The Greed Breeds at Home

I come across this when reading “The Human History of Greed”: -

"When you're taking things that aren't rightfully yours, or entering areas where you are closing off opportunities for others, your ambition has turned into greed," says Pat Harned, president of the Ethics Resource Center, a Washington think tank. "It's a fine line."

When I can say that “GREED” is stamped on the forehead of AIG executives and UM(ph)NO goons, just have a look at our life and you can see that greed breeds in many places, in many forms and it affects us in many ways.

One area that worries me is our education system and family values . Take a listen to this conversation as told to me by a colleague this morning: -

Son : Mom, when can I start voting?

Mom : When you turn 18.

Son : So, who should I vote?

Mom : If you want to ‘hidup senang’, you vote B(e)N(d).

Blimey! I bet her hubby’s account balance depends highly on B(e)N(d) closed tender contracts. I bet he got to be in a premier school because of his father’s connnection and not due to his good performance.

It is even worrisome that our not-so-educated Education Ministry is proposing for teachers to be politically active since that guy from Johore thinks it’s a waste not to capitalise on them. Shish, I wonder what will happen to your kids when the schools turn into mini-BTN, where these innocent souls will be ‘brainwashed’ to accept that life is all about $, $, $.

Too bad, it is too often started at home – thanks to the ever-pleasing parents – as they teach their children that their measurement of love is what they can give them, materially. That’s so shallow, sadly, to see we reward people for wrong reasons and measurements – when love should be spelt as care and devotion, when promotion at works is related to your performance, when people treat you nicely simply because they mean it.

While the People Power’s victory in BG and BS makes me smile from ear to ear since last night, I can’t help but worry that the road to a better Ibu Pertiwi is indeed a long, winding one when the people, yes you out there, still having such distorted mentality.

p.s. Having to dissect the never-ending mights required in raising an innocent child in today’s world, I shall remain child-less till further notice. Never mind stray cats – in my ‘kingdom’, they are all loved – indiscriminately.