A Balancing Act…

by Marlon Viloria


It is more agonising than irritating these days to read opinionated comments regarding heinous act of terrorism being committed. Published posts about this topic in social networks or blogsites are aplenty, generating long threads of opinions, often personal and less civilised in nature, with the inevitable mixture of profanities and unruly behaviours.

The media, in all its selective and alluring methods as well as its reporting biases, do a good job in sensationalising a story and often go that extra mile just to sustain the voracious appetite of its data consumers, regardless of whether or not it crosses the boundaries of morality, or their own code and practices. After all, they are the main players in the media circus providing information to the masses irrespective of its accuracy or lack of substance.

However, barking questions beg to be asked no matter how unpalatable to some: why would an earthquake in China or drone attacks somewhere in Pakistan or an explosion at a fertiliser plant in Texas which took hundreds of innocent lives and causing immense sufferings to their entire communities, hardly or did not get the same amount of coverage as that of the bombing of Boston with less casualties and carried out by terrorist American citizens, home-grown at that? Why is there hardly any coverage of the ongoing Syrian civil war these days claiming so many innocent lives particularly the young and the old? Possible answers are: it is simply because the rests are not as sensational as the Boston one, or the Boston one generates more public enthusiasm than the rests combined, or the rests of those places including West, Texas are not as glamorous as Boston, Massachusetts. One can only assume or speculate but the tell-tale signs seem to indicate that there is a degree of truth in them.

For the consumer, it is often too easy to give reactive opinions and to follow the norm, but mostly keeping in line with the majority’s mode of reaction. Besides, it is much easier to swim with the flow rather than against it; conform to everyone else’s feelings and opinions, and avoid being criticised, or worse, accused of siding with the enemy, should anyone take the route in favour of the minority thinking.

To some groups of people who could not accept the present reality or world order that has evolved with the span of time, developed deep-rooted hatred, if not envy, against those who do not share their ideologies, whom they called the infidels. The occurrence of such shocking event is a leverage to push their own selfish agenda, utilise it to recruit more followers and to fuel their propaganda machine to advance their political, religious or whatever causes they purported to fight for, often portrayed in exaggerated, twisted or manipulative ways in order to maximise its effects. Such perpetrators of violent crimes could well be victims of this kind of manipulation too due to their gullibility or weaknesses in allowing themselves to be brainwashed or radicalised…aided perhaps by the falsity of a heresy such as living an eternal life after martyrdom and the tempting prospect of feasting on X amount of virgin women as an additional perks too. They are merely the expendable pawns in a chess game, instrumental in the overall strategic move leading to victory or defeat, but a far cry from cutting off the head of the real and venomous snake.

On the other side of the coin, people in power use it as a justification for their retaliatory responses, be it excessive or measured, rightly or wrongly, as humanly possible or not, and as long as they have the support of the majority of their people. But as proven time and time again, such policy and support only last or valid until such proceeding developments do not go according to plan, or when the dynamics of events turn ugly and precious servicemen’s lives are lost. It becomes a vicious cycle. Those that are caught in the middle become irrelevant in the equation. They are the collateral damage, nothing more. When dusts settle down, they are the forgotten ones, as if they never existed at all in the first place. One wonders if humans are indeed have characteristics similar to that of wild creatures living in the jungle where survival of the fittest is a right, privilege and the rule, all rolled into one.

Credible information is hard to come by as always. The media is certainly not a consistent and reliable source, they only tell what sells to the public, or within the context of their self-proclaimed “it acts in the interest of the public” mantra, which can arguably be seen as noble in the real definition of the term, but may have hidden motives behind it such as improving their ratings, transcending to global popularity and worldwide audience which ultimately leads to fatter business profitability. In response, the public react in accordance with what is being fed to them by such sources, without making any further analysis or cross-checks of their own, or, whether or not the sources providing the data are only telling half-truths, or using fabricated materials. Sadly, on that basis alone, the majority make their own prejudgements despite the lack of irrefutable facts at their disposal.

Hurrah! Fortunately, there are still a minority group of individuals who seek out the truth and make a balanced judgement as opposed to a hastily conjured, on-the-fly assumptions. They are the neutralisers of those strong, biased opinions, misguided beliefs, twisted, adulterated and darkened minds and warmongers, which shed some lights to balance and preserve humanity as it is supposed to be. Though far from perfect and its limitation in scope and power, an independent judicial system free from politics is the nearest process that fits that purpose in establishing the truth, despite the occasional occurrence of injustices as a result of corruption or manipulative tactics employed by some vulture-minded lawyers, etc.

To them, one can truly express appreciation and gratitude, for which one can be more certain to live safer and see the dawn of another day. And more importantly, the chance for the younger and future generations to experience that wonderful life in human form, brimming with dignity and respect while living side by side in harmony. There might be a sense of naivety in that sentiment but all is not lost, one must believe.