The house of idiots

Tomorrow, we'll be celebrating our nation's 50th Independence Day. There'll be plenty of events being lined up for the celebration. Folks from every corner of the nation will be going out in full force to the nation's capital for the celebration.

That means, the roads will be busy, traffic will be a standstill, and public transportation will be packed like sardines.

While all these are going on, I'll be far away in the middle of the jungle, enjoying the calm and beauty of nature. Far from the noises, far from the parades, far from the fireworks. The only thing I expected to see are the monitor lizards ransacking my campsite and the occasional leeches on my breeches. While the only noise I expected to hear are the rhythmic sound of the cascading rivers and the birds greeting me early in the morning.

But that's beside the point.

50 years of independence. Some people have lived that long, and more, and you can ask them about their achievements throughout their life. And I think, as a nation, we have gone a long way since that eventful day in 1957. So much has been achieved, so many developments have taken place.

And as new breeds of generations are welcomed to the nation, old ones faded away, ravaged by the passing of time. The generation gaps expand, and so does the meaning of independence. Younger generations are being lulled into complacency, cocooned by the luxuries and safety provided by their parents, and the generations before them.

They will fly the flag; they will sing the national anthem. And they will flood the celebration grounds and attend the concerts. Not because the feel patriotic when they do so, but because that's what everyone else is doing.

Follow the crowd, right?

We can do a lot of things to instill the spirit of patriotism in their young hearts. The government runs plenty of campaigns for this purpose. In school, kids are taught the history of the nation. However, all these will come to no avail, if the people we elected as our leaders, fail to set a good example.

How can you teach someone the right thing, when you yourself are doing the wrong thing?

Yesterday, the news highlighted the proceeding in the house of idiots. One MP stood up, and urged his fellow idiots to raise their arms and shouted Merdeka! for 7 times. And so they all did, except for a few, who thought they were better off not doing so, and stayed seated. After the farce, a heated argument followed, with one MP accusing the ones who didn't join the show of patriotism as unpatriotic and selfish. An exchange of words followed, more idiots started to join in the bickering, and a few cursed words were exchange.

Bickering. Yes, that was what they did.

The bickered with each other. At least, no chairs or punches were thrown. But fine example they are setting to the watching eyes of the nation. And they called themselves leaders!

This was just a mere example, there were plenty more of bickering that happened throughout the years.

Read more about the farce in this one sided entry.

Happy Independence Day!