A couple of days ago, a high school classmate of mine who now works as a missionary in Krakow (long story) chatted me up on Yahoo! messenger.
After required pleasantries, she asked me about the political environment in Hong Kong. I responded, "Well, it's sort of like China, but not." (I can sound really dumb when I want to.)
"So there's no private property?"
"Uh, there is. But there is no universal suffrage. The right to assemble is sketchy, so is freemdom of expression. But really, I don't mind."
And I'm serious -- I don't mind.
Because I have other, more important freedoms.
I can walk down a street alone at 3am and not feel scared. I can earn an honest living as a lawyer (something I cannot do in the ostensible democratic motherland) and feel confident that my future will be comfortable (the banking system will not fail, the currency I am saving in will not fall in value). At night, when I sleep in my apartment, I feel a sense of security I don't feel in Manila; I didn't feel even in New York.
To be honest, I really don't see what the big to do is about the bill of rights. And I'm not trying to sound dumb. If you think about it, the freedoms that really matter aren't on it.
No comments:
Post a Comment