twist-irony-surprises

Sunday, August 26, 2007

What 50 years of indepence means to me.

Often after Lit class and its Asia Vs Western debate, I would wonder if we, Asians would stop over worshiping their cultures. I can't deny that I have been westernised to a certain extent but I can't help it, in fact not many Asians could escape this influence due to colonisation, easy excess to media mass and other expansionary tools.

In fact, we can't help but succumb to the standards that the westerners put upon us. To their standards, we are a still a 3rd world country and according to them we still live on trees. We surrender to their mind washing ideologies and that they are the super powers of the world.

What ever happened to our most prized dynasty and trade power? The Asian countries used to be looked upon as the richest region of the world as we are the main supplier to the western countries, ranging from necessities such as spices and tea to luxurious items such as silk, gold, and jewels.

We were the trading super powers especially in India and China. Did we also forget that our country used to be a flourishing trading spot and that we used to have a strong empire and influential rulers? We tend to forget our strengths and our worth easily, and that we don't hesitate to admire the west. We youth often say we should be more like the Europeans or we should be more like the Americans, but whatever happened to appreciate our traditions and cultures?

I believe it is okay to look to the west for the sake of advancement, but like Miss C say, why do we look at the westerners as a benchmark? Why don't we look back to our history and try to reenact our glory days? To me it is okay to admire, but aren't we over worshiping them when we try to disavow our beliefs and cultures just because the Westerners can't comprehend them or find them ridiculous?

But I think everything is changing now. Countries such as India, China and Malaysia are regaining our glory days through our economy. We are young boomers and this is particularly not new to us- to be a wealthy and powerful nation because we've had it once and it's coming back to us again, slowly. This is what 50 years of independence means to me ; to be able to shake off the power of colonisation and becoming the striving nation that we used to be before the westerners cast their shadows over us.

by Zephyr at 8:06 AM |