NO other line hit me quite as hard this year as when someone hid behind 'I've been doing it for 20 years' when talking about committing a wrongdoing.
How can things around us change if we are not willing to change?
Sometimes, to understand the problems plaguing our country, all we have to do is look at the little things. While we often point fingers at politicians to highlight their missteps, often we fail to understand that these politicians come from among us. They were not dropped on earth from some other planet.
A recent encounter with someone unearthed the reality of some parts of our society and how change will not happen for as long as we choose to turn defensive when told of our bad habits.
Bad habits are human nature. Staying up late gorging on sweets is a bad habit. However, this only affects us. The problem is when our bad habits affect those around us.
An individual was angry when officers from the local council dropped by in this neighbourhood to cordon off a public area that was being used as a burning ground. The personnel put up a yellow 'crime scene' tape, perhaps hoping this would be enough to deter folks from engaging in open burning.
Just a mere few days after the tape went up, it ended up on the ground, and the burning spot was smoky once again as several individuals returned to their normal practise of burning rubbish and unwanted things around the house.
Upon seeing me, this individual lamented about the tape, complaining that the local authority put it up possibly because someone lodged a complaint with them.
What this person said next, while standing beside a small hill of burning rubbish, smoke emanating upwards, just waiting for the wind to blow it into other people's homes, stunned me.
"I've been burning rubbish for over 20 years here, there has never been an issue. Now suddenly they come and put up this tape. Someone must have complained! This is a kampung!"
I replied saying perhaps it's the smoke that bothered some people.
Clearly refusing to see the smoke as a problem, this person retorted by throwing it back to me that other people do it too and that it wasn't done daily. The local council were not collecting rubbish as frequently as they should, which meant that the only other solution they could employ was to set it on fire.
This form of rationalisation, in my opinion, absolves all those who commit open burning from 'sin'.
Of course, there is no disputing that others do it too. From where I live, I can easily make out several burning spots. These are not small burning spots where they get rid of dried leaves and tree branches. These are 'hills' or zinc-covered 'burn chambers' where they burn more than just leaves, resulting in thick smoke that end up in people's homes.
But because 'everyone does it', no one seemed to mind the daily morning and evening smoke. No one, except for the person who complained to the local authority. Sadly for this person, it's clear they have been outnumbered.
Outnumbered by a simple 'I've been doing this for 20 years'.