Living in Fear

If you happen to pass by Glorietta last week, even until the last couple of days, you would have noticed the massive drop in the number of mall visitors. The activity center which is normally crowded with children and also adults, is almost empty.

Glorietta 4 cinemas, which should have been jam-packed on weekend afternoons, seemed like no movie is being shown at all. Even the most popular fast food chains are half-closed, there was even a time when the number of crew exceeded the number of customers.

There's no better word I could think of that describes this situation other than the word "fear". Yes, we all live in a fear-driven world. Although fear itself is just a matter of perspective, is not that easy to eliminate it from our system.

There are many kinds of fear, but essentially they only prevent us from achieving real happiness. We all know what we fear, and it is not so hard to realize them, but the greatest question would be what are you going to do about it?

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Personally, I am against the inspection in malls and train station.s Aside from a "false sense of security", we get absolutely nothing from it. Ever since the Rizal Day bombing, regular citizens like me has to endure long, slow moving lines just to get on a train or buy something in a mall.

Hell, that was 7 years ago. How long are we going to stay this way? People like me suffer because people who are getting paid by taxpayers like me are incapable of doing their jobs. And whenever another bomb goes off somewhere, sometime, God knows what other kind of "heavier" security measures they could think of.

We waste millions, or maybe even billions just to develop weapons, and to strengthen our so-called "security". For what? For safety? For a better life?

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So what are we really afraid of?
That we might fail tomorrow's exam?
That we might not get a perfect score?
That we might not receive a gift on my birthday?
That we might lose my job next year?
That we might not be able to meet a deadline?
That we might not wake up tomorrow?
That we might be stabbed to death by a drunk?
That we might lose our love ones next week?
That another explosion would occur in another mall?
That tomorrow, Earth is going to be hit by a meteor?

There is an infinite number of things that you could think of fearing. But who cares? People will only care about what they fear. Humans are selfish by nature. If they were not, they would have been extinct early on.