A Double-Minded People Creates A Double-Minded Nation

The three key psychological reasons why a nation or individual fails to achieve anything of substance in this era of disinformation are:

1. A double-minded mentality (hypocrisy in saying one thing & doing the opposite). 

2. Giving oneself excuses (e.g. "our nation was brutalised by the imperialists 100 years ago, so now we need to hate the West and avenge our honour.")

3. Intellectual indifference. Not believing in any ideals worth sacrificing your time and effort in sharing the merits with others. It is intellectual complacency that is inextricably linked to an education system devoid of critical thinking training. 

Meanwhile, others, who don't have these mental flaws but are passively indifferent to people who do, are actually complicit in their failures.  

Extending these root problems to the macro level, the beginning of a failed state or society starts with a few good, reasonably intelligent men who compromised their integrity and vision of hope. Either due to convenience or personal gains.

And this state of the human condition brings us to how a nation's destiny deteriorates, hits bottom and then, miraculously, reinvents itself.

It's Not Just Great Leaders Who Change History

The history of great nations as well as the turning points of lesser nations have often been portrayed as events driven by great, gifted leaders: 

Lincoln in the America of the 1860s. Gandhi in the India of the 1940s or Deng Xiaoping  in the China of the 1980s. 

But what it takes for a nation to turn from an era of hopeless despair and decline into an era of optimism and renewal is more than just the emergence of a leader.

It takes a community of wise, persevering  men and women who would have engaged in deep spiritual struggle for the nation's destiny over several years. Nothing occurs by chance.

Yet, it is more the rule than the exception that a nation that has fallen into corruption and decline usually gets worse over time, becoming a basket case for the world to look at with both pity and loathing.

An Adopted Nation By Chance 

So, I was quite bemused when an old journalist friend Professor Harish Mehta who manages an Asian strategic journal, asked me to write about this small South East Asian country of mine which, incidentally is not my country of birth though I am a citizen.

The country is Malaysia, once tagged as an Asian tiger economy in the early 1990s but has since then, gone through a never-ending cycle of fortune and misfortune.

I wont go into the details but these cycles that I speak of are economic, political and psychological in nature.

A Simple Yet Baffling Paradox 

The paradox of this nation is quite simple yet baffling to outsiders. 

On the one hand, Malaysia is, by and large, a multi-ethnic nation comprising about 67% Malay bumiputeras (ie Malays and indigenous natives), 25% Chinese and 7% Indians who have lived peacefully with each other for the most part of the country’s six decades as a sovereign nation apart from an ugly race riot in 1969.

This ethnic mix of Asians and the peaceful co-existence of the country is unique in many ways. You might call it the axiomatic vision of God for Malaysia.

On the other hand, the country’s ethnic communities have been divided by race-based political parties thanks to the self-seeking ambitions of politicians who exploit the mindsets of its respective communities. 

(Here we are referring to maverick politicians such as  the former two-time Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir who fostered not only a certain race-based mindset but a generation of crony capitalists).

Why is this a baffling paradox? Because the ideal and the reality are not only at odds.

There are internal contradictions within the ideal and the reality on their own. 

One such example is the contradiction of being religious (i.e. a lover of all fellow human beings) while feeling morally justified in treating certain people groups with unfair economic prerogatives (in terms of public sector jobs, scholarships and government contracts). 

At times, critics attribute Malaysia's root problems to half baked intellects and mediocre men of good intentions but flawed methods. 

By and large, the common antagonist is usually the old fox himself, a moniker for Tun Dr Mahathir.

But I prefer to describe Malaysia's problems as one of being double-minded. Like a split Jekyll and Hyde personality that has become unrecognisably one person.

Many psychological problems stem from man's inability or refusal to see and understand who they really are.

Instead, the human psyche is either focused on the past (where they come from; family and roots) or the future (aspirations and hopes).

In fact, one can categorise nations as either backward-looking or forward-looking.

A nation will tend to be backward-looking when it is led by backward-looking leaders who glorifies past victories, past glories, often in the context of race, religion or partisan politics.

My key point is that, in order to be a forward-looking nation, we need to stop the rush to plan ahead or restore a past glory but rather, to see who we are, first of all.

The failure to understand your true identity, your true national nature will only lead to failures in future endeavours.

Hedgehog or Fox?

Is your nation a fox who is good at many things or a hedgehog who only specialises in one competitive advantage? Unfortunately, Malaysia is a hedgehog that has made some failed attempts at being a fox. 

What are the people good at? Living peacefully with pragmatic respect for each other's ability to work efficiently and practise our faiths freely. 

Since the 1970s, that is an unspoken formulae that underlined the relative economic success of Malaysia despite political and institutional obstacles. 

From 1970-1990s, Malaysia succeeded in transforming its economy from a low income to a middle income nation by becoming a prominent manufacturing exporter of electronics products. 

But in the 2000s decade, we saw a slow erosion in our economic competitiveness in the wake of more efficient nations, namely China (mass production of cheap electronic goods), Singapore (brain drain) and lately Vietnam (mid-level manufacturing). 

And in terms of political stability and policy clarity, Indonesia is also gaining the upper hand over Malaysia.

Faced with so many emerging regional and global economic competitors, it is no surprise that Malaysia has fallen into the middle income trap. 

It is at this stage of the impasse that the hedgehog tries to learn fox tricks, which are mainly making many plans with little confidence or faith in following through.

This state of affairs was encapsulated by several key policy failures, essentially the flip flop policies that hampered the promotion of English as a medium of instruction. 

Other causes include the misallocation of resources into real estate development, white elephant projects and the 1MDB sovereign fund scandal.

Complicating Malaysia's economic reform agenda is the fact that the Malay-centric parties such as UMNO hardened themselves into more intense identity politics and race rhetoric to strengthen their rural vote base after the Opposition parties gained ground in 2008 & 2013 before eventually taking over on May 2018.

Hedgehog Learning Fox Tricks

So going back to the animal analogy, a politically exhausted hedgehog can only learn a few fox tricks in order to compete with the surrounding fox nations. 

Instead of trying to learn the methods of the multi-talented fox, Malaysia has to look internally at its own people and sharpen their strengths, which is essentially, a highly capable, globally competitive workforce that can work, learn and solve problems together.  

In other words, learn to see and plan like a fox whilst remaining true to one's nature of a hedgehog. The great rush towards economic growth and reaching high income nation status (US$12,500 or $15,000 GDP per capita) should not be the priority.

Besides, speeding up economic growth of up to 5% per annum will invariably worsen income inequalities, providing fodder for race-oriented politicians. 

Instead, the priority should be to repair communal ethnic relations and transform the political landscape and atmosphere (which has disintegrated in the past year into the current political impasse after a backdoor coalition called Perikatan Nasional replaced a democratically elected government in March 2020). 

More Than Elections

After imposing a national emergency to contain the pandemic, the current government with a wafer thin majority in Parliament is expected to hold a General Election later this year once the emergency is lifted (latest by 1st August).

But the seemingly gargantuan solution to Malaysia's 'structural' problems involves more than just voting in a competent government. 

The nation needs a large pool of leaders and common citizens on the ground who are ready to undo the shackle of race-based policies and create a new national vision of hope and rejuvenation. 

A blessing in disguise from the pandemic recession (which has hit many small and medium sized businesses across all ethnic communities) is that it is somehow stirring up an urgent need for political unity, bipartisan co-operation and reform. 

(There is no way an economy like Malaysia's can thrive without the mutual purchasing power of each community). 

But as I said earlier, it takes more than the election of a few good leaders to change the history of a nation. 

It takes an entire generation of common people to avoid those three psychological flaws mentioned earlier, namely; double-mindedness, giving excuses and intellectual indifference.

Like many developing nations struggling to recover from the pandemic recession, Malaysia's window for reform may still be open, notwithstanding the current geopolitical dynamic of the U.S.-China tensions in the region. 

Genuine change starts with facing up to its unique identity and acknowledging its destiny in the new global economic landscape.

The Tragedy of The Great Reset

The greatest tragedy of humanity in the 20th century was not like a Shakespearean tragedy where a select few people were killed out of human greed, hate and vanity.

No. Rather the tragedy of the 20th century was that mass killings of tens of millions were the result of  power-crazed men justifying their wars and genocide based on some intellectually cold Utopian ideologies of equality,  justice and racial superiority/purity.

The New Emperor's Clothes

And what about the 21st century? What trendy ideology has caught the minds of people and popularised by "respectable" scientists and celebrity billionaires?

The new ideology is the World Economic Forum's Great Reset comprising a hotchpotch of autocratic top down ideas such as climate change, 5G interconnectivity and regular vaccinations against mutated viruses the first of which is the Covid-19.

Not that there is no global warming. But the agenda of forcing consumers and nations to be carbon neutral within an impractically short period (2030) will only lead to the disruption of market forces, private incentives through high taxation and restrictions on human liberty.

We, as citizens of the Great Reset era, will be monitored, told what jobs we are to take, what assets to own and disown and what type of sustainable energy-efficient residential units to live in (Read their vague article on the WEF site posted as a test balloon).

Why would this lead to a great disaster? The ideology of the Great Reset is the figment of the elite's imagination. The bad news is that they have already started work on the project.

Clearly, they are aware of the backlash from their social experiment. Once free and sensible people see through their nefarious agenda of control, people will resist and reject the new feudal structure that governments seek to impose on them. Eventually, the civil unrest and anger will escalate into either internal civil revolutions or war among nations.

Already, nations today are internally divisive and divided between the rich vs poor, natural-born vs immigrants, whites vs blacks, left-wing vs right-wing, traditional conservatives vs liberal progressives and capitalist vs communist.

A Play in Three Acts

All it takes is one major global event to accelerate the momentum of the great reset. The Covid-19 pandemic, planned and plotted for years in biohazard labs around the world, is Act One of the agenda. 

The second Act is the rigging of the US elections. But the third Act of actually getting the masses to accept an unelected leader who cheated his way to power will hit a brick wall and unravel in the months ahead.

Once the evidence of fraud is made public, the majority of the common people who voted for Trump will revolt, first appealing to the Supreme Court (this February) but failing which, a military coup will be needed to restore the American Republic.

This is why, as I write in February 2021, that I think history will mark 2021 as the key year of a political and social awakening.

2020 will be remembered as a year of ignominy and geopolitical injustice (like a global Pearl Harbour event). But 2021 will be the year the curtain of darkness is lifted and the evil plotters are exposed.

Nations will tremble for being complicit (China, Iran, Italy, etc) in the direct cyber interference of the voting machines. 

But wars will not be declared yet by America against its enemies. It will initially be a disinformation war on the minds of global citizens.

For the 90% of the common people to resist the Great Reset, violent revolution or war ought to be the last resort. 

The most effective Sun Tzu strategy is to let the common people wake up to the corruption and evil schemes of their government leaders and see that they are unseated in times of economic and political unrest.

This is why the integrity of America's election (with a record 75 million people having voted for Trump) is the last man standing against the deep state's agenda for the Global Reset.

Let Us End This Tragic Winter Mindset of 2020

As we end this tumultuous year of 2020, it is clearly a bewildering year to remember with a heavy heart and extreme cognitive dissonance.

A heavy heart because it is emotionally stressful for both the victims of the coronavirus as well as the socially and occupationally affected, which is almost everyone except the perpetrators of the bio-germ warfare. 

Extreme cognitive dissonance because intuitively you know something isn't quite right despite the explanations by health experts, epidimiologists, governmental and corporate leaders. 

Intellectually, our minds attempt to rationalise the pandemic origins and its shocking impact according to our cognitive biases.

To the environmentalist, the pandemic signifies man's irresponsible consumption and defilement of nature.

To the scientist, it is merely a mutation of an existing virus into a highly infectious strain. 

To the opportunist politician, it is an excuse to postpone or cheat in elections and every democratic due process of the executive and judiciary.

To the New Age believer, it is Mother Nature's payback for centuries of disecrating her divinity.

For the doomsday religious fundamentalist, it is the the start of the endtimes when the mark of the beast will be given to mankind, initially on a voluntary basis and later by mandate.

And to the geopolitical strategist, it is the covert weapon to undermine the global economy by mandating shutdowns that has caused the worst recession in modern history. 

And what is most powerful about this weapon is that it feeds on fear which the mainstream media magnifies with the collusion of "experts" and big pharma.

But to the man-in-the-street who just wants to earn a living and care for his family, it is a year of unprecedented emotional stress. Deep down, he knows it doesnt make sense. How can Providence or God be so unfair and ruthless?

The fear has become more harmful to our mental and physical health than the virus itself which kills 1-5% of the infected, depending on the demographic and national profile of the cases.   

The battle of the 2020 pandemic is 80% psychological and 20% physical health precaution. If we cant adequately stand up to the psychological challenge, we shall not be able to conquer the fear of death, sickness and loss of livelihood. 

Even without being infected, the news headlines of new mutations, lockdowns, joblessness and depression can have a lasting impact on our self confidence about the present and future.

Every media channel and expert is talking about the New Normal as if we have to give up our rights of individual and religious freedom to governmental rules and health measures. 

The new decade of the 2020s will start up on a harsh note but the rest of the decade will be a time of great blessings and political shakings, according to Christian prophets such as Hank Kunneman. Whether they are right or wrong, I know we are already declaring defeat and surrender when we succumb to fear.

So as we end the first year of the 2020s decade, we shall have passed the test of the 'pandemic' if we see it as a great challenge to intimidate us with a covert global agenda to control our lives and impose a new world economic order.  

While we cant flout the health rules and governmental imposed shutdowns, we can let our governments know we see through the global agenda and resist any efforts to vaccinate us without our consent.

So let us end this tragic winter mindset of 2020 and look forward to the roaring 2020s with the zeal of a warrior keen on his next battle. All of mankind stand alone like a pilgrim walking on an empty road. 

Never looking to the left or to the right. The voices of the maddening crowd are nothing to the man of inner steel. Death and sickness may befall fellow pilgrims, but we, who listen to our intuitive inner voice and keep our spirits high with a joyous song, will win the pilgrim's prize. 

Letter to American Citizens

Dear American Citizens,

You may wonder why in the world should a citizen of a far off country in South-East Asia care a hoot about the U.S. 2020 elections. 

But I am gravely concerned for many reasons beyond any direct financial gain/loss from the outcome. I summarise my rationale into two key reasons: existential and spiritual in nature.

1. Existential because this pandemic is totally unnecessary (no, its not karma from the mainland Chinese eating wild bats). It is inextricably linked to the U.S. elections as the deep state and its global elites both in the US & China 'synthesized' the virus to be extremely infectious (with a 1-in-100 year probability since the Spanish flu).  

Notwithstanding that the imported pandemic is the only external shock event that could derail President Trump's re-election after 3 years of robust economic growth, why should the lives and well-being of millions of innocent non-Americans be caught in the cross fire of this geopolitical war? 

As a result of the Wuhan bio-germ warfare disguised as an accidental outbreak, the human tragedy and economic toll of 2020 has impacted every aspect of our lives globally from open trading nations like Malaysia, Singapore, Korea to ageing societies like Europe.

(The research on the coronavirus, which was originally carried out by the U.S. army in Fort Detrick (Maryland) and later continued in Wuhan China, may have been a legitimate project to study pathogens but its hidden agenda is a bioweapon to be used sometime in the future by the deep states for global governance.)

In other words, as a fellow citizen of a non-aligned nation, I refuse to be collateral damage in any geopolitical cold war between the superpowers. Despite the narratives of governments and the intellectually complacent media (mostly an echo chamber), I develop my own insights into this saga and take a firm stand against any attack (direct or indirect) on my personal and nation's well-being.  

2. Spiritual because the battle in the US elections is not just about politics. It has become a deeply spiritual crisis that threatens the future of a fragile, interconnected world.

The Democrat party is no longer a party of moderate liberals with social justice causes. It is now a party that is driven by a covert anti-American socialist agenda (Bernie Sanders, OAC, Kamala Harris, Obama).

When you see the rioting, looting and extreme behaviours of BLM and Antifa protestors that have gone on for months in the summer, it looks like the makings of a new civil war except that this one is paid for by powerful interests bent on undermining a democracy. 

In America's current crisis, the roots of political anarchy (in contrast to peaceful non-resistance protests) is not only ideological but deeply occult (widen your research beyond mainstream media and the commercialised academia).

The Democrat party is also morally ambiguous in its strong endorsement of same sex marriages, subsidised abortions and the onslaught of America's conservative foundational values.

So to safeguard your children and grandchildren's future, vote wisely because this election has put the future of America in your hands.

But even if you dont agree with my two reasons, know that your country's 'do or die' tough character should not succumb to a bioweapon attack concocted by the enemies of your nation (domestic & foreign). 

Dont succumb like Joe Biden's reactive solution of locking down all activities and hiding until your economy is down on its knees while China has recovered and emerged stronger (The WHO already cautioned about the policy of strict lockdowns).

If Joe Biden becomes your President, your country will be sold out to the highest bidders whether to the predators of Wall Street or foreign superpower rivals. 

Why? Know a tree by its fruits. Know a man by his children's characters and deeds. Hunter Biden's money siphoning schemes (involving China, Russia and Ukraine) are now in the open despite a media freeze on the topic. 

So be very careful about what is at stake. Forget all the media opinions and biased reports about Donald Trump: they have peddled lies, the worst being in the past 3 years with the Russian collusion hoax.

Your action to vote intelligently may not immediately save the world from the pandemic but it will restore the Presidency of the man destined to combat the corrupt deep state that caused the pandemic in the first place. 

And the world, especially the weaker and smaller nations, will either gain or suffer from the consequences of your action on 3rd November.

Your vote will usher in a second term for President Trump to drain the swamp and all that is heinous in the killing of unborn babies in the womb (the newly appointed Supreme Court Judge Amy Coney Barret will overturn the Roe vs Wade abortion law).

Will a Trump 2nd term and his anti-globalist, pro-free market policies change the world economies for the better? It is hard to say given that America's political-economic model and leadership can only inspire those nations that are open to its influence. The other competing nation promoting its autocratic, one-size fits-all model is China's semi-capitalist state model. 

Suffice to say, it will certainly change America, a unique modern nation that, despite its foreign military misadventures from 1960-2016, remains a beacon of light to the free world, representing many diverse ethnicities even among the predominantly white demographic.

It is my firm belief that if America is blessed and thrives in this new 2020s decade, then many nations that are willingly open to its inspiration, will also be blessed. Even its current adversary China, will invariably change for the better.

Thank you.

Jeremiah Liang

25. October. 2020

Postscript: This appeal is not in any way affected by President Trump's personality or his leadership style. It is an endorsement of the platform that he stands on and on which he is commited to build.

29 Oct upate: The horrific terror attacks in the last two weeks in France underlies the foolishness of having a lax immigration policy in the past and tolerance of radicals who hate their adopted host country's culture and freedom of expression. 

Dostoevsky's Piano-Key Man Metaphor

Being once an impulsive gambler himself, Dostoevsky understood human nature so well. This speaks to the young American protestors who want to see a revolution.

"And, indeed, this is the odd thing that is continually happening: there are continually turning up in life moral and rational persons, sages and lovers of humanity who make it their object to live all their lives as morally and rationally as possible, to be, so to speak, a light to their neighbours simply in order to show them that it is possible to live morally and rationally in this world. 

And yet we all know that those very people sooner or later have been false to themselves, playing some queer trick, often a most unseemly one. 

Now I ask you: what can be expected of man since he is a being endowed with strange qualities? Shower upon him every earthly blessing, drown him in a sea of happiness, so that nothing but bubbles of bliss can be seen on the surface; give him economic prosperity, such that he should have nothing else to do but sleep, eat cakes and busy himself with the continuation of his species, and even then out of sheer ingratitude, sheer spite, man would play you some nasty trick. 

He would even risk his cakes and would deliberately desire the most fatal rubbish, the most uneconomical absurdity, simply to introduce into all this positive good sense his fatal fantastic element. 

It is just his fantastic dreams, his vulgar folly that he will desire to retain, simply in order to prove to himself--as though that were so necessary-- that men still are men and not the keys of a piano, which the laws of nature threaten to control so completely that soon one will be able to desire nothing but by the calendar. 

And that is not all: even if man really were nothing but a piano-key, even if this were proved to him by natural science and mathematics, even then he would not become reasonable, but would purposely do something perverse out of simple ingratitude, simply to gain his point. 

And if he does not find means he will contrive destruction and chaos, will contrive sufferings of all sorts, only to gain his point!"

Fydor Dostoyevsky

Tags: notes-from-underground

America Emerges From Its Toughest Test in 2020

Observers and analysts who hold the popular view that the 21st century belongs to China "the emerging superpower" in contrast to America -a highly divisive and indebted superpower that is in deep decline (politically and economically) - are sadly mistaken.

They do not realise that this year, America has stood and passed the toughest stress test of all nations.

With the corrupted deep state (aligned with foreign powers) staging a concerted campaign to discredit a patriotic president by all means necessary (including a synthetic virus, riots, media blitz attacks, impeachment, blame games etc), the odds of him surviving in his final bid for a 2nd term in an election year seem very thin. 

But justice and righteousness is on the side of the good and evil plotters & their sheep-like followers will be served their just deserts.

Just when all circumstances seem to be working against him and his party, the tide will suddenly turn with major unexpected events. 

2020 will end with a shocking victory just as it started with a shocking tragedy for the world. 

America will come out of this dark year of upheaval into a new era of renewed vigour and moral strength.

For the world at large, the good news is that no superpower without the mandate of the democratic rights of the common people shall gain the upper hand. Only the superpower that defends the sovereign nation's well being and individual human rights of its citizens will prevail. 

Cruel and corrupt regimes that are militarily aggressive will be served a strong notice: America will survive and stand as a protector of the smaller and weaker nations.

3 Colors: Race, Violence & Pandemic

As we enter into September, the ninth month of the corona virus pandemic, the world economy has seen the worst recession since the 1930s Great Depression. 

While there are signs of economic recovery as businesses reopen and stock markets are rebounding in the quickest ever turnaround in history, the streets of America are seeing unprecedented bouts of chaos and sporadic violence as protests against racial injustice and police brutality rage through the nation before the 3rd November elections. 

What can we make of 2020? The first year of a new decade. Is the mind of man prepared for this perfect storm of virus, recession and, in some countries, violence? 

Are we prepared to accept the narrative of a new normal of a second wave of enforced lockdowns, dubious vaccinations and a renewed cold war between the left versus right wing politics (e.g. the China-U.S cold war)? 

How will 2020 end? Before we can attempt to answer this tough question, we need to take stock of the current situation in America (I shall explain why it is relevant to us here in Malaysia). 

The American flag consists of three colors: red, blue and white. But a new combination of these colors can be viewed as metaphors of race (red), violence (blue) and pandemic (yellow). Will they be subsumed into the white of national reconciliation, order and health (both mental, physical and spiritual)? Let us analyse each of these colors:

1. Race: While there is racial divide in America, it is not an issue that has worsened over the past three years: black unemployment had improved into a historic low while the wage differential of Black to White wage earners has narrowed. 

However, this year’s pandemic has inadvertently hit the poorer classes of society, which happens to be mostly from the Black community. 

The unfortunate death of George Floyd is a case of police brutality. But it was convenient for the left and the Democrat elite to capitalise on it as a case of racial injustice. 

So the politicians and their corporate sponsors unleashed months of violent protests along with the call to defund the police force. 

This race issue, if portrayed and blown up by the media as more than it actually is, would serve as an advantage for the Democrats to swing public opinion, especially the young Millennials, against Trump in the elections.

2. Violence: The American citizen’s right to protest and demonstrate is a constitutional right and should be fully supported in any democratic society. What is a criminal offense is to protest with violence. 

So why is the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and antifa (Anti Fascist) agitators engaging in violent protests such as burning of shops, restaurants, car dealerships and police stations and beating up of bystanders who do not agree with their anti-establishment views? 

And it is no coincidence that these riots are happening in Democrat-controlled states where the governors are doing nothing to speak out against the rioters nor calling the aid of the National Guards. 

3. Pandemic: Of all nations in the world, the one that is least prepared to comply with new laws that impinge on individual liberties and freedom of choice is America. 

Coincidentally, the country that can most effectively enforce pandemic-related shutdowns is China given the government’s draconian methods and the digital-connectivity of Chinese society. 

So the U.S. economy sustained a historic 9.1% contraction in the second quarter (Europe fell 15% while Japan fell 10%) but China’s economy recovered with a 3.2% growth in the same quarter after coming out of a 6.8% decline in the first quarter. 

It is not the virus that killed the world economies in the second quarter but the lock-down and shutdown measures. 

This is why the IMF aptly called it the Great Lockdown Crisis (GLC). Even though the global economic cycle was already in a late stage veering towards an overdue recession after 10 years of moderate debt-fuelled growth, nothing could have caused such a steep contraction other than a self-induced shutdown of supply and a home quarantined lockdown of demand. 

It is like pulling the plug out of your computer and the whole system has to be rebooted. Problem is the reboot will take several months before the system can be fully restored.

Why care for the Americans, nations of the world?

Shaken to the core by this triple storm, the American people have to decide how and which party to elect in November. This election has immense global implications notwithstanding the fact that the pandemic was very likely timed for this key election.

Many friends of mine wonder why am I so focused on the U.S. election and the domestic problems of the “yanks”. 

Clearly, I am not an American and hence can’t vote. They ask: “Why does it matter so much to you? Are you a Trump supporter or a right-wing evangelical Christian who feels empathy with the U.S. President and his voter base?” No, not quite.

The answer is quite simple and it comes from a deep intuitive insight that resonated with what the Christian prophets (Kim Clement, Kat Kerr, Hank Kuneman, Tracy Cook, Mark Taylor, etc) have said about Trump, that he is anointed by the Lord to bring America out of moral decay, in particular from the scourge of abortion. Abortion is antithetical to God and Christian life-affirming values. 

If America is put in the right standing with God, then justice and the liberty of the individual to practise his/her spiritual faith will not only be restored but made even more precious throughout the nations of the world. 

America, as the largest and most powerful nation of the world, will set the leading example for smaller and lesser nations to follow. Amidst a night lit by small candles, no one can ignore the light of a flaming torch. That torch is America’s spiritual standing.

Trump, whatever his idiosyncratic personality traits and impulsive tweets, has delivered what he promised to do in his first term: strengthen the US economy, bring back jobs, reduce the trade deficit with China (ongoing with first phase deal) and combat terrorist enemies of the U.S. 

In his second term, I believe he will deliver a strong economic recovery from the pandemic recession and fulfil God’s plans with regard to the spiritual standing of America. 

 

Debunking The Dualism of Good vs Evil

There is an ancient philosophy that is common among Eastern and Middle-Eastern religions  (e.g. the Persian beliefs of Manichaeism and to a lesser extent Zoroastrianism) which have gained a following of sorts in modern philosophy, New Age spiritual beliefs and the politics of the Left.

And that is the belief that the world, the cosmos is an interaction between two polar forces, a duality that drives the events of the world at the geopolitical and the individual human level.

You can call it good versus evil, or the Yin and the Yang in the Taoist philosophy. From a philosophical and spiritual perspective, I am convinced this is a false narrative of the truth of our existence. Why? There are three simple reasons and I shall use the analogy of chess:

1. The dualism concept does not answer the question of cause and effect: It evades this question by saying that the universe is simply an eternal duality of two forces. Perhaps the combustion of these two forces caused the Big Bang of creation. 

For example, one of the earliest forms of dualistic beliefs, Manichaeism (founded by the Iranian prophet Mani), subscribed to a cosmos of light vs darkness:

"Originally, good and evil existed in two completely separate realms, one the World of Light, ruled by the Father of Greatness together with his five Shekhinas (divine attributes of light), and the other the World of Darkness, ruled by the King of Darkness." 

Chess analogy: So if the world comprises a grand chess game and we are the pawns, the Knights, Bishops or Kings, depending on our station in life, then life is just a battle to win the game against one’s opponent, who may be time, death or simply an eternal adversary designed to checkmate us.   

The problem with this theory is that chess is a game set up by a creator and before the game even can start, there must be a creator who designed the game, its rules and its pieces. 

Dualism has no answer to the question of creation and the purpose of the game. If one loses, what is the meaning of the loss? Same thing if one wins. The idea of winning and losing in a dualistic universe is pedantry and can be seen as a form of self amusement like sports.

2. Dualism does not explain the destructiveness and nature of evil: If the harmony of life is only achieved by a balance between the forces of good and evil, then how do we explain the meaningless of the massacres, the genocide, the murder and hate of man against man? The murder, torture, abuse and trafficking of children?  

Does justice and righteousness exist in a dualistic world? Isn't it more meaningful to eradicate and destroy evil once and for all rather than believe that evil can be controlled and allowed to exist?

Or perhaps as the Buddhists believe, that man can only overcome evil by self-control and renunciation of worldly desires?

Chess analogy: The game of chess ends when one party wins and the other loses. Both part company and go back to their own lives. In the dualistic world, the loser pays a heavy price. The loser in a war or grievous crime suffers physical and mental trauma and can be wounded for life. It is no longer just a game. 

3. Dualism is anti-God & a vehicle for tyranny: The philosophy of dualism is not only a poor and flawed narrative of the world, it is intrinsically opposed to the concept of a sovereign God who has power over all creation. If there is no such thing as an all-powerful, all-knowing Creator, then good and evil are both equally matched. 

Or perhaps, one can interchange roles, reincarnating and evolving from a good mutation to an evil mutation and vice versa depending on the flux of chance, or an invisible karmic force. 

But the naysayers, atheists and half-hearted agnostics may rebut by saying: if there is an all-powerful God in this world, why doesn’t He stop the massacres, the genocides, the destructiveness of mankind at the national, tribal and individual level? 

The problem with this questioning is that it seeks to disprove a hypothesis by the outcomes of world history. "If God is good and He has mankind's best interests at heart, then why are there wars?" 

This question should be turned into: "If God is good, then where is the evidence of His goodness and the final outcome of His creation?" Humanity is a work-in-progress like gold that is refined in the furnace. The fierce heat of the furnace will mould man to be what the Creator wishes him to become over the course of a life. 

In the 20th and 21st century, the dualistic nature of identity politics and post-modernism has made dualism a political tool for tyranny and autocracy. This is because there is a shadow group (the deep state) or group of people who are seeking to gain political power by exploiting people's fears and desires. 

Chess analogy: Like Herman Hesse’s last novel The Glass Bead Game (or Magister Ludi), the game of chess is elevated to the highest level in an Utopian society such that the world champions belong to an elite group of highly intelligent men and women who get to govern and set the rules of society. 

The final aim of dualism is the complete takeover by a third force (the Hegelian dialectic of thesis, antithesis and synthesis) who has set up the game in order to trap the players. Power and domination is the ultimate goal of dualism.

Just like communism was promoted as a dualistic class struggle of the proletariat against the capitalist, the communists and post-modernists use this ideological conflict (of master vs slave, oppressor vs oppressed, white supremacist vs enslaved non-white) to take over every social and economic aspect of our lives through the seizure of economic resources (taxation) and the undermining of the individual freedom of thought & values (any disagreement is a thought crime).

A scene from the Hamzanama where Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib Burns Zarthust's Chest and Shatters the Urn with his Ashes

 

   

What A Masked Biden Presidency Will Mean for The World

The Great Pandemic of 2020 can be viewed as a black swan stress test of the world. The challenge is to reset to new realities not according to official narratives (eg covid 19 and the "new normal" lingo).

The deep state and the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) pushed the nuclear option (virus) to wreck their enemy no 1 and his 2nd term.

It wont work.  But the battle of SunTzu tactics is going to heat up in Aug/Sept. 

If Joe Biden gets elected on 3 November, I personally think a truly mad and demented puppet is going to create world stock market mayhem and China will rise up to be even more powerful & belligerent.

It is ironic that the tag of "madness" aside from the milder "erratic" description of Trump is still echoed by the liberal-leaning world media.

But if you compare Trump with Joe Biden's bold-faced lies, his plagiarism of others's speeches and more recently, his frequent confused state of speech, then the epitaph of madness may be more fitting.

President Donald J. Trump is an enigma to those who dont know him. 

Like the deal maker that he is, he takes on an extreme character trait or viewpoint only to backtrack a little when the opposite party responds positively. So his modus operandi is rational and often times, very effective although it can be viewed as personality-driven by his detractors.

Let me share my insight into today's dictators & autocrats: they are no longer the charismatic populist leaders of the 20th century who could sway an entire generation into accepting their blood thirsty concentration camps and gulags. 

No. The real dictators of the 21st century are no longer sovereign state career politicians. In fact, they are part of a global cartel of leaders aiming for global governance and control of nation states. 

Thus, their language is no longer nation-state populist but globalist just like the European Union which is morphing into a fiscal union after it spends it's way out of the record breaking pandemic-related recession. 

So this brings us back to 3 existential questions of 2020 (the first year of a new decade): 

1. Why is there a 1-in-102 year odds event in 2020- the coronavirus pandemic?

2. In what way does China's global ambitions stand to gain from a Biden presidency & lose from a Trump 2nd term?

3. Who is Joe Biden? Is he really sincere in becoming the leader of the free world (leave aside whether he is presidential material)? Or is he a puppet (a masked gentleman) of the globalist deep state so that their global agenda can be quietly carried out without the frustrating resistance of an anti-globalist, pro-American President?

As we approach the second half of an unprecedented year in our lives, we need to keep these questions in mind because the outcome of America's election is going to change the world for good or for bad. We are at the crossroads right now.

It's the end game of a strange chess game that is rigged for one player to win. 

The alarming fact is one of the players may quite likely sabotage the rules by blaming it on the pandemic (postal voting?). Anything goes in the next 3 months. 

So buckle your seats and pray for wisdom & protection for both Donald Trump & Joe Biden and that the election can be carried out transparently and peacefully.

The Tower & The Truth Seeker

What is the best approach to information gathering in an era of disinformation and semi-fake news? Here is a metaphor to illustrate how we are to digest news and data.

Imagine you are locked in a 50 storey tower with a spiral staircase. Each level has a wide floor and very small windows (3" by 3").

As you climb up the stairs, the size of the window gets a bit larger so you can see parts of the outside landscape.

Here's your challenge: you have to describe all the details of the outside landscape way before reaching a normal sized window (close to the top floors).

The truth that we seek is like forming a big picture of the landscape outside, which has many contours and details. The bigger the window, the more we see of the landscape.

Some people decide not to climb further and stop at a certain level (say 15th floor) because they think they have seen enough of the landscape.

Others wish to see more of the big picture so they climb higher (say 25th floor) But few can ever reach the 50th floor at the top where they ll emerge to see the whole view. It simply takes too much work to climb.

So the 3 lessons from this metaphor are:

1. For every fact or news we receive, we need to visualise the narrative of the big picture. Is it sensible, realistic or a possible deception? The physical framing of our perception (cognitive biases) can distort our view.

2. We have to take action even before we get the full picture of the truth. We need not climb all the way to the top because it is physically tough and takes too long.

So at some level of the tower, we have to decide to stop climbing and ascertain: "is this the actual landscape and have I seen enough through the windows to visualise the truth ?"

3. Contrary to some philosophers, truth is not relative and dependent on the observer. The landscape is the same absolute truth whatever the viewpoint or description of each seeker of truth.

America's Destiny in The Balance

The line it is drawn, the die it is cast:  on that day, we, citizens of the world, will face the consequences of our indifference, our complacency and lack of discernment of the forces of evil that have arisen in 2020.

Right from the start of the year, the pandemic and the world events have hit us like a whirldwind, a shock that demands a quickening of our spiritual alertness, our intellectual resilience and passionate commitment.

The next three 100 days until 3 November will decide the outcome of the U.S. elections. That outcome will be historic as it impacts the future of America as the first democratic nation assigned by God to bring righteousness in the political, intellectual and spiritual sphere of the world. 

America, the strongest and richest empire, which has unleashed so many blessings, yet so much havoc, cultural creativity as well as cultural corruption, stands in the balance.

This Word of the Lord, as given to Ricci Wilson as posted on 23 July at https://worldforjesus.org/intercessors/critical-2020-prophetic-revelation-building-fortitude-in-2020-with-ricci-wilson/

We need to pray this each day of the next 100 days until 3 November:

“Father God, I pray that you will bring all Christians in the world to pray for intercessors to arise, to stand in the gap, they will encourage and support, they will declare the promises of God for the nation of America, that President Donald J Trump and the Republican party will win the U.S. elections with a resounding landslide victory.”

Keys to the Destiny of Nations

A friend of mine brought this word I released in 2016 to my attention! Wow!

WHERE THE ENEMY IS ATTEMPTING TO PUT NATIONS IN “LOCKDOWN”, I AM RAISING UP AN ARMY DECREEING “NATIONS BE UNLOCKED”

I have been sitting on a word for a little while now concerning the nations. In the spirit I have been seeing the enemy attempting to bring nations into “lockdown” and that this is a VERY crucial moment for the nations of the world.

There has been this sense of urgency I have been feeling lately for the Church to take her place. Isaiah 60:1 has been booming over and over in my spirit.. “Arise and Shine for your light has come!!” 

There is a great shaking happening in the nations right now and it is going to continue. If we do not have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit of God is saying the people of God will be “locked down” in fear. The enemy is attempting to “lockdown” the nations with a spirit of fear as he steals, kills and destroys in ways we have never seen before.

I feel this urgency in my spirit for the people of God to GO DEEPER! There is an invitation from the heart of the Father to come deeper in intimacy. 

Since last year the Lord was speaking to me about this being the season of the Song of Songs and 2016 being the year of the revelation of the love of God going deeper than ever. We must get our roots deep into Jesus and His love by pressing deeper and giving Him our YES. We must go deeper in the Word than ever before. 

THE GREATEST MOVE OF MY SPIRIT AND BIRTHING OF MY LOVE IS UPON THE CHURCH RIGHT NOW 

As I have seen this shaking taking place in the nations of the world, I saw many believers being taken out by fear. 

Completely crippled, crushed and tormented by fear because of what they see happening in the nations and around them. 

As I watched terrified saints running and hiding I heard Jesus speak “Do not run and hide, dive deep into the rivers of My love and ARISE AND SHINE! The greatest move of My Spirit and birthing of My love in and through you is upon you!!!” 

Those that were diving deep into Him, His Word and worship, I saw then rising up as burning lovers, the army of God and moving forward into the nations and darkness without fear and moving through doors of influence to take back cities and nations for Jesus. 

As the people of God moved into the doors of influence and opportunity the Lord was opening up to them in this season they had keys around their necks on chains and these keys were burning with the fire of His love. 

I wondered what these keys were and I felt the Lord speak: “My people, the birthing and awakening process you are walking in your personal life right now is not just for you but for the SAKE OF THE NATIONS!!! 

The enemy is screaming “I am bringing nations into lockdown” but through you My people, stepping into all I have for you, moving through new doors of opportunity and being fully awake and alive wherever you go to release My presence and love, I am decreeing “I AM UNLOCKING NATIONS”.  The key is “MY LOVE”. 

Great deliverance, healing, freedom and nations stepping into their identity in Me, will all take place through the UNLOCKING of the deeper revelation of My love IN YOU and THROUGH YOU! My love will dismantle fear in you and the nations!” 

I felt the Lord’s heart grieving over the nations and yearning for the nations to turn back to Him. 

At the same time I could feel the yearning of His heart “Sons and daughters of Mine, sons and daughters you need to rise and be manifested in the earth. 

The nations are hanging in the balance! Arise in prayer! Arise! Arise! Come higher! Arise! Cry out for the nations! 

The nations hang in the balance and you have the authority in Me to push back this darkness!

Let go of your quarrels, bickering and the division amongst yourselves and come deeper in Me. Come deeper in My love. 

The nations will be affected as you come deeper in My love. I will show you things about the nations you have never seen and ways to influence your towns, cities and nation. 

The destiny of nations are being attacked right now and I need you to come deeper  in intimacy and give me your YES AFRESH so I can reopen up doors of destiny that haven’t been walked through and mantles that have been laid down or passed over so you can take them and take your place and nations changed and your influence taken back.”

“For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the LORD.” – Habukkuk 2:14
A LAND OF DESTINY DOORS NOT ENTERED AND LAID DOWN OR “PASSED BY MANTLES” 

The Lord showed me a land of unopened doors of destiny and laid down or “passed by mantles” of the people of God. From this point in time and going back generations. 

I saw Jesus walking through this land looking at these doors that hadn’t been walked through and laid down/passed by mantles. I could feel the weight of His heart, the yearning of His heart that He wants us as His people to take up ALL He has for us! 

Destiny doors and these laid down/passed by mantles from generations and generations past were about to be “added” to God’s people in this season. 

I could feel His heart so strongly that we as God’s people right now would move in the power of His Spirit and a move of God upon the earth like nothing that has ever been seen before if we throw ourselves completely upon Him with our yes and go deeper into contending for nations, we would see Him lead us to pick up these mantles laid down/not picked up and walk through destiny doors that hadn’t been entered. 

This would  see the greatest accelerated move of His Spirit across the earth and a domino effect of the unlocking of nations released. 

This release bringing momentum to them again to move back towards their God given destiny. Not just one nation, but all nations! 

That the wheels of nations would start turning back to Him and into their God given destiny rather than be stuck and pulled in the opposite direction.

NEW STRATEGIES OF INTERCESSION OVER THE NATIONS 

I had a vision where I saw Jesus inviting intercessors into a “new room” in the bridal chamber. It was in the place of intimacy that the Lord was inviting them into a new room and this room was full of new strategies of intercession and prophetic assignments and acts over the nations. 

I saw Jesus unravelling scrolls and revealing these strategies. I saw the strategies had roots that were deep in the Word of God, inline with Scripture but completely different to anything they had seen before. 

These strategies were carrying a higher level of clarity and sight for nations. They were completely new and many looked at these strategies and spoke “This has never been done before”. 

These strategies of intercession, prophetic acts and assignments over nations when acted upon following the Spirit of God, was releasing double portion breakthroughs into the heart of nations. 

These strategies required deep connection with the heart of the Father and deeper trust in His leading, these strategies and assignments themselves would test the hearts of the intercessors to trust His voice rather than “let’s just do what has always been done.” 

There was such purity in these strategies. So solidly based in the Word yet so fresh and new. 

These strategies included the Lord releasing specific insight into what the enemy was doing and planning in the nation, to different areas to target and pray which may seem completely opposite to what the natural mind says to pray. 

Strategic assignments of prayer and ministry done in new ways but when moved on in obedience were going to the “UNSEEN HEART OF THE MATTER”. 

The Lord is targeting “undercover” issues that are not yet seen in the natural. He is targeting them now through these new strategies so they will be foiled and a prevention of some significant attacks and unrest in nations. 

Intercessors, you are being called deeper than you have ever been right now for the nations. You must follow His leading and partner with Him! For not only is the greatest move of His Spirit upon you but upon nations. 

THERE IS A “TIPPING POINT”, “DEFINING MOMENT” AMONG THE NATIONS RIGHT NOW 

I felt the Lord saying in the Spirit right now, there is a tipping point and defining moment among the nations. That we as God’s people need to declare the opposite to “lockdown” and that being “UNLOCK”. 

We are really being called to take our place and pray like never before. To follow the strategy of heaven, to follow His heart and leading even if it is completely out of the box to what we have ever seen. 

We are not only birthing in our individual lives but a birthing to affect the nations. Your baptism in the fire of His love in this season is not just for you but for the sake of the nations. You have a part to play! 

Everywhere you go, release His love! Everywhere you go, ask the Spirit of God what He is doing and partner with Him! 

Everywhere you go, love well! Everywhere you go, PRAY and release the Kingdom. The light and Glory of God is going to be seen brighter than ever and the nations unlocked by love, their destiny and identity awakened as the people of God arise! As WE take our place! 

The destiny of nations hangs in the balance! Let’s lock arms and continue to move forward in love and prayer and push back the darkness to see the goodness of God explode all across the earth and the enemy turned on his head! 

The army of the Warriors of love are now arising as they follow the One who has fire in His eyes and His heart is full of redemption and restoration. 

The army who is arising is from the place of living FROM victory and they are releasing it upon the earth! 

Don’t forget the end of the story… WE WIN!!!

The Pro-China Bias of Msian Chinese Blind-sided by Covid Narratives

Malaysian Chinese are normally astute critics about local politicians, their backdoor schemes and real intentions.

But the sudden downfall of the reformist coalition Pakatan Harapan in February coupled with the once-in-100 year pandemic has shaken their sense of security in more ways than just economic. The pandemic mystery is not only an intellectual but moral challenge to every world citizen.

For years, it is a well known fact that a large section of Malaysian Chinese, whether secretly or publicly, are wholehearted supporters of China's economic rise.

Never mind that this communist regime has a horrendous human rights record which is getting worse under President for life Xi Jin Pin.

Even though I am a full blooded Chinese and I love the enterprising Chinese people and culture, my ethnic profile does not have any bearing on my view of right and wrong.

The willful blindness of Malaysian Chinese to the China question is glaringly clear in my WhatsApp chats with my neighbors.

The uneasy China question which faces the world is this: was the Chinese government culpable in mishandling the coronavirus pandemic? Worse still, it has never been 100% established that Covid-19 is not a biological weapon that was either accidentally or purposefully leaked. 

Lending weight to the 'industrial accident'  possibility, French virologist Nobel laureate Luc Montagnier claimed the deadly virus was manufactured in China's Wuhan laboratory to fight against HIV.

My pro-CCP neighbors typically become defensive with a series of nationalistic arguments that the virus originated from the U.S. lab in Fort Detric.

And when I refocused the mystery back to Wuhan, pointing out the CCP's lying and misinformation in January, they sidetrack to American imperialism and how unfair & stupid is the US president.

Frankly, I dont really care for people's pet theories and political views. But what I find quite morally hypocritical is that these people who call for democratic reforms and human rights of minorities in Malaysia suddenly turn a blind eye when it comes to the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of Muslim Uyghurs, Christians, Fa Lun Gong followers and Tibetans.

Is it a double standard form of Chinese racism ? Or is it that many overseas Chinese sympathise so strongly with China's century of humiliation that they feel any expansionism or aggression on China's part against the Western superpowers, India, or the South China Seas is justified?

In response to the 'bigger Imperialist devil argument," consider this analogy: I have a powerful neighbor who is protected by the corrupt police. One day he stole a sports car from another neighbor. Does that mean it is okay for me to steal my neighbour's bike even though it's a smaller theft?

Having shared my views on the China question, I left the neighbors WhatsApp debate some time ago. There will be more revelations & upheavals coming out of this tragic pandemic.

My last 2 points is a hypothesis based on my insight into human nature & current geopolitics:

Two Warnings

1. Wars plotted and launched by any fascist/communist regime usually starts with inhuman treatment of certain minorities in their own countries.

Nazi Germany persecuted their fellow German Jews and gypsies before invading Europe. While I am not likening the CCP to the Nazis, it is my belief that China's CCP actions in the last four years are ominous signs of a regime getting ready for war.

2. Malaysian Chinese will find themselves in a political and moral quandary in their home country.

Why? Apart from race and corruption issues, the next one or two elections (be it snap or 2023) will most likely see Perikatan Nasional raising a tactical, albeit false, accusation that the DAP is a communist sympathetic party which will ruin the nation.

How will the DAP and those Malaysian Chinese who are supportive of China's political power respond? (To PH's advantage, the former BN government was the one that signed many controversial deals with China). 

On China's side, they have a non-interference foreign policy unless it suits their geopolitical interests. So China will align with any regime that welcomes its Belt & Road Initiatives. 

Our Moral Compass

At the end of the day, Malaysians have to take a moral stand as citizens of the world amidst the upcoming geopolitical whirlwind.

While we can pray that the two superpowers America (which has a worse foreign policy record) and China will not enter into a real war, we must be clear in our moral conscience to hold China accountable for its role in the pandemic.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is tasked with an international probe which is also signed by Malaysia. But the WHO is known to be very partial towards the CCP.

That is why the DAP/PH has to work hard & fast on the China dilemma, a seemingly peripheral issue that has strategic consequences.

Morally speaking, I think we, as a minority community, will be judged by Providence for our lack of integrity in our ambivalent moral positions.

I believe God listens closely to our prayers for the persecuted in China. If we do that, our prayers for justice in our homeland will be heard more clearly.

And that homeland is not the Middle Kingdom. It is Malaysia, a precious, albeit small country in God's eyes.

Cicero on The Character & Judgment of Old Age

Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC) was a Roman politician and lawyer who is considered one of Rome’s greatest orators and prose stylists. “On Old Age” is an essay written on the subject of aging and death.  

He wrote: "Those… who allege that old age is devoid of useful activity… are like those who would say that the pilot does nothing in the sailing of his ship, because, while others are climbing the masts, or running about the gangways, or working at the pumps, he sits quietly in the stern and simply holds the tiller.

He may not be doing what younger members of the crew are doing, but what he does is better and much more important. 

It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment; in these qualities old age is usually not … poorer, but is even richer."

Cicero’s Lessons on Successful Aging 

1. A good old age begins in youth  – Cultivate the virtues that will serve you well in old age - moderation, wisdom, courage - in your youth.

2. Old age can be a good part of life - You can live well in old age if you are wise.

3. Youth and old age differ - Accept that as physical vitality declines, wisdom can grow.

4. Elders can teach the young - Older people have much to teach the young, and younger people can invigorate older persons.

5. We can be active in old age, with limitations. - We should try to remain healthy and active while accepting our limitations.

6. The aged should exercise their minds. - We should continually learn new things.

7. Older people should be assertive. - Older people will be respected only if they aren’t too passive.

8. Sex is overrated - We should accept physical limitations and enjoy other aspects of life.

9. Pursue enjoyable, worthwhile activities. - Happiness derives in large part from doing productive work that gives us joy.

10. Don’t fear death. - Don’t cling to life - a good actor knows when to leave the stage.