what each political party stands for.  Politics can be hijacked by powerful foreign agents to serve overseas demands rather than to have governments "by the people, for the people and through the people".

Political correctness in various forms can also be manipulated by niche groups to reinforce emotion, support and wins for themselves, rather than for the general good of society.  Individuals and groups who are most vocal can shout down the other viable needs of others.  Those who choose to remain silent or not participate can truly lose out.   The so called democratic way of politics can be hijacked by non democratic forces.  The system of majority decisions to enforce questionable measures for a country assumes that every voter is informed, intelligent and rational - when the reality is not.

Corporate and institutional misbehaviour is not sufficiently punished.  Deterrants are miniscule in personal or financial implications for breachers, offenders and recalcitrants, when compared to the illegal rewards. Compliance policies and standards are increasingly  meant for show and not implementation.  Offenders know that in practice their existence is dependent only on a narrow band of key support - and they can really point their nose to the rest.

There definitely has been a spike in our expectations.  Food, products and other consumables are delivered so fast.  We no longer pour over traditional sources of knowledge or research but tend to rely on software, AI and digital systems to add to our personal knowledge. There is a corresponding loss in the value of patience. 

As the population increases, supply and logistics crumble under reinforced demands for services in many areas. 
Where aging infrastructure has not been improved, renewed or rebuilt, weak points develop but often ignored or denied by the authorities. 

Thank goodness, Nature still assures us in the cycle of growth, bloom and renewal. Most dogs have not changed their personalities and penchant to connect positively with our human needs.  When there is rain, sunshine will follow.  Colours still appear in hues and intensity wgen day changes to night - and vice versa.

#yongkevthoughts