What Do I Love about My Country?

Out of the blue, I was asked.
This question caught me off guard.
No really!
Seriously!!

Ask yourself, when was the last time someone asked you this question in earnest without any hint of sarcasm, & is serious in obtaining a genuine answer. Aaaand with that said, the questioner receives a genuinely thought-out answer; not those overly disseminated, used & reused answers which possess themes of diversity / unity / harmony / peace / even FOOD!

A far cry from the typical mamak sessions whereby everyone takes turns to poke at the existing holes of the system and enlist creativity and serious thought merely to generate banter for the benefit of the group's funny bone. Sound familiar?

Well it should, one of Malaysia's most favourite pastime (after the eating of wonderful local food) is after all, complaining / "discussing" politics. Just read the papers, travel around the blogosphere & yum cha every night with different groups of friends for a week, you'll get the idea.

At this point, somewhere I think some people might go:

"Girly, you outta your mind? Have you got your head int he clouds? Where's this going? Are you trying to rally us into some mood of idealistic patriotism & let bygones be? You sure you're talking bout Malaysia here? Coz we got some crazy sh*t going on down here that "What do I love about my country?" ain't gonna remedy. In any case, what's there to love, huh?"

In being asked the question which really is at present time, the "butt of all jokes", I too, couldn't think of anything else to love about Malaysia other than the wonderful array of Malaysian Food, my friends & family, & the fact that my Home IS Malaysia.

Here was my initial thought: "With all that is taking place such as the ever changing education system, the dubious political plays, infringement of human rights of both Malaysians & Non-Malaysians, lack of protection or preservation of our available resources from homegrown skills to flora and fauna, the widespread intolerance and so on so forth...besides those aspects aforementioned, it really is difficult to add onto the list."

But then, the questioner persists:

"Imagine that you've left Malaysia and now reside elsewhere.What would you look back and say,
This ( fill in the blank ) is what I love about my country."

With this new angle in mind, here is my answer.

My answer is a narcissistic one.
For if there is one more thing which I can cite that I love about my country, is that it has molded and shaped me into the person whom I am today. Corny or cheesy as it may seem, Malaysia has taught me many lessons of which some I had witnessed with my own eyes, some absorbed through osmosis by living here, and some through learning about the history which shrouds the country of which I know as my only home.

Some harsher lessons learnt have touched upon topics such as intolerance, ignorance, insensitivity, rejection, rigidity, moral policing, religion regulations, uniformity, inequality, totalitarianism, lies, discrimination, unfairness, injustice and hate.

For what's worth of these lessons, is that they showed me that there are always two sides to a coin. For with every view, there is always an opposing, with the most important point of focus being to fight untruths with truths; rather than to fear dissent and pummeling it into oblivion. Keeping in mind of the blacks and whites of an argument, I looked only to find that certain truths lie within grey areas; while additionally, when placed in various specific circumstances, that same truth can appear in all three shades of black, white and gray.

It is also inevitable it seems, that sometimes our own personal truths may not agree with other people's truths. Here, I learned that I need not have others share my view, in order for me to accept that their views differ from mine. So long as I or anyone does not infringe upon the rights of other persons or act outside jurisdiction or law, the right to hold onto my views and act upon them is mine and mine alone, with the same being for anyone else.

With that said, it has also been brought to my attention, that not all views accepted by majority and espoused by them are necessarily the real truths of the world. This includes social and cultural norms, religiousity, and even the laws and regulations set by higher leveled authorities. From this, I have learned the importance of being able to review and analyze the views I have been provided with, before using logic, reason and intellect to derive my own understanding and decide my own views.

Last but not least, I have also learned that I am not perfect, will never be, and that it's A-Okay! However the lesson here I learnt is that learning is a lifelong and ongoing process of which I should not fear out of the need to be within familiar comfort zones. But learn to accept with courage and challenge myself into striving for greater heights and to not fear my own goals, dreams and desires.

For when I dare to seek to be the individual of which I truly desire to be (without causing harm onto others or myself), rather than the "me" of which I am expected to be by others, therein lies the difference between SURVIVING and LIVING.

With Living, it is a fact of life that nothing shall come to pass without due effort. Hence, for all the reasons of which I couldn't find to love my country with, I then ask myself:

"What had / have/ will / shall I do today to change that?"