a week of remembrance (and reflection).
sunday morning i suppose not many of us realize the significance of the week that just passed. on thursday, it was the 20th anniversary of the tiananmen square protests of 1989. on saturday, the 65th anniversary of world war two's now famous d-day landings.
perhaps we are too young to know what happened but i am sure history will tell us something about the significance of each. the former, a tragic end and testament to the ruthlessness and brutality of the chinese communist government then, in the wake of protests and calls for change and even the desire for democracy. the latter, the unimaginable loss of lives for freedom and liberation. all ideals we take for granted in our daily lives.
we live in a world now where most things we need is almost a guarantee, put in some effort and we are more or less safe, for the day at least. things were so much different then.
history speaks of how a certain person wanted to rid the world of jews and form europe as we know of today, in his own image. his 1000-year rule that was to last a mere 4 years. while the reasons for world war two are many, some pointing to expansionism, racisim, isolationism and facisim, perhaps it is more than likely that it was a combination of all, and then some.
most would agree that the d-day landings marked the turning point in the war in europe. it started off with paradrops in the nights leading up to the 4th. pathfinders and scouts going in early to mark out landing sites and such; the lesser known story of what is known as operation overlord. as depicted in films like "saving private ryan" and games like call of duty or medal of honor, the landings were nothing short of carnage and a nightmare scene of dead bodies. bullet-riddled bodies filled the chanel that the vast armada of ships had just crossed.
war. whether we like it or not, is sometimes necessary. the ideals for which we believe in, those that we live our lives by, stand as nothing more than our perception and everyone else's judgment on what is right and wrong, what is acceptable and what is not. the fundamental similarity is that we all fight for what we believe in. the methods which we employ will differ but therein lies the similarity of us all - the drive to fight for what we believe in.
tiananmen was one such example. while the protesters did not fight per se, they did stand up (literally) for what they believed in and that was for a reform of governance. they believed that the governement then was corrupt, that socialism instead of communism was the way of the future. from what became an organized and daily routine of marching from the various colleges and universities to the square, turned to a sit-in hunger strike that struck a chord with the masses. the protesters, all students, had the momentum in their favor. the general public began to rally around their cause after deciding that the protesters were looking out not just for themselves but also for the entire population.
the movement was not just contained within beijing. countless other cities around china had student-led protests going on. some time after, the government then decided that the use of force was needed to disperse the protesters and restore order. martial law followed and eventually, 2 armies (each having 4 divisions under its command), moved to secure beijing. starting on the night of the 3rd, soldiers with armour support started to clear the streets one after another eventually clearing the square by 6 in the morning on the 4th. perhaps the most poignant and recognized image of the suppression of the protest was that of a lone man in front of a column of tanks.
20 years on, china's youth is no more willing to abide by the rules than the generation before them. the difference? they now know not to make their displeasure public, choosing instead to keep things underground and utilizing the internet as a form of outlet. how much the governance has changed is not for me to say but one can only look at the development and growth of china and ponder the difference should the reformists had gotten what they wanted.
though i am no expert on either events, reading up on them serves only to remind me of the joys of life that we have all come to take for granted. the lives we lead these days are lives of sheltered and spoilt children. true, i should not generalize but think about it for a moment. i may or may not be wrong but it still is good to reflect upon our lives once in a while.
as far as what i said about wars being necessary, i must first state that i am no war-monger. i write that statement with a different meaning and a somewhat warped rationale that i'm sure many will not agree with and that is perhaps the sufferings of war will allow us all to better understand ourselves, the pain that our forefathers went through, the hardships that we have not known and perhaps wish not to know.
it is the same as how some of my friends and i get very frustrated with wimpy soldiers in the army. complaining about how the sun is too hot, how the mud is so dirty, how we all smell bad out during exercise. we have become too reliant on things other than the simplest in our lives. whatever happened to being able to appreciate the very fact that we come home every weekend to a family, food on the table, television to watch, internet to surf and friends to hang out with?
is it so difficult to once in a while, take a step back, breathe and enjoy the fresh air in the early morn instead of the mechanical smell of recycled air in an air-conditioned place?
society as a whole, has forgotten about the lessons that we can and should learn from the past. no single country is perfect, no society in this world can claim to be superior to another. when the end comes for us all, we face the world and look at ourselves, wondering, have we lived our lives as fully as we could have? have we done things that we now regret?
i only hope we never forget history - those of our world, our country, our families and our own. once we forget the past and it's accompanied lessons, we fail to make good on our future.
perhaps we are too young to know what happened but i am sure history will tell us something about the significance of each. the former, a tragic end and testament to the ruthlessness and brutality of the chinese communist government then, in the wake of protests and calls for change and even the desire for democracy. the latter, the unimaginable loss of lives for freedom and liberation. all ideals we take for granted in our daily lives.
we live in a world now where most things we need is almost a guarantee, put in some effort and we are more or less safe, for the day at least. things were so much different then.
history speaks of how a certain person wanted to rid the world of jews and form europe as we know of today, in his own image. his 1000-year rule that was to last a mere 4 years. while the reasons for world war two are many, some pointing to expansionism, racisim, isolationism and facisim, perhaps it is more than likely that it was a combination of all, and then some.
most would agree that the d-day landings marked the turning point in the war in europe. it started off with paradrops in the nights leading up to the 4th. pathfinders and scouts going in early to mark out landing sites and such; the lesser known story of what is known as operation overlord. as depicted in films like "saving private ryan" and games like call of duty or medal of honor, the landings were nothing short of carnage and a nightmare scene of dead bodies. bullet-riddled bodies filled the chanel that the vast armada of ships had just crossed.
war. whether we like it or not, is sometimes necessary. the ideals for which we believe in, those that we live our lives by, stand as nothing more than our perception and everyone else's judgment on what is right and wrong, what is acceptable and what is not. the fundamental similarity is that we all fight for what we believe in. the methods which we employ will differ but therein lies the similarity of us all - the drive to fight for what we believe in.
tiananmen was one such example. while the protesters did not fight per se, they did stand up (literally) for what they believed in and that was for a reform of governance. they believed that the governement then was corrupt, that socialism instead of communism was the way of the future. from what became an organized and daily routine of marching from the various colleges and universities to the square, turned to a sit-in hunger strike that struck a chord with the masses. the protesters, all students, had the momentum in their favor. the general public began to rally around their cause after deciding that the protesters were looking out not just for themselves but also for the entire population.
the movement was not just contained within beijing. countless other cities around china had student-led protests going on. some time after, the government then decided that the use of force was needed to disperse the protesters and restore order. martial law followed and eventually, 2 armies (each having 4 divisions under its command), moved to secure beijing. starting on the night of the 3rd, soldiers with armour support started to clear the streets one after another eventually clearing the square by 6 in the morning on the 4th. perhaps the most poignant and recognized image of the suppression of the protest was that of a lone man in front of a column of tanks.
20 years on, china's youth is no more willing to abide by the rules than the generation before them. the difference? they now know not to make their displeasure public, choosing instead to keep things underground and utilizing the internet as a form of outlet. how much the governance has changed is not for me to say but one can only look at the development and growth of china and ponder the difference should the reformists had gotten what they wanted.
though i am no expert on either events, reading up on them serves only to remind me of the joys of life that we have all come to take for granted. the lives we lead these days are lives of sheltered and spoilt children. true, i should not generalize but think about it for a moment. i may or may not be wrong but it still is good to reflect upon our lives once in a while.
as far as what i said about wars being necessary, i must first state that i am no war-monger. i write that statement with a different meaning and a somewhat warped rationale that i'm sure many will not agree with and that is perhaps the sufferings of war will allow us all to better understand ourselves, the pain that our forefathers went through, the hardships that we have not known and perhaps wish not to know.
it is the same as how some of my friends and i get very frustrated with wimpy soldiers in the army. complaining about how the sun is too hot, how the mud is so dirty, how we all smell bad out during exercise. we have become too reliant on things other than the simplest in our lives. whatever happened to being able to appreciate the very fact that we come home every weekend to a family, food on the table, television to watch, internet to surf and friends to hang out with?
is it so difficult to once in a while, take a step back, breathe and enjoy the fresh air in the early morn instead of the mechanical smell of recycled air in an air-conditioned place?
society as a whole, has forgotten about the lessons that we can and should learn from the past. no single country is perfect, no society in this world can claim to be superior to another. when the end comes for us all, we face the world and look at ourselves, wondering, have we lived our lives as fully as we could have? have we done things that we now regret?
i only hope we never forget history - those of our world, our country, our families and our own. once we forget the past and it's accompanied lessons, we fail to make good on our future.
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