conservatism

i have been brought up in a fairly open family where very few things are taboo.

well okay maybe my dad and his side of the family has this thing against indians and well basically dark skinned communities. but i know when at the end of the day push comes to shove, my dad would not mind if we were to get together with any of these people, his side of the family would probably all throw a hissy fit but i know that my dad would accept it at the end of the day casue i know that he has changed and grown a lot since i was a kid.

so anyway the point i'm trying to make is that some families are still so conservative in their thinking and their ways even in these modern days of the 21st century.

first example is an uncle who strongly felt that i should get an intense education while obtaining my degree in Australia instead of going to Canada and getting a more liberal education. he says that it is better to be a know it all in one subject and that i should not venture out so far.

next one are two sets of parents. set A disapproves of their daughter having a boyfriend and especially one who isn't muslim. set B are a set of staunch Catholics who won't allow their daughter to date anyone who isn't Catholic citing beliefs and things like that. Now, don't get me wrong i understand that it is all part of parental love and religious beliefs, culture and tradition. but at the end of the day when push come to shove and these parents won't give up their rigid beliefs and learn to let go a little, their kids are the ones who will well i don't think suffer but i guess they loose out.

interfaith/religion relationships are still so much frowned upon but at the end of the day isn't that supposedly great thing called love supposed to prevail over it all that?

what else? ooh back to that first one. well something to do with it. the hotel industry is a magnificent one as i am sure many people who work in it should know. yes, it's not a glamorous job or anything but it's a wonderful industry to work in. Not in the eyes of a lot of my family members though. According to them people working in the hotel line are those who didn't do well in school academically. but then i think wait, if that's so then how come there are so many people with degrees in business administration who are working in the hotel industry making heck load of money? it just doesn't make sense. and this industry isn't the only one but it is the most prominent one getting this kind of response. there are so many industries out there not getting a seal of approval but i think that at the end of the day isn't the fact that the person is making a living perhaps merely just enough but making a living doing what they love... isn't that what counts the most?

going into our 50th year of independence, Malaysia also has it's own hurdles of conservative ways and thinkings to overcome before it goes on to achieve her Vision 2020. hey, i'm all for it but the state of the country today, in its political and economical ways, she has a very long way to go but i have the biggest hopes, wishes and dreams that she will bloom and become a force to be rockoned with.