Recapitulating Austen
Jane Austen - why the fuss?
Blood on a Stone
I am the cause of my own inspirational drain - it is as if I run on mana to conjure a blog entry or even write anything constructive, and I need recovery periods in between writing. On top of that, I feel my limits both in language and knowledge. I believe myself to be a "jack of all trades" and a "master of nothing". I am not even sure if I have decided the most appropriate course in life, when it all seemed so settled just a few months ago. Somehow I have let loose a side of me that was strangled so badly these past few years. And my mind should run wild as I see it, with no-one to gather its reins for the moment. As you see, it has run so wild that I have completely diverged from the topic…
I have finally found time (more like bothered) to watch Blood Diamonds. Why has it taken our world so long to realise this issue of conflict diamonds? And not with all the campaigning by NGOs did ordinary people like us ever pay attention. It was always about power and money, stock markets and wars. Other issues seem trivial - just look at the media! Now it takes two Hollywood stars to raise the eyebrows of us, citizens from developed nations.
I cry in shame for not having been aware earlier of what goes on behind this profitable trade, that has always painted a pretty picture of the stone. Think about the songs "Diamonds are forever" and "Diamonds are a girl's best friend". And like any other materialistic girl, I believed (and still do quite embarassingly) that the amount of love is proportional to the size and cut of the stone, needless to say its price! Though ironically, I find the stone too cumbersome and dangerous to take around.
Fair enough for a profitable trade as such to publicise it in this way, it's just the way the game is played. But now that we are on this end of the demand chain, perhaps it's time we pay heed to where the money goes to. Such a natural resource is the property of the country of origin, and it is not up to any foreign country to liberally take ownership. It should really be used for the purposes of economic advancement, and would be a huge contradiction if used instead for the funding of arms for civil wars. Schade!
I am expected to own a dowry when the time comes, although I don't foresee any danger in my being subjected to dowry-related violence even if I don't own one. It may have to include such a stone if the old ones insist. I do wonder if they will let me be so bold as to insist on the source of the stone. Or if not, perhaps I would give up conforming to culture.
