Mungkinkah ini tandanya cinta.. Ataukah perasaanku saja…

I love a bit of Vina Panduwinata on a sunny day.

Last night I met a couple of people who genuinely believed in the invisible hand of the market. Needless to say, my reaction was not unlike this:

They were vegetarians who tried on several occasions to convince others among us that it is inhumane to kill animals in front of other animals, or something to that end. It’s immoral to inflict ‘fear’ on animals, so it was argued. So we have to consider the feelings of animals, but if people are poor and living below the poverty line, then that’s ‘just life’. I think people who believe in trickle-down economies are genuinely delusional. I, apparently, am just ‘jealous’ of millionaires and only want them to be taxed highly because I envy their wealth. I doubt the vague possibility that I could value human life (and human quality of life) over money even crossed their mind. The free market is a man-made concept. I am unconvinced that any man-made system could ever be perfect or bias-free. I think in many sectors it works in favour of large businesses which dominate the market and thus make it difficult to penetrate or it at least creates a glass ceiling above which smaller-time traders cannot pass.

People who believe in minimal tax bug me too. The fact that you can afford private healthcare and private education for your children does not mean that everyone can. To believe that everyone has the same opportunities is just short-sighted.

It annoys me somewhat when people base their political opinions on individual and parochial observations they make of people around them. Just because so-and-so is a ‘waste of space’ single mum who commits benefit fraud, it does not mean that all of the tax you pay goes into funding benefit cheats.

Enough ranting. It’s not like someone’s political views make me think they’re bad people. But sometimes, when you think about the way someone perceives society on the whole, you gain a valuable insight into their attitudes towards more personal relationships.

Aaaand that’s it. I must attack my room; it is a mess.