Carry On, Carry on!

News of bomb blasts has always been very disturbing. It is a reflection of the impact from social chaos, unrest and insecurity.

And what happened in Manhattan last Saturday actually sent chills down my spine. When my daughter and I were there on our visit to New York last year, we were aware of the government’s grave concern about stringent measures against terrorism. There were warning signs inviting instant reports on unattended bags especially on subway trains and at the stations. And our visit to the Liberty Island one afternoon was cancelled because of a sudden announcement about a bomb threat. There seemed to be more police on duty in Wall Street on Sunday. Everything smacked of a tense atmosphere. I wondered aloud how I would feel if I were a resident there: Apparently, the world has become less safe to live in and people have become less trustworthy. Violence and bloodshed seems to be the order of the day. Should we live in fear? Is life worth living?

To my surprise, however, the locals did not seem the least disturbed. They had obviously learned to live with all this. How did they manage this peaceful composure?

This video clip on BBC news may be an answer to the question.

(http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37403672?ocid=wsnews.chat-apps.in-app-msg.whatsapp.trial.link1_.auin)

When interviewed about their first thoughts after the explosion, the first respondent expressed his fear about a terrorist attack. Sarcastically, a guy’s first worry was about his dog. A small girl, who was all smiles, sounded very excited about having had a rare experience to share about in school. Most of the rest, however, said they would have to continue to live. Confident of support from one another, they would not live in fear. A few even took a picture of the cops, who did not seem to have just dealt with a life and death problem. So there was no panic, no sign of fear, no curse, no complaint.

Such is wisdom of life. It would be too pessimistic to give up plans and put aside the routine activities as if something might happen to ruin everything. It would be unwise of married couples to ope not to have children because of their worry about their future. In fact, such pessimistic behavior might cause the doomsday to approach faster than any terrorist attacks might. In other words, there ought not to be much ado about nothing (庸人自擾).

Of course, things need to be done about safeguarding the well being of the citizens. This is the responsibility of the government. Besides higher efficiency and more advanced equipment of the police force, attention should also be directed to educating people on the significance of mutual understanding and respect. If people learn to respect life itself, they will not resort to violence and bloodshed as a solution to life’s problems. And world peace will be a dream come true.