Keep Calm & discuss.

Marina Mahathir in her article wrote, "The trouble with silence is that nobody knows what it means, so we can only make up reasons."

So much is meant when you leave things unsaid. Because then the masses have this 'criminal' act of assuming what they do not understand and what they never want to understand. Yes, assumptions can take you places but finding the truth or at least explanations to what might be true can take you to greater heights.

Assuming makes you make sense of things at that moment of time but don't tell me you never want to find out for real why apples are not oranges ?

Why is going on a quest for truth such a frowned upon act in this country ? Well at least in my fraction of the country where all future policy makers are in the making.

I have noticed that there seems to be this air of negativity circulating the idea of searching for the greater purpose on your own. It is as if you are dismissing every single thing you have known thus far in search of this truth.

And to some, the only way truth can be gained is when self-proclaimed experts run along your way advocating their concern for your ignorance and thus see the need to be the source of sometimes ill-advised information.

Then when are you actually allowed to have a mind of your own ?

Don't belittle a curious mind la...

Give them a pat on their back their initiative to look for truth. The brain deserves that respect. Don't just blindly feed it with information and force them to accept it. Don't take a way the voice out of their opinions.

"What is it about us that we can’t take anything just for what it is? Why does everything have to be a conspiracy theory of some kind? Apparently we Asians (and Arabs and probably Africans too) are incapable of ever thinking for ourselves and therefore if we ever demand things like freedom of speech and other basic democratic freedom, we must surely be manipulated by someone else. Never mind that we once fought for our independence without anyone else putting the idea in our heads.

It is a patronising and condescending, not to mention racist, attitude about our own kind. And it is really the upshot of an education system that is geared towards keeping our minds small, and an environment jail. that downgrades science and scientific fact in favour of superstition, rumours, whims and gossip.

Somehow, using our brains has fallen into disfavour, while the wackiest ideas spread like wildfire."

(A ‘cult of unthinking’ is spreading By Marina Mahathir)

No one is manipulating anybody. You can calm down now. The act of questioning one's faith/opinion/theory/whatever shouldn't give you a one-way ticket to Azkaban.

Another interesting I realized is that this sudden rush of emotions that surfaces whenever a person's opinion doesn't rhyme with mine or whoever John Doe is talking to. Just because I question something you didn't plan I had questions for or something that people don't ask out openly, one shouldn't jump into conclusions right away about the nature of the question. You go on to tackle the person and not his question and before we know it, we are already en route to discussing another issue that has no connection to the one worth discussing.

Keep calm and discuss.

Penat lah. Here I am trying to understand the gravity of the issue but then it ends up being run over and over time, avoided and forgotten.

Be open to criticism. Be open enough and give yourself room to look for information. Don't be blinded by the majority that enjoys the silence just because it creates less havoc than speaking up.

"Stand up for what you believe in even if it means standing alone."

Don't be cajoled by the mere attraction of being accepted by the masses. Instead be enticed by how your unique thoughts are actually yours and that you are making that effort to be more informed.

"Information can tell us everything. It has all the answers. But they are answers to questions we have not asked, and which doubtless don't even arise."

Jean Baudrillard

I call out all you artists out there to take up this challenge, only if you care.

Before I even post a cover online, I think many times whether or not it should go online. What's more, when it comes to my own work, I go over that decision more than a thousand times. All of this because the online world is not the same anymore. It is a cyberpublic. It's like when you think a thousand times before you choose an outfit to wear before you go out. Yes, there is the argument that some just wear whatever they are comfortable with or what is on the top of their pile of clothes. Sure that works too but we have come to a time where you are what you wear. Well at least, that is what I have come to think now, not that I apply it all the time.

Going back to music, I literally do go over my own work so many times because I see this responsibility to be one of importance. Not because it is going to reflect me but because people are going to listen to it. I practically have the responsibility to give an above average product. My parents are going to listen to it, my family, my friends, my Facebook connections, the baby boomers, the echo boomers, the Gen X, the very awesome Gen Y and the rest of the cyberpublic. So yeah, it does matter even though they would never actually click on it. But what if they do ? Whether or not the content agrees with them is secondary but the way the content is presented is what pushes my button. The art of presenting the message you wish to convey at that right degree is what boggles my thought process.

And then.... I see clowns with their half baked products. Like seriously, what were you thinking  ? You have all the avenues in terms of resources to come up with a real good product but in the midst of all the excitement, you forget you have this responsibility to the public. I put myself first as a listener when I listen back to my work, then after that only as the creator of the product.

My wonder is that you have so much money to do a song, why does it always have to be on love, break up, how-another-person-trashed-you-and-that-you're-actually-much-better-than-them, nights at the club, how a certain girl is everything in your life etc. You are an agent to tell your listeners a message, why not highlight issues that need awareness? Public transport, education, civic consciousness, healthy eating habits, filial piety and so much more. You have the gift of having so many people who follow your updates on social media, the resources to come up with good picture quality videos, the connection with media agents like radio, TV and the likes, then why not use that to highlight these causes ?

Music for me isn't about the glitz and glamor of the industry. It's about being a medium to convey a message when you can and touching people with the message.

I cannot dismiss the fact that there are songs in the local discography that do blanket  some of these themes, and I thank the team and the artist for their move but we need more. 

Corporate social responsibility or fondly known as CSR is something common in the corporate sector. Being a future policy maker in this country, along with the many other important issues like education and more, I believe this would be something I would definitely implement which is on a lighter note. Audio visual social responsibility among artists in Malaysia. Yes it is petty compared to bigger issues this country has been facing but this policy is one where I feel can encourage artists to be a driving force for an issue to reach the people or the other way around.

I call out all you artists out there to take up this challenge, only if you care, to write a song on a social issue that you deem is important to be addressed. Is that too much to ask, my dear Manin Mainthargals ? Just a small request from an avid listener of the local music scene. #2cents

And, its okay if you don't take up this challenge (like...who am I to dictate your music kan ? ;) ) but do keep that audio visual social responsibility at the back of head whenever you come up with a song aite. 

"My heart's a stereo

It beats for you, so listen close

Hear my thoughts in every note"

;)