The instructions were to conduct a little experiment with the group. The task was a simple game with a few basic rules. What the group didn’t know was that at any time, the rules could change at the leader’s whim.
After a few rounds, the subjects began protesting and getting angry- crying foul that there was no order. Indeed the lesson for the day was that life isn’t fair - some people play by their own rules, and couldn’t care less about others.
I’m sure we’ve all been brushed by some form of that and/or have been culprits of it too.
We find it on the playground when a bully gets his way, or in kindergarten when another is given special treatment, in school when homework is done by others, in the office when colleagues are rewarded for bad behaviour, and in governments where countries are run at the whims and fancies of the mighty.
One big culprit is North Korea. The rule was to adhere to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Instead, they defied world powers many, many times. In 2006, they carried out an atomic test.
In April of this year they launched a rocket and last month carried out underground nuclear bomb tests which are comparable to those that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
On top of that North Korea has warned of future atomic and long-range missile tests. No one dares call them on it because North Korea plays by its own rules. The powers-that-be are close to taking the rotan and smacking them but they have two pawns – the American journalists and are just about ready to say checkmate.
I’m not sure what the hungry citizens of North Korea think, but just the thought of the effects of the nuclear tests sends shivers down my spine.
Another culprit hails from the African continent. After the International Criminal Court issued a warrant of arrest on the President of Sudan (the world’s first sitting President with a warrant of arrest) , he retaliated by expelling 13 foreign aid-groups from Darfur, where now 1.5 million refugees are slowly dying.
The rule would be that he should stay put in his palace, hand himself in and kowtow to the world powers but instead he toured Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Libya and upped his game by appointing a war crimes fraternity member as governor of a boarder province. Who are Omar al-Bashir’s pawn? The people of Darfur … who are voiceless and dying.
Then there is Tehran. With all the protests going on not just in Iran but around the world, one has to wonder did democracy die there too? On the CNN website there is a picture of a young lady holding a placard which reads “What happened to my vote?” A sentiment I gather many Malaysians too share.
There are a lot of people playing by their own rules right here in Malaysia, to such an extent that we are not allowed speak about it. Perhaps we are following blindly the examples from the rest of the world and perhaps think that it is acceptable because it is not as grave.
After all, America defied the United Nations, played by their own rules and waged war on Iraq even when Kofi Annan said that the war was illegal. Though the repercussions of America’s action were minimal within the UN family, the American people continue to suffered, all because their government played by their own rules. And the Iraqis continue to suffer.
It’s frustrating when suddenly the rules change and there is a lack of consistency and fairness. I worry if for some reason I was placed in the position of needing to fight for my rights in a Malaysian court; would there be justice within 24 hours or will I have to wait weeks before my case would be heard?
When there isn’t a level playing field, there isn’t fair play. At the end of the day, the lesson remains that life is not fair, people play by their own rules and we can only hope that they play fair.
Natalie is learning to embrace the concept that that life is not fair- so just deal with it!
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
