masterwordsmith-unplugged

I have been sitting in front of my laptop since 5p.m. trying to write a post. In the process, I had to give up my evening exercise because of my writer's block. To be honest, reading the news and following day to day developments can be most disconcerting and blogging allows me the release of my rants. Besides, the interaction with readers via comments is most inspiring and infuses much hope and inspiration into my soul. So for tonight, I cannot say anything else that I have not said before. Things look bleak but I am still hopeful (some say I am blindly hopeful)that things will get better. As such, I have decided to post an inspirational poem this evening.

One poem which has been a firm favorite during my darker moments is Rudyard Kipling's "IF". It is a poem written in 1896 by the then 31-year-old Rudyard Kipling. "IF" was first published in the "Brother Square Toes" chapter of Rewards and Fairies, Kipling's 1910 collection of short stories and poems.

According to Wikipedia, like William Ernest Henley's "Invictus", it is a memorable evocation of Victorian stoicism and the "stiff upper lip" that popular culture has made into a traditional British virtue. Its status is confirmed both by the number of parodies it has inspired, and by the widespread popularity it still draws amongst Britons (it was voted Britain's favourite poem in a 1995 BBC opinion poll). The poem's line, "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same" is written on the wall of the centre court players' entrance at the British tennis tournament, Wimbledon. The entire poem was read in a promotional video for the Wimbledon 2008 gentleman's final by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

According to Kipling in his autobiography Something of Myself, posthumously published in 1937, the poem was inspired by Dr. Leander Starr Jameson, who in 1895 led a raid by British forces against the Boers in South Africa, subsequently called the Jameson Raid. This defeat increased the tensions that ultimately led to the Second Boer War. The British press, however, portrayed Jameson as a hero in the middle of the disaster, and the actual defeat as a British victory. Here it is - Kipling's "IF".

Whenever I read this poem, I can gain a sense of life's challenges and how one can overcome the doubting Thomas' or those who cannot take responsibility for their own actions. I have used this poem in my literary analysis classes and it is amazing how even teenagers are perceptive to the many lessons we can learn here.

The first eight lines talk about several of life's challenges. People who are unable to accept responsibility for their actions or lack of it will shirk their responsibility on the matter and blame someone else for their misgivings. The poem stresses the importance of accepting one's own responsibility for the choices made; not to play the blame game. We need to look within ourselves for the answers and not allow others to push us down or make us feel small and unworthy of life's good things.

I thought this poem is appropriate for our consideration as it stresses the importance of being true to ourselves and when the doubting Thomas' try to break us down by doubting our abilities, we cannot let such doubts keep us from achieving our goals. However, we have to take note of those who doubt us. Consider their doubts and make improvements or live uprightly to counteract those doubts. Humility is vital.

Whilst we should dare to dream, we cannot allow that dream to control our every waking moment. We have to embrace the dream as our own, without trampling others to achieve that dream. Be triumphant when our dreams are fulfilled, without being a martyr. When disasters occur in life, learn from them; do not ignore the disasters or triumphs in our lives as they both have different effects on life as we know it. Both can destroy and give life. How we interpret that is our choice and how we choose to live will not only affect us, but will affect anything and everything that is near and dear to us.

This poem teaches us that we have to learn to speak the truth and take responsibility for our actions or lack of it that may cause an upset in your life. Do not place blame where it doesn't belong. We make your own choices and placing the blame on others only exacerbates the problem. We cannot learn from bad choices if we constantly blame others for our misgivings. When challenges come our way, embrace them as lessons to be learnt.

When we've been kicked down, get back up and do not by any means allow that kick to destroy our true self. Become stronger and wiser because of those lessons learned. Gather all things that are broken in our life and put them back together again to make it stronger. Strength is in the way we handle the stressful times. Ultimately, we have to live the right way by being true to ourselves and others. If we leave a mark on the world, we will be remembered with kindness and love after we are gone.

Success cannot limit our kindness to others. We should have compassion and empathy for others. While we should walk with the kings, we cannot tread on others to get there. We must not lose ourselves in the materialistic world and not put others down because of their situations. Be generous to others who need our help and not focus solely on our goals in life selfishly without considering how we impact the lives of others.

Do not become oblivious to others' pain and suffering. Be kind and offer them our help. If not, we will be hurting ourselves too. In all things, we have to demonstrate integrity and compassion because it will bring us rewarding outcomes. Be true to ourselves, our loved ones, and anyone else who might cross paths with us.

I believe this poem puts a great emphasis for us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. If we can get through life with all its curves, good or bad, we can be proud of ourselves for tackling problems head on. We must be humble and not brag about our successes or whine about our losses. If we can go without bragging and whining and learn from our mistakes, we will achieve the greatest rewards: to be a man. May our leaders live out the lessons that they can learn from this poem...to be men of honor and valor.

The defection of ANY politician to another party can be regarded as opportunism. Regardless of any sane or logical argument based on any principle if any, the monochromatic interpretation never varies in that it is ALWAYS opportunism and there has been no defection motivated by a noble cause. According to this link, opportunism is the conscious policy and practice of taking selfish advantage of circumstances, with little regard for principles or other people.



I am quite sure pundits and the public alike will agree that defections are never for principle. How many politicians have defected because core beliefs that were at stake? Have you ever heard of an ideological soul of the defector being tortured by the rigid and irrational acts of his former party which led to his defection? Take a look at all those who defected or resigned to be independents. Study their past record, speeches, actions and service record to their constituency.

Honestly, I am bewildered with regards to the absence of decidedly one-dimensional definition of political defection in such circumstances. To me, a claim that one's defection is act of “self-preservation,” can be regarded as plain and simple opportunism.

Currently, it seems that some of the defections/resignations have not been perceived as a big loss to the party in that many view it as a housekeeping exercise to purge the party from dissenters, moles or undesirable characters who had not been enriching the party because they had not been helping to reinvigorate PKR and could have been liabilities if they had remained in the party. The truth is defectors can play havoc with the political system and their defection is nothing but an abuse of the electorate's trust in them as their elected representatives.

We have to recognize that defectors are not innovators. They could be politically savvy but intellectually vacuous individuals who could cause more destruction if they had remained in the party. Any exit by such characters should be viewed as a blessing in disguise.


Instead of viewing it negatively, let us consider the tactical gains that could be generated from it. There could be better quality assemblymen/women amongst those who chose to be loyal to the party. Upon realization of the strong forces working against the party, these MPs could work harder and be more united than before. Also, there could be MORE sympathy votes coming in for PKR/PR in the next election which would be a backlash against unethical defections. I am also certain that leaders would be wiser and more prudent in their selection of candidates for the next GE.

Personally, I hope that the leaders will document an official stand or law against such defections/resignations which cannot be condoned by both sides of the divide. BN MPs must not defect to PR and PR MPs MUST not defect to BN. Anyone who is unhappy should resign as MP and then stand for election again in a by-election as an independent candidate. If the electorate re-elect them, then they have the mandate to serve. If not, then they would have received due and just punishment for the people would have voiced their feelings in a crystal clear manner via the ballot box.

In the light of disturbing trends, political leaders have to lay down the groundwork and build the foundation for this. They should start developing party loyalty based on principles, on core beliefs on those who are seen to be not toeing the line with party policies. They have to grab the bull by its horns and consolidate. They must come face to face with inherent weaknesses and be bold enough to acknowledge these and exorcise them as speedily and effectively as they can.

Right now, many windows of opportunity have been left open. Before any more MPs decide to defect or declare themselves as independents and friendly to whoever, perhaps they should write a 5 000 essay on "Why I Should Put My Country First" and give it to their electorate who voted them into office. I opine that they can only defect if they have the approval and blessing of their electorate and are ready to resign from their seat to be re-elected again in a by-election. If they have no guts to do that, then they might as well leave the political arena and do something else that does not make them accountable to the rakyat!

To defect or not to defect - that is not the question that any elected representative should ask. Instead, they should ask themselves how they can be more effective in their constituency and to their party.

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Do leave a comment if you wish to share your views. I apologise for this delayed post as I had to think through many issues before writing. Thanks for reading. Take care and have a great weekend!

I managed to post my rant about error bX-h905gs but cannot schedule my post ahead of time so I will have to try to schedule this post again or post it later in the morning. I can still publish/respond to comments but I will not be able to edit posts so please forgive me if you see typo/grammatical errors. Thanks for your patience and understanding. Here are some jokes to keep us sane :-). Have a nice day!

UPDATE AT 5.20a.m. What a relief! Blogger has resolved the issue for me! Thank God and thank you Blogger, Google and DarkUFO for your help. Blog is running well now. Phew!!!!
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THE MAGIC FROG

A woman was out golfing one day when she hit her ball into the woods. She went into the woods to look for it and found a frog in a trap. The frog said to her, "If you release me from this trap, I will grant you 3 wishes."

The woman freed the frog and the frog said, "Thank you, but I failed to mention that there was a condition to your wishes-that whatever you wish for, your husband will get 10 times more or better!"

The woman said, "That would be okay," and for her first wish, she wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

The frog warned her, "You do realize that this wish will also make your husband the most handsome man in the world, an Adonis, that women will flock to."

The woman replied, "That will be okay because I will be the most beautiful woman and he will only have eyes for me." So, KAZAM - she's the most beautiful woman in the world!

For her second wish, she wanted to be the richest woman in the world. The frog said, "That will make your husband the richest man in the world and he will be ten times richer than you."

The woman said, "That will be okay because what is mine is his and what is his is mine." So, KAZAM she's the richest woman in the world!

The frog then inquired about her third wish, and she answered, I'd like a mild heart attack."
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Adam's Rib

Adam was walking around the Garden of Eden feeling very lonely, so God asked Adam, "What is wrong with you?"

Adam said, "Lord, I don't have anyone to talk to."

God said, "Then I will give you a companion, and she will be called a 'woman'. This person will cook for you and wash your clothes, she will always agree with every decision you make. She will bear your children and never ask you to get up in the middle of the night to take care of them. She will not nag you, and will always be the first to admit she was wrong when you've had a disagreement. She will never have a headache, and will freely give 'love' and compassion whenever needed. She will never question your behaviour or the company you keep. She will support you and understand that you have important decisions to make throughout your life and don't have time for nonsense..."

Adam asked God, "What will this woman cost?"

God said, "An arm and a leg..."

Adam said, "What can I get for just a rib?"
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The Accident

A woman and man get into a car accident. Both of their cars are totally demolished, but amazingly neither of them is hurt.

After they crawl out of the wreckage, the woman says, "Wow, look at our cars - there's nothing left! Thank God we are all right. This must be a sign from Him that we should be friends and not try to pin the blame on each other."

The man replies, "Oh yes, I agree with you completely."

The woman points to a bottle on the ground and says, "And here's another miracle. Somehow this bottle of Scotch from my back seat didn't break. Surely God wants us to drink this Scotch and celebrate our good fortune."

Then she hands the bottle to the man. The man nods his head in agreement, opens it, and chugs about a third of the bottle to calm his nerves. He then hands it back to the woman. The woman takes the bottle, immediately puts the cap back on, and hands it back to the man.

The man asks, "Aren't you having any?"

The woman replies, "No. I think I'll just wait for the police..."