Wednesday, March 23, 2005

What has a concert gotta do with morality?

So the Force of Nature concert was a blast! I finally got to meet the Backstreet Boys, my idol during my teenage years. When I'm in a big event like this, I like to observe the people around me. Who came, who wore what and who was caught doing what. Doesn't that makes me a 'kaypoh'?! In English that means busybody :P

I got off work from a typical government office, with all the tudong-wearing ladies and went to a stadium full with young Malay chicks clad in tight baby-Ts, mostly very pretty. And then I wonder, wahh.. so this is how many other rich Malays wear. Where do they come from? Who are their parents? Do these rich Malay youngsters think like the holier-than-thou akah from work?

How come Malaysians are so diverse socially speaking? Even within one same race, i.e. Malays, there's different types of Malays. I remember once I had an online friend, half-Malay-half-Chinese, who's born to a very rich father, who wrote superb English, and very well-verse on philosophy and social science, but clueless about the bumiputera policy that is affecting the local tertiary education. :( Surely this Malay boy belongs to the elite class, probably just like all the chicks who came for the FON concert with a VIP ticket or RM500++ worth ticket!

Did you see how groovy they danced standing (while some were still sitting around them)? See how much passion they have for music, how they jumped around ecstaticly. What overwhelmed me most is the number of people who went outside during every break of the concert and puffed away! :( Those young girls included. It was so smokey along the corridor outside, even when lining up at sales counter, you have to hold your breath as the person infront had a burning cigaratte between his fingers, hand behind his back. Many of them were probably still in their school going age, why did the government's "Tak Nak" campaign fell into deaf ears? Maybe its only me who is so naive who doesn't smoke and dont even think of trying. Now I see the relevance of needing a No-Smoking campaign targetted at youths through the media. Anyway, from that night concert, I felt that the campaign will never be effective, although for a good cause.

Can I simply judge the moral decline among youths in our society just by going for one concert? Who am I to judge another person, in the aspect of upholding morality. How important is practising morality in a society especially for the youths? How can I say that smoking equate lesser moral? That could turn me into the same category as my office holier-than-thou akah, trying to preach goodness to other people.

Why did I go to the concert in the first place?! Well it's an eye-opener of course, to see and observe the people around us. I guess I too behaved like one of the Malay chicks by screaming and yelling until I almost lost my voice that night, prancing around. Was that a problem?! Maybe its like an individual expression of some sort. Every youth now seem to has a stand, always having a a voice to say what they want. I believe in allowing every single youth freedom of expression, through using intelligence and logic to connect themselves with this world.

When relating to that, do we give total freedom for youths of today without any form of control or discipline? Where do we draw the line between enforcing abiding moral code of conducts and allowing complete freedom for individual expression? How far do we want to see the discipline and morality of youths decline (in the eyes of those holier-than-thou old fashion people) or we never give a stop to individual expression. A naughty but smart kid can earn lots more money than a boring kid. Observers may conclude that a naughty kid can be linked to creativity and think-out-of-the-box, but the average child might not think as big.

How do we see the future of Malaysia with the set of youths that we have nurtured today. Who is to judge that Malaysia is going on the right or wrong track with social etiquette, and is it even a relevent question for our country's overall progression? How important is morality for the country, and how much emphasis should be given to this matter?

If only I can change and manipulate the country into what I want, with my own hands!!

1 comment:

Nee Sern said...

Actually I've also had this thought before. Who am I to condemn cigarette smoking? Wouldn't it be hypocritical of me to advocate freedom of expression, and at the same time expect people to conform to my expectations of the "norm"?

But that is the balance that comes into play. A strict totalitarian society will be opressed into submission, rigidly following the ruling authority without question for fear of overstepping legal boundaries. A purely utopian state advocates absolute freedom of expression for all individuals.

Malaysia is actually smack in the middle, but slowly going toward utopia. Both extreme states are equally impossible to govern. The balance must be sought after.