Every year, flooding in SE Asia killed people and took away their livelihood.
And every year, people rush out to give materials and their time for reconstruction.
So the mishaps were occasions for the best in humanity, and turn a flood of misery into a flood of love.
Nobody wants to be on the receiving end, unless disaster struck.
And only some are willing to be on the giving end.
It’s more blessed to give than to receive.
But only a few step up to the challenge.
I read somewhere that the billionaire dream team (Gates-Buffett) went to China to drum up supports for their cause – giving back. Social activism is calling on the richest in Asia where fatalism rules. You are born into a cycle not of your own doing, thus, can do nothing to undo it. ( As of this edit, that circus did not turn out well on follow-up.)
Live out the rest of this miserable life without exit.
Accept one’s fate. This view has prevailed among the bottom billion. Now it is challenged by modernity and global commerce.
The region has seen neck breaking change, and with it, pollution, regulation and corruption.
It remains to be seen that a decade from now, which view (fatalism or self-determinism) will hold water.
Even with a flood of talent in IT, Asia still needs commerce and customers on the global scale to, well, scale.
We don’t know when something reaches critical mass. Like rain itself, it has its own cycle and temperament.
Let’s hope we got the right kind of flooding to lift everyone’s boat. Opportunity likes to dance with those who are already on the floor.
Thang Nguyen 555 