Small Things Are Great

We are getting  paralyzed by various  numbers games  appearing at the  national front
pages almost everyday.  Whenever a political,  social, or  monetary scandal breaks  out,
tens of millions, billions,  or even trillions  of won are  necessarily involved in  it. It is
very disheartening to hear the recent news about the misuse of the public funds, ￦158.9
trillion in   total, thus  far  raised  and injected   since the  IMF  era.  This shameful
mismanagement of money by the government signifies that, while patriotic spirits swept
the IMF-stricken country,  some Mammons  were immorally  making big  dirty money
behind the  scenes. It  is estimated  that the  expected losses  could go  up to  ￦142.2
trillion, and the problem is that  the losses are to be  covered by our tax money. They
plundered the public funds, that is,  "other people's money," and therefore  they ravaged
people of their property.

It is a bolt from the blue when we consider that average college students just earn two
thousand-something won per hour for  their extra hard-working. How  many people are
suffering under the poverty line in  our country? Is it a  society in which it is  hard to
find any good person? In recent years,  there has been a mood of deepening  pessimism
about the future of our  country, politically, socially, and  economically. Here, the worse
problem is that  people don't seem  to realize what  troubles they are  in. The  various
leaders of our country seem  totally unconcerned with the  recent crisis, and people are
also seemingly indifferent to the current  situations. They just don't care  about various
social ills, considering those as  trivial. Only sensational or  big-time criminal cases are
their concern.

Today at the streets we see lots of faces benumbed with figures inconceivable.  It is as
if they are living in a dreamy wonderland. They  blindly pursue easy money and try to
rake it in these days. The  work ethic is weakening day  by day and nobody wants  to
work like  a dog.  However, our  current society  is not  a "brave  new world"  which
provides us all kinds of opportunities for a better tomorrow. It is, in fact, a world which
"Hath really neither  joy, nor love,  nor light, /  Nor certitude, nor  peace, nor help  for
pain." It is rather a battlefield where the survival of the fittest dominates.

Then, what our  youngsters can  do in  this seemingly "brave  new world?"  The first
motto should be "cherish  small things." Ambitious mind  for young college students  is
okay because "it's a jungle out there." Life may be too difficult for social novices when
they have to fight  for what they want.  However, before they  become ambitious, they
need to  be  as pure   as the  driven snow.   The real  power comes   from the  pure
mind--"Blessed are the pure in heart." Our young students, who would  be the stronger
members in our future society, have a duty to help those who are weak. In this  season
of charity, we, the stronger members of  the society, must show the caring side  of our
nature when we see  people who are  in trouble. Our  future is now  up to our  young
college students who must try to create a more caring, more compassionate society.

Though oxymoronic, small things are also great and beautiful.

Park Yoon-hee  feeling9@dongguk.edu

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