When I first saw a juvenile Crimson sunbird at the Botanic Gardens, it reminded me of the colours of a flag. According to the Internet, twenty-nine countries use red, white, and blue as the colours of their national flag.
The juvenile crimson sunbird will moult several times before it becomes an adult. Bird watchers know that the final colours of the crimson sunbird plumage will be different from their colours when it was a juvenile.
According to scientists and experts who study birds (ornithologists), this is caused by hormonal changes in the juvenile. When the sunbird becomes an adult endowed with different hormones, the final colours will be more vivid and attractive – when the adult starts to seek a female partner. These observations are made after many years of scientific research, yet they may sometimes be wrong. That is why scientific studies focus on standardised procedures that can be replicated and verified to be objective and unbiased.
Fortunately, most scientific findings remain unbiased and objective. Hopefully, this will continue because money, power, and status slowly creep into many human activities. A good example is the Olympic Games, which used to be only for amateur sports and for amateur athletes. Now, the Olympics also allows professionals to participate. The rules for drug use have also been evolving, and there is every possibility that the use of drugs in sports will be liberalised.
The lure of money, power, fame, or status is hard to resist, and it will permeate more and more other human activities. This is, however, not something new, though new technologies, including new forms of communication, will make it worse.
William Shakespeare wrote several plays in the seventeenth century. One of his well-known plays, Macbeth (1607), opens in Act One Scene One with three witches stirring a cauldron and proclaiming.
“Fair is foul and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air.”
It was not a prediction of what the world would be like in 2024, nor a prediction of what our international relations would become. It was a play by Shakespeare set in Scotland and England in the sixteenth or seventeenth century. The world has always been a deceptive one. In a period when nations conquered and colonised other nations, it was common to deceive those who had been conquered or colonised.
These opening words in Macbeth, however, can also appropriately describe our present world. We are at a crossroads with wars in Europe and the Middle East and trade wars that appear to be expanding while everyone watches with bated breath.
With artificial intelligence, fake news is now easier to produce. The wide use of social media makes it easier to spread news, whether real or fake, all over the world. Virtual reality and augmented reality produce images and sound, which makes it more difficult to distinguish what is true from what is false.
Our climate is changing, and tensions between nations make it difficult for countries to cooperate to address this common threat.
The lure of power, money, and fame or status is irresistible, and if self-interest and ambition are left unchecked, they will erode people’s moral values. Greed and envy play a big part in the desire to acquire more money, power, and fame. Such are humans’ failings.
Deception is not just about winning a game, like a dummy pass or a dummy kick in rugby. Deceptive moves are now openly displayed by some for their interest. Some leaders are seen to say one thing and do the opposite. A sense of personal shame from a public display of their poor moral values has declined. Their country’s fundamental values and integrity, and the people they lead are more likely to follow.
There is not much that ordinary people like us can do. But it does not mean that we should do nothing. We have to continue living our lives and plan for the long term. Like the crimson sunbird, we must go through a few temporary phases and setbacks before we can grow our adult plumage colours. We can remain optimistic and build trust with those leading us to our long-term future. While we may feel helpless and wait for things to happen, we can do a few important things.
First, do not encourage or support dishonesty. Second, strive for objectivity and support those who act for the benefit of others. In this way, we can contribute to the long-term future of our country and our own future.
Lim Yong Wah
Lim Yong Wah is an active retiree with keen interest in wildlife photography, music, and philosophy.
