If you could remove one emotion from the world, would you?

If I could eliminate an emotion, I would eliminate jealousy and greed. They are the only emotions that, I think, does no good at all to anyone. Other emotions, for example, happiness, is very important to to the health of a human being. Happiness helps to relieve our stress, anger allows us to let off 'steam' and sadness lets other knows that we need comforting. If we do not have these emotions, we would not be able to express ourselves and we would turn into 'zombies' without any care to other people.

Jealousy, however only lets people have a bad desire to steal things that they want but cannot have. It will control you and make you do things like stealing or worse. If this emotion can be removed, people will not commits sins connected to wanting something that others have. The world will have less worries.

Greed corrupts the mind. If we have a taste of something good, we will want more of it and will commit crimes to get what we want. People rob, loot and steal because of this. Ther shall be no more need for doors to be locked or banks to have vaults. People will live without the fear of muggers.

Don't Waste Food

I often leave my food half-eaten on the table because it does not suit my taste. It did not bother me that I was wasting food until my parents told me to watch this short film. http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1081/Chicken-a-la-Carte

It shows very clearly the plight of the poorer people who cannot afford the money to buy food. We must learn from it and not let food go to waste. Since Singapore is such a developed country, I'm sure none of us have ever experienced hunger before. Hence, we need to learn about these people in Philippines who never had the chance to enjoy the cuisines that we could. About 25000 of these people die each day from lack of food.

The next time when you are rushing for time, think about this and do not let this food go to waste, finish up as fast as possible. There are frequent donation drives in Singapore for us to give to the less fortunate. If everyone contributes, we will no longer have any people who suffer from malnutrition.

Electricity

Are we taking electricity for granted? The world is using up more and more electricity, and to make electricity, we need fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas. These are non-renewable energy sources and we will sooner or later run out of it. When we do, we will no longer have any more electricity to power our lights, computer, handphones, etc. Life will become primitive again unless scientists are able to come up with a replacement for these fossil fuels.

Does anyone remember the event, "Earth Hour"? We should not make it a once a year event but turn off our lights and other electrical appliances for one hour every day. Although this will still not save the electricity from our appliances, it will slow down our consumption. Hopefully, by then, scientists would already have invented a new, reliable energy source.

There are many other alternative sources of energy. Soler, nuclear, geothermal energy are all alternatives, but they are not as good as petrol. Solar energy can only be used in sunny places and it is expensive to buy and install solar panals.

So, we should treasure what is left of our supply of electricity. Do not let it go to waste. The future generations should not have to suffer for our selfishness and greed.

Buses: Air-conditioned or Not

Quite often, the buses I take to get home are quite old and non air-conditioned. The newer buses are air-conditioned and can have more seats. I prefer air-conditioned buses because they are a lot more comfortable, especially in Singapore's tropical heat. However, they are more expensive and as the financial crisis is still ongoing, some working adults may not want to take these buses.

Some of these non air-conditioned buses are very stuffy and I sometimes get headaches when going home and the weather is warm. Also, the seats are torn and a few of the "bus stopping" bells are spoilt (I once missed a stop this way). I hope the government will gradually change the older buses to newer, air-conditioned ones.

Computer Games

Are computer games nowadays too violent? Games such as GTA (grand theft auto) have some sexual content that may cause some parents to be unsure whether to allow their children to play such games. Other games contain violence and gore and gamers below 18+ may not be able to stomach these games.

Should we all play PG games like Maplestory? I do not think so. Gamers should not allow gaming to affect their lifestyle (like becoming more violent, etc) but instead think of it only as a form of enjoyment. Parents should not ban their children from enjoying such games but if they are getting more violent, I think they should be banned and the games removed. Otherwise, the child will end up being a useless person who will be very violent.

It is good that there are age limits for some games deemed inappropriate for minors. The government should continue disallowing children under 18 to purchase such games.

The Capture of Mas Selamat

A week ago, the headlines on the newspapers were all about the capture of the dangerous JI fugitive Mas Selamat. He was captured in Malaysia. He had swam across the Straits of Johor after his escape from the Whitney Detention Centre last year. I feel that the secrity in Singapore was not tight eneough and Mas Selamat got away. Who knows what might have happened if terrorist plans got carried out. Even though the police have set-up check at the customs and have stationed some officers in forests and on shores. The police have done well to recapture this dangerous criminal, but they should no have even let him escape in the first place. The authorities cannnot afford to make anothermistake such as this or the consequences could be more costly.

Recent Outbreak of Swine Flu

Due to the recent outbreak of the H1N1 virus, better known as "swine flu" , many schools have been stepping up on their measures to stop the spread of this pandemic. Although Singapore has not yet had any confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, we should still be careful and observe some basic rules,

1. Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
2. Wash your hands frequently.
3. Take your temperature twice daily.
4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
5. Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
6. Quarantine yourself have been in any countries with the spread of the H1N1 virus.

I believe the Singaporean government should raise the alert level of the country back to yellow as there are more and more people who are suspected of having the virus in the world. Although very few people have died, we should not let down our guard until we are very sure that the virus is gone for good.

The good thing is, the world is very prepared for such an epidemic and cases of this virus has gone gone down compared to last week when everyone was talking about it.