(continue from previous post)
Terms like the white man's burden, aphateid system, and probably most
of the forms of racial and gender discrimination or even plain abuse
probably have this " 5 cents" mindset rooted in somewhere. Think about
it. The conflict/injustice usually begins when one 50cents coin is
perceived to be worth much more than ten 5 cents coins in the same
currency - in other words, the roles and contributions of certain
parties are intentionally underplayed such that it's value is lower
vis-a-vis what it should've been.
Additionally, this kind of the-worthless-5-cents-coin mentality
probably explains why the turn up rate for elections in a lot of
democracies(with specific reference to the US) is so low. I shall make
a generalization that the reason for most of their no-show is that they
are stuck with the idea of the insignificance of their vote against the
whole sea of voters in the democracy. Although the analogy between
50cents and 5cents coins maybe inapt for us to picture - we probably
need, say, a $5000 note to 100,000 5 cents coins comparison, but the
underlying concept is still very much the same. Your 5cents can make a
difference!
Relationships are like plants. You have to constantly water them to
keep them alive(although I do recognise that there are cactus plants
out there too -- hardy and prickly eh? xD). But how often have we
fallen victim for the fallacy of one-50cents-coin-over-ten-5cents-coins
worth of 'watering'? I admit that the definition of friendship may hold
different meanings for different people, but to me, it means a lot to
me that both parties mutually care about each other and pay due
attention to the little things. For instance, being around when I
really need you, for all things big or small, is certainly worth more
than any expensive gifts that I might receive from you once in a while
as a token of our 'friendship'.(Although that doesn't mean I'll turn
them down^^). I guess at the end of the day, it all boils down to
people looking for consistency in relationships. So, think about it. If
you really want to improve a relationship that you have with another
individual, perhaps it's time to make every opportunity to drop 5cents
into the relationship bank count. ;)
For another thing, this mentality is also present in areas like ethics.
I am an advocate for the kind nature of man. So I shall assume that
every human being out there wants to do good deeds and help the
less fortunate. But I admit that sometimes I too have fallen for the
fallacy of forgoing perhaps a chance to donate to charity based on the
notion that my 5 cents will probably not be able to make much
difference
in the overall picture of poverty eradication. We know that 10 coins
will make 50cents, 100 coins will make 5 dollars and so on. But somehow
it's difficult to convince ourselves that we CAN make a
difference. The same applies to good deeds as well. A good samaritan
should never give up a chance, however insignificant it may seem, to
show some kindness in this world. My theory is that the problem with
the, often termed, "cold city dwellers" is just that they feel that
it is insignificant to show some kindness in their everyday lives,
cause, the kindness that they show on the streets will probably be done
unto a stranger whom, they think they'd probably never even see again
for the rest of their lives(contrast this to a suburban town). So what
do they do about their drive to sow their unused kindness? They join
the peace corps, work for reputable charity organisations, etc - a
place where they can see their efforts bear fruit and bring joy to the
recipient on the other end of the stick. But unknown to them is that
every little act of kindness will increase the pool of happiness,
although one might not be able to see it directly, in society. If
everyone starts to make every 5 cents worth of love count, this world
could possibly be such a better place. Where is the love? It stored in
5 cents coins in our pockets, waiting to accumulate into a big $500
note before we think it's worth showing it. ;)
Moreover, this worthless-5-cents-mentality is perhaps one of the
reasons why so little is being done to tackle regional or global
problems. Take the issue of global warming for instance. Nations spent
years arguing that larger economies are in a better position to tackle
the problem because they are in a position to make a significant change
in course in global warming. Take the Kyoto Protocol for instance,
emission cuts for green house gases are proposed only for developed
countries wheres developing countries were spared the
potentially-damaging-to-the-economy cuts. Although the developing
countries indeed cannot afford to spend so much funds initially
intended for development to tackle environmental issues, but that
doesn't mean that they are exempted from contributing at all - every 5
cents counts towards the goal. This is also one of the reasons I use to
convince people around me to do their bit to conserve energy and
protect the environment. Every unused device/charger
unplugged/turned-off is a step into curbing global warming. I shall be
frank to my readers out there, you do your bit too, ok? And
hopefully there are enough people in this world with enough sense to
slow down when they see that they are charging towards the end of a
cliff such that our little 5cents will add up to make a BIG difference
for us, our children and our children's children.
In a nutshell, this concept applies to many other things in life, of
which I think would be a bore to the reader if I list them out one by
one. So, just before I wrap up my super long-winded post, my advice to
my readers out there : give your 5 cents due credit - be thankful for
every little bit that you receive and every little bit that you can
give. You will make yourself and many others happy in the process.
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