Today's post will be on logic and reading the news.
Critical thinking skills is one of the subjects I take at school, and having good general knowledge is quite a big advantage. I admit that my level of general knowledge is not satisfactory; therefore I am now aiming to read the news on the BBC website everyday.
Technically, I'm supposed to be at Japanese class now but there's an Elluminate live Chemistry class again tonight. Speaking of the Japanese, my dad just hit me with a piece of news:
"Hey, you'd better watch this documentary. You know what it's about? It's about WWII, when the Japanese raped and killed Korean women and other citizens. Then you'll see what's so damn great about your Japanese. "
To which my mother added (oil to fire) : "Trust me, you won't even like Japan after this."
If you are Japanese and you happen to be reading this far, I apologise.
It's true that they have performed devastating and torturous acts. My great-grandfather was one of those who was snatched away during the war one night, and never returned. Gone. And of course, the rape of Nanjing. The invasion of Manchuria, Malaysia, bombing of Pearl Harbour.
And yet, I like Japan. I will gladly eat Japanese food, watch anime, draw manga-style. I find it interesting, just like how you'd find a different culture interesting. I actually bothered to learn Japanese.
Well, the best I can do to defend myself is to say that my interest in Japan focuses more on their language, culture, and tradition, and is somewhat anthropological, instead of their part in the wars, and the killings.
Wouldn't it be illogical then, if I still say this even though I know what they have done?
The best answer I can come up with is this: I'm optimistic. And I'm thankful, for being born into this time period of the 2000s, instead of right into WWII. Remember, it wasn't just the Japanese; there were the Nazis too. At least today, we are more civilised compared to the people of yesteryear (by my reckoning).
I'm optimistic that overall, we will be better off as a human race then we once were. Still, I acknowledge that there are still many problems in this world of ours, still many things that need to be sorted out. Reading the news gives you a shot of reality, but it certainly doesn't do much for optimism.
I don't know what you think, but I would not want to harbour hate towards Japan. I find it tiring, a waste of energy. Yet I'm not stripping off my emotions; I just don't want to find reasons to hate people anymore. I think that after 6 decades, we should've all learnt a lesson from the war already. What has happened has happened, and the only thing we can change, is NOW. The present.
http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_reality_tests/
I'm going to read and read the article on top. I think you should too. We have actually come to an age where science has sped up and raised questions which were formerly unknown, or ignored, or simply not been thought of.
This article explores the concept of past, present and future from a quatum science point of view. Apparently, a team of scientists in Vienna have deduced that our 'past' and 'future' are fluid things, and always change. The only thing that ever 'really' exists is the concept of "Now".
They are implying that we do indeed create the environment we live in, just by thinking about it.
I'll post my thoughts on the article either tomorrow or a few days later. Happy reading. Leave some comments if you will. Is my optimism seemingly in contradiction with my logic?
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