A bit of a drought.

I don't mean in a literal sense, of course. Malacca has been soaked in the past few days. Relentless rain every night. I'm not complaining, really. Makes for brilliant sleeping weather.

Its just that I can't find anything that I really want to blog about. Not the war in Lebanon. Not the foiled terrorist attempts in the UK. Actually, I think its largely due to the fact that I really do want to blog about something, but I can't. Everything else pales in comparison, really, to the thing I do want to write about. Which begs the question, what could be more interesting than the next installment to WW3?

A lot actually. In the micorenvironment we live in, the middle east is just so insignificant. At least a lot less significant than the best place to get nasi lemak. We're insulated from the worst. All we get are pictures and clips of people suffering. Unless we actually feel what it is like to be a Lebanese reading Isreali warning phamplets telling you to get out of your house before it is blown up, we will never really know what it is like. Sure, we see outraged Muslims swearing to take revenge. But I really cannot relate to the sense of loss that drove the man to devote his life to the destruction of Israel.

We never appreiciate what we have until it is taken away from us. That line is so cliched, but really, I think thats what it takes to get people to lose their apathy. At least its true for me. I really can't show more than a passing interest to the conflict there or anywhere in the world for that matter. Largely because I've had a really good life so far. No violence, no real suffering, pretty much everything provided for. My responsibilities are minimal, and if i screw up, the only one who is really affected is me.

At this point, I almost wish I could feel it. Not just understand the sense of loss that comes from losing someone, but actually feel it. Then maybe when someone starts asking 'How many more body bags need come out of Beirut before we do something?' , I'd actually see genuine concern instead of an elaborate use of debating rethoric to win a round. Then maybe I'd be able to see just who really wants the conflict to end and who is just hitching a ride to political success. All I have now is a cynical perspective that anyone in this part of the world who gets riled up over the issue is only putting on a show. I know that there are people around who have known suffering enough to genuinely cry out for action. I just have trouble believing that I have found one when I see one.