'Man's actions are usually fuelled by fear or greed.' Is this a fair comment?
There is bound to be an underlying reason in everything we do. Humans are equipped with the ability to think and analyse. I believe every normal, sane human being would usually think before he or she acts. There may be various causes to Man's actions, however, I think it is fair to say that their actions are usually fuelled by fear or greed. I understand that there are other causes, but if you take these reasons apart and analyse them properly, most of it still boil down to the two primary causes : fear and greed.
Firstly, Man's actions are mostly influenced by the things on-going around them. They see the situation they are in, assume the worst possible case and take the safest route because of their fear of the worst outcome. In Singapore, for example, bullying in school is an increasingly worrying issue. Students are being bullied, and yet they do not report to the authorities -- fear of being further traumatised by the bullies. The bullies are also victims. They fear not being accepted by their clique of friends and are often insecure. On an international scale, the actions of Man can be seen to be done in the name of fear and greed. Take the case of the United States of America being unwilling to sign the Kyoto Protocol. THey fear it would affect their industries and economy. Out of greed for higher profits, they refused to protect the environment.
However, some might argue that the actions of Man are spurred by the possession of their own noble dreams or aspirations ;and not of trival reasons like fear or greed. True, I agree that we humans do do things in the name of wanting to get into the best university, getting a good job, enjoying a comfortable life or whichever one's dreams are. We work hard, toil day and night, just to achieve what we want. Yet in some cases, it can be quite apparent that having these dreams stems from the fear of lagging behind everyone else. If one traces the root of desiring a good life, it comes from the fear of struggling with financial problems in future. Likewise with the rapid globalisation and modernisation ongoing with the world out there. Everyone is improving their countries' infrastructure, producing skilled labour... Out of fear of being stranded in the middle of nowhere, out of greed of wanting to increase profits. Therefore, it might be true that some of us really do things for our dreams and aspirations, but take note that most of the dreams and aspirations stem from fear or greed as well (if we were to trace the underling forces that fuel our actions).
On the other hand, one would say that, sometimes a person has no choice but to act in a certain way. Or that, their actions are based on others' expectations. Often, you would find students saying they are studying because their parents are expecting them to top the class and they do not want to disappoint their parents. In Singapore, most students work hard to get good grades, because they do not want to enter the EM3 or normal technical stream in school.This is expected of them by their family and society. Society ostracise those who are slower in their studies and label them as 'stupid' or 'worthless'. Another example would be Indonesia. Tree logging and burning of precious forests are a daily affair. The government knows it would be disastrous if this persists, yet cannot afford to do anything about it. This is attributed to the fact that the burning and logging are done by multinational companies (MNCs) and they contribute the most to the country's economy. Yet, if one stops to think about it, it is not because they have no choice nor they have to live up to others' expectations. All these are done in fear. Fear that the society might not accept them or a vast majority of the people might be affected if the MNCs leave the country, and the country's economy would suffer.
On the flip side, not all Man's actions are fuelled by fear or greed. In fact, they are done in the name of love and care! People volunteer on a regular basis at hospitals, old folks' / children's homes, Red Cross Society and the Salvation Army. They truly feel that the people who are less well-off and sincerely want to help them. This is also evident by how fast the whole world responded to calls of help from Indonesia after the tsunami hit them on December 2004. Countries sent food and supplies over, providing manpower to restore the place and most importantly, providing financial aid to help in the restoration. Donations came from all corners of the globe and the whole world united together to do what they could, to help Indonesia tide over this crisis.
We are also sentient beings. We could feel for each other and provide care and concern. Often, we ask after our friends and family. This concern definitely does not come from fear or greed, but genuine love and care. I believe that most of us sincerely want the best for our family and would protect them from harm.
Some of us might also do things in the name of our religion. This is shown by how women in Muslim countries are to dress conservatively or how the Catholics do not believe in abortion as it is akin to murder. The controversial case of doing things because of religion would be terrorism. It may be a misinterpretation of religious scripts, but it still is because of religion. However, if one examines closely, most of them are doing these things or following these rules out of fear of their God, or being ostracised and punished by the society they live in.
All in all, there is a multiplicity of reasons, on a superficial level, as to why people act in certain ways. Things might be done in the name of God, for the sake of pursuing their dreams and aspirations or simply because they face no other choices. Yet, all these boil down to two far simpler reasons: fear and greed. it is comforting to know that there are things done out of love and care. However, with the way society has evolved today, I feel that it is quite fair to say that Man's actions are usually fuelled by fear or greed.
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Heh!! The above is the most recent GP essay i wrote in class. And it got 33/50! *glee! Usually, i fail my GP essays. Cuz my arguements are too superficial. But hey, i thought i was writing a load of bullshit this time round, and i got such a good pass! =D So of cuz must type it up here to hao lian la! Lols. =D Though i (and most others) think that he marked rather leniently this time round, as most of us who always fails, passed.
Prelims coming damn soon. Next wednesday would be the first paper - GP. =S And from tomorrow onwards, no school! Tomorrow is a holiday, since our school was supposed to have a holiday due to polling day. And they postponed it to tomorrow. Saturday gonna go back school for extra lessons, and after which is study leave. Must. Mug. HARD.
I really miss the raspberry fraupuccino ice blended tea from starbucks!
*Simon Reynolds Better than Chocolate: 50 Proven Ways To Feel Happier *Mandy Sayer Velocity: A Memoir *Koren Zailckas Smashed - Growing Up A Drunk Girl *Neil Gaiman Smoke and Mirrors *Richard Lederer The Cunning Linguist *Nelly Arcan Whore *Kathy Lette How to Kill Your Husband (& other handy household hints) *Jodi Picoult Plain Truth *Lionel Shriver We Need to Talk About Kevin *Lionel Shriver Double Fault *James Frey My Friend Leonard *Jeffery Archer A Prison Diary. Vol I - Belmarsh: Hell. Vol II - Wayland: Purgatory. Vol III - Heaven
1. Many people often mis-spell or mis-pronounce my name.
2. I am 159cm tall. Stop laughing.
3. I have a typical Leo character. Big ego, feisty etc.
4. I am a narcissist aka a camwhore.
5. I am loud. Very.
6. I have my occasional regular bouts of depression.
7. I am a born bookworm and mugger.
8. My favourite colour is purple!
9. I am ailurophobic.
10. I am very indecisive.
11. I have this bad habit of not separating numbers before nouns when i blog.
12. I like to whistle.
13. I have grammar and subject-verb agreement problems.
14. I like to dance, though i cannot really.
15. I am a day-dreamer, even at night.
16. I can talk about anything all day long.
17. I am a crapper. *see above
18. I am always sneezing.
19. I am a hopeless romantic.
20. I sing out of tune all the time.
21. I am very wild.
22. My facade is cute! ^0^
23. I am a half-good, half-bad person.
24. I am selfish.
25. I am a girl, albeit a tomboy.
26. I look better in photos. ^-^
27. I am very impatient.
28. I cannot tolerate people acting stupid / clever.
29. I am very bossy at times.
30. I cannot bear the thought of eating alone.
31. I like jogging. ^.^
32. I want to learn the piano. Practically crazy 'bout it.
33. My daily sleeping hours can be counted on 1 hand.
34. I am old ; aching everywhere. 35. I seldom worry about BIG stuff like the sky falling on me.
36. I worry about nitty gritty things. 37. I can't follow.
38. I am very ambitious.
39. And sadistic.
40. I have an addiction : cute guys. 41. I write cliche poems.
42. I love myself.
43. Addiction #2 : Shopping and spending money.
44. I have a wish : To shit everyday.
45. I like to scream.
46. I do not like to lose my voice.
47. I wish i could scream and not lose my voice.
48. I am very (self) contradictory.
49. I am neurotic about arrangement of things in my life.
50. I arrange things alphabetically, by colours or shapes.
51. People complaining about high dental costs irk me off.
52. I love to eat bread.
53. I can play the guzheng.
54. I write better than i speak.
55. I speak badly incoherently.
56. I almost always never finishes my sentences.
57. I experienced full fledged jealousy at age of 17.
58. I am always thinking of the worst possible case.
59. I dare not hope to hope.
60. I am usually in a pensive mood.
61. Hm. Horny. Me? Hmm..
62. I have a high sex drive. =D
63. I love dirty jokes.
64. And normally could get them immediately.
65. I am very reckless and often run headlong into brewing trouble.
66. I get very nervous when i have to do a presentation regarding physics.
67. I love to clean my ears, even when it's cleaned. HAHA.
68. I snore when i sleep. *snorts.
69. This is my favourite number. =)
70. I want to be a person without yeast ; to breathe and grow on my own.
71. I dream of fame and recognition on alternate days.
72. I panick about national exams (read: A level) every other day.
73. I have got a very big sweet tooth.
74. I love with all my heart possible.
75. I am an attention-seeking bitch.
76. I am quite a social creature.
77. Yet, i love the quiet moments with my book and chocolate cake in hand.
78. I am crazy.
79. I have an extremely bad sense of direction.
80. I can type fast. =D
81. I have a runaway nose most of the time.
82. I have a big hip which is disproportionate on my body.
83. I am hopeless with directions.
84. I am always blog-hopping.
85. I have a passion for languages.
86. And huge interest in sciences.