ex-clusivity

Haven't given much attention to the news ever since work started, so yeah, the General elections were an eye-opener, but absolutely no clue about the upcoming Presidential elections. Something I don't like about the media (and ironically, social media): its limited scope - it cannot possibly capture the feelings of the mass majority, yet so much weightage is given to what is published. Inevitably, the loudest voice gets heard, not necessarily the wisest or the more representative.

Just watched American History X again. Dunno, some days you just feel prepared to take on the violent stuff you know? (As evident, movies like this just give me sleepless nights...)

So, 0236 hours. What am I thinking... Well, it doesn't take much for us to hate. Us, as in, any human. It doesn't even matter if we really went through stuff, like how the main characters' father got murdered. All it takes is for us to get the perception that we were wronged, our rights were withheld or stolen, that we are victims of circumstance, for it to colour our view about the actions, words and motivations of other people. That's all it takes.

Therefore, taking the advice of a lead actor in the movie, to quote someone (who quoted someone else):

"So I guess this is where I tell you what I learned - my conclusion, right? Well, my conclusion is: Hate is baggage. Life's too short to be pissed off all the time. It's just not worth it. Derek says it's always good to end a paper with a quote. He says someone else has already said it best. So if you can't top it, steal from them and go out strong. So I picked a guy I thought you'd like. 'We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.'"
- Daniel Vinyard, played by Edward Furlong

The 'better angels of our nature' do not calculate, nor practice exclusivity or subtle preferences for their own kind. There isn't a need for a defined 'others' for us to feel secure about ourselves. There isn't a need for us to attain a certain level of education or wealth, before we feel that we can dole out common generosity, courtesy, respect and compassion on other people. This truth stands, that to judge others with the same yard stick as we judge ourselves, is to live up to the standards of the 'justice' and 'fairness' that a lot of people are and have been calling out for these past months. That is fairness - making a clamor to secure benefits for yourself at the expense of others, isn't.