Writing in time of crisis (p.1)

I must admit that it’s becoming more and more difficult to write these days, as time flies faster and there are more things that demand our attentions Now. However that might be just an excuse for procrastination and laying back. Things are extremely hard during the last few weeks, but I think the hesitation to write came from the fear of being wrong itself rather than anything else.

I hope this piece might at least serve its job of putting my thinking out there. My readers, thank you so much for staying around. It’s hard to imagine anyone would be reading this blog, but I know at some points, my words will be read, and I hope it will leave behind a thoughtful, positive vibe rather than negativity or hatred. I will try my best to be more articulate, but for the moment, I want to at least write down something. We have a lot of garbages on the Internet, and I’m offering this one piece for free, so you might take a look for the leisure, or take it seriously as you pleased.

A couple of things I have been reading and want to have a recap:

1. #BlackLivesMatter
2. The death of American Dream (or the reborn of one)
3. Commercialization of Space Travel and the ambition of Elon Musk
4. Finding a new place in Tokyo
5. Artificial Intelligence: My personal FOMO
6. On a lighter note: staying organized, focus, and be disciplined when you are left alone

1. #BlackLivesMatter and the fight for justice

The death of George Floyd has been painting an utterly painful picture of a society where black people are the victims of systematic racism, and has been one of the latest dominos that fall upon the chaotic background of Coronavirus pandemic in America. Though it’s hard to say I completely understand the black community perspectives’ just because I don’t live in America, and that I’ve been fortunate enough not to be discriminated against because of my skin color, I think the act of taking one live such as the one that was done is just blatantly brutal and unjust. The violent fallout, blood and fire, crying tears and suffocation seem too heartbreaking to see, even if it was reported through my tiny phone screen. More than anything, I felt a sense of distress that black Americans have had to deal with, and I tried to empathize with their anger and grieves. There are however, a few ways to help create an end to police brutality against black community in US, such as supporting Campaign Zero, which is a comprehensive package of urgent policy solutions – informed by data, research and human rights principles to reduce excessive force. For the same reason I don’t support brutality, violence and chaos, I hope that the people will find their ways out of this mess, and America would end up being in a better place than what it is going through right now.

Julian Wan – Unsplash

2. The death of American Dream (or the need to reborn)

On a more macro look, what America is going through right now are not just social unrest but also economic downturn. Trump has been the biggest brag of #MAGA, but from an outsider’s point of views, it seems quite absurd. Of course, every country would have their own problems to deal with, but the one that America have been facing are now being exposed to the world and the bear’s roar is inevitable. I might have my own bias through watching the news and different social reports, but with the increasing tendency of bad news over the good, it’s hard to declare yet whether the crisis would be ended soon.

In term of economic power, America might be witnessing itself losing the grip on financial control over to China. The following short video might bring in some perspectives. I hope to learn more about your opinions on the matter as well:

For a briefing of how the economic machine work and why I think that America might be heading toward a deeper dive, I will include a Youtube video narrated by Ray Dalio here:

Hasan Minhaj talked about social issues related to Coronavirus Pandemic in America

The second video narrated by Hasan Minhaj is an interesting one, criticising how the Trump administration is not prioritizing the front line but the bottom line instead, in the face of “wartime” crisis. If you have ever think of yourself as a leader, maybe this would serve you as an example of how leader should be reacting and taking actions: priorities must be set in line with the institutional/organizational mission that you vow to serve. For Trump as a businessman, maybe it was rational for him to minimize the liability cost for the corporations over the health and welfare of its worker in order to keep the supply chain stay afloat; however, as a President of a country, it must be questionable what he did with the DPA act for the meat industry in spite of the virus risk on its active labour force.

3. Commercialization of Space Travel and the ambition of Elon Musk

To be continued to part 2…

This article is my personal opinion regarding what has been reported from American sources of information, so I would like to encourage you to do your own research as interested. I do believe that the economy itself would go up and down, just like cycle, so even if it goes down, there will be time for recovery and growing back up. I genuinely hope that the current crisis would not accelerate into some worse form (we don’t want to think about it), and the people would find times to be reflective of their own court of actions and heal together. So there it is, I hope that the American Dream would be revise and live on after this whole thing settle down. More than anything, I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. However, in the moment of crisis like this, it’s important to face the discomfort and take actions. What are some of your thoughts and actions you want to take? How would you encourage yourself to do so, and what are some supports that you need? I appreciate your time reading this, and I’d love to be in a conversation with you. Please do let me know in the comment, or reach out to me individually through the contact box. Thank you very much and I hope to write the next article again soon.