One of the points about the 4 universal purposes of a man is "to tend the culture"... Think it's mentioned in Genesis or somewhere that speaks abt being a blessing to the nations.
Then read this verse "The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honoured among men."
Imagine gangsters and mafia-dons and triad bosses strutting about...
imagine rapists, molesters and murders...
imagine cunning politicians who seek only their own benefits
imagine irresponsible fathers and husbands..
when we honour these kinds of character traits by glorifying them in media as the 'anti-heroes'...
when we dishonour those who "gave their lives that this nation may live..." by not mentioning them...
when we dishonour the soldier who died to protect the innocent civilians...
when we dishonour the policeman who took a bullet to the head...
when we dishonour the politician of integrity who refused to accept a bribe...
when we dishonour the father who deliberately takes a lower-paying job in order to spend time with his family...
when we dishonour the celebrity who chooses to live rightly... and even when he stumbles, he confesses and asks for forgiveness from the very ones that he hurt...
true, not everything is black and white... they say that one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist...
but when we dishonour good government by discontented grumbling and complaining...
(though pointing out what government needs to be accountable for, yes, i believe that's one responsibility of the media...)
just some thots.
Maybe that's why I love Jack Neo's movies... the triumph of the underdogs... the empathy of the sufferers...
"Liang Po Po", "Money No Enough", "I Not Stupid 1 and 2"
:) want to watch Helen haha... i love foxes haha... :) anything that looks doggy, I lurrrvvvveee... hahaha... =)
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That's why I love stories. Like the author who wrote "The Young Man in the Mirror" said, "Stories are what holds cultures together. They serve as the glue, the ligaments."
And he goes on to say, "They aim to provide a system, a plausible world-view to hold all our experiences together, to help us make sense of the world's experiences that we have."
A few days ago, Jitsy, Bowen and I were in the cab, taking a ride back home. And we ended up talking (excitedly) about CS Lewis' Narnia series. Bo said, "I really love to read Narnia again and again..."
Same here! Haha...
But why are CS Lewis' books so enchanting? I could read Narnia again and again (well, I have), and again and again I am transported back into the world of the Pevensie siblings like never before. I feel Aslan's mane and the breath of his voice as he encourages them, and I feel the sense of hopelessness and fear as I witness King Trillian fight the Last Battle...
I've read Enid Blyton's books (ha, flights of fancies, I really do love reading them...) and James Herriot's enthralling books about the animals...
But as I grow older, the books that I remember more and more fondly "I am David" (Anne Holmes), "The Six Bad Boys" (Enid Blyton), "The Big Friendly Giant" (Roald Dahl), "The Chronicles of Narnia" (CS Lewis)...
Why ah? Maybe, to go back to the point that I was talking about, these stories do not do away with the problem of pain. They don't dimiss the reality of the sufferings; on the contrary, they face the full brunt of it.
But the key difference between these and other stories that one might read would be that they have a message:
"Suffering is real, pain is real. But it is possible to face them fully, AND go through them fully AND overcome fully."
I think this is one message that we'll need to give to our children, and their children in the days to come.
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