Eyes of The World

I believe that in most education systems, we are taught about people have played a large character in both to our own country and the history of human beings. Plato, Socrates, Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, Karl Marx, Adam Smith, Albert Einstein, but are a few of the many names that we have come to know. Although many of them have left for a very long time, their contributions to the human society are praised even today and the years to come. Just recently, two major death messages have spread across the globe: The American actor, the actor of the main protagonist of a famous movie series, Fast & Furious, Paul Walker. The South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist, who served as the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, Nelson Mandela.

Here's what I've noticed. On Facebook itself, at least in my own circle, all I see are statuses and pictures about Walker. I see people mourning upon the lost of Walker as the main protagonist of Fast & Furious, and that they are not able to see his play anymore. But what really gets to me is that there are little to none of those who mentioned, even at the slightest, the name of the man who put an end to apartheid. I do not say that Mandela's death weighs more than Walker, but it has been nearly a week (2 for Walker) and still, only Walker's name appeared in my feeds.

This itself is not a serious matter, as it is understood that people will remember the people who have had more impact on their lives. In my own circle, Mandela had little to no concern upon our lives. While Walker had played the role of Brian O'Conner, which had captivated the hearts of many youngsters who loved the Fast & Furious movie series. It is understandable to why is Walker's name mentioned more than that of Mandela. But this incident itself indicates a phenomenon.

The younger generation is more interested in people who have direct contribution in their lives, rather than someone who has worked behind the scenes, some bearing all the pain and suffering even to the extend of being imprisoned, brought upon a better life for the people of the world.

Such occurrence had happened twice (majorly, at least in my own lifetime). Remember the death of Steve Jobs and how the whole world was mourning over his death? Jobs died on 5th October, and just a week later, Dennis Ritchie, the creator of the C programming language died as well. No one really knew about Ritchie's death. In my own circle, it was not mentioned at the slightest. Jobs created the iPhone, which is now a common product all across the globe; Ritchie introduced C, which serves as the building blocks of nearly all the softwares and operation systems in the world. Yet, only a few knew of Ritchie's death. Again, it is not to say that Ritchie has did more than what Jobs did, but rather, people should know that such a person has left the human race.

Now at this point, you might now be wondering what do I truly want to say. My main concern of writing this post is to act as a reminder, especially for the younger generation.


This is a huge world. Every day, there are people who are trying to bring about better lives for others; there are people who have succeeded in changing people's lives for the better. Some of these people are working behind the scenes, some are even tortured both physically and mentally in the process. Some are chided for their efforts, or perhaps even labelled as a lunatic. These people, especially those who have successfully contributed for humans, have did something for you. You, are not just a simple man living his own life. You, are enjoying in the after-luxury of another's bitterness. Without these people, do you really think that you can sit back and live your own life as today? Say if apartheid still exist, and it resurfaces all over the world just because there's no one regulating or fighting it. Do you think that your life will truly be as peaceful as it is now?

So rejoice, and start appreciating people who matter, not just the people who have did something big for the human race, but also to the people around you who are supporting you, whether if its obvious or unseen. If you happen to learn of the death of an important man, give thanks and if possible, learn of what he did.