I LOVE HK: a spark for democracy

I LOVE HK.

My beautiful birthplace, Summer 2013.

There's a quote most often attributed to Thomas Jefferson that says: "When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When governments fear the people, there is liberty."

And then, in "The Hunger Games," there's a quote that reads: "Every revolution begins with a spark."

I genuinely believe in these two profound quotes. And that's why today, my thoughts are with the brave peoples of Hong Kong, from students to working professionals, standing up for something they believe in and fighting for a universal right, namely universal suffrage, that we, as humans, should each have. I stand with you. I feel your pain and suffering. 

I say peoples, and not people, of Hong Kong because it's a diverse city comprised of so many backgrounds, beliefs, national and ethnic origins, race, religions and sexualities, all of whom are united to defend the freedom that Hong Kong has enjoyed over the past decades. It is precisely this freedom that has allowed Hong Kong to become a cultural, economic and political beacon in the East to so many.

Hong Kong today, September 28, 2014. Courtesy: CNN.

Governments like China cannot endure, at least not in their current form, especially in this new digital age. And a simple spark can lead to something revolutionary. The way governments work is a new game for this next century—people can demand their voices to be heard, more so than ever before and I believe what is right will prevail. Hong Kong has been so prosperous because of the equality and freedom—freedom of assembly, of expression, of information, of the press, of speech—that has existed over the past several decades. I don't think there is anywhere as prepared as Hong Kong to remind us that freedom is truly not free and must be defended daily.

My heart hurts and I am saddened seeing the devastating photos come out of Hong Kong, photos of streets that I have walked on and admired. But it also makes me proud of the citizens of Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, just like as in American cities, these shouldn't be seen as embarrassments, but rather, a functioning civil society able to hold thoughtful conversations and stand up for what they believe in. The government is the entity that should be embarrassed for their oppressive response and for governing without the consent of the governed.

That's why I also think, for me, I find stories like "The Hunger Games" so powerful, because people are living out these scenarios each and every day. It's quite inspirational if you think about it.

Night lights in Hong Kong, Summer 2013.

"Echoing Tiananmen, 17-year-old Hong Kong student prepares for democracy battle"

CNN and CNN International
—"Fear has been deeply rooted in our genes through the past 65 years. The majority of China's 1.3 billion people are not true citizens; most of the people are simply submissive."
—"You can form political parties in Hong Kong. You can publish books that are forbidden in mainland China. The media can criticize the central government and the chief executive of Hong Kong."
—"Mainland China is a tinderbox that's been physically suppressed by the authorities, and Hong Kong is a seed of fire."
—"The Communist Party is very scared of this tiny bit of land, because if true universal suffrage can blossom in Hong Kong, it is very likely true universal suffrage will end up happening in the mainland."

Human immaturity is to blame for human problems

Don't blame human immaturity and lack of judgement on Facebook and social media.

Neknominate is a stupid game that I've heard about several times. One of my friends received a "nomination." +CNN's article (http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/18/world/europe/neknominate-drinking-game/index.html?hpt=hp_t1) does a good job explaining the game, but also spends half the time citing ridiculous people claiming the majority of the responsibility of the problems and deaths lies with Facebook and other web companies.

Let's be clear here: the sole entity responsible for this entire mess are people, the people that post the nominations, the people that don't resist peer pressure and the people that don't do anything when they see something as wrongful as this happening.

courtesy of CNN and Yahoo! News

One dad even had the courage to say, "I was cross with him [my son] but more cross with the social media involved and the way this game has just spread. The whole thing is madness and it needs some kind of sharp and swift action on the part of these social networks to stop it."

What's happening is sad. But let's be objective here. Facebook is not forcing anyone to drink large sums of alcohol from disgusting sources, just like guns aren't forcing people to shoot others. As a society, we need to stop faulting inanimate objects for problems we create ourselves.

http://iantangblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/people-hurt-people-not-inanimate-objects.html

Facebook, Google and other Internet companies act as merely a vehicle to expression and speech. They cannot, and should not, be responsible for the millions of pieces of content posted every second, just like no one is responsible of what comes out of your mouth every day. Just like in real-life, it lies in the hands of people to report content that violates rules or laws and to stand up to what is not morally right. It lies in the hands of people to use their own judgement and be mature when they choose to act a certain way.

To fault Facebook is a slippery slope towards letting corporations and governments decide what we can or cannot say and think. Let's make our own judgement calls. Let's own up to our faults.

Let's fight what's really to blame for all our human problems and stop hiding behind a scapegoat by shifting the blame on something other than human immaturity.

My thoughts on Glass, integrity and the free flow of information

Today, I received this e-mail from my Macroeconomics Professor at +The George Washington University: "That means that Google glass and similar devices are NOT allowed during assignments..." 

I am happy that my Professor is starting this type of conversation about +Google Glass  nd new technologies so swiftly and transparently.

Certainly, as an Explorer, these situations where Glass is singled out, are expected, just like +Cecilia Abadie fighting her traffic ticket today (http://goo.gl/UN60mo) or those told to leave restaurants (http://goo.gl/neb8zf). I agree Glass should not be used during exams. Yet, it is utterly irresponsible for those in authority to single new devices like Glass, which functions just as smartphones and tablets do, in this manner. Certainly, this period of testing is where society is educating itself and distinguishing what is real and what is exaggerated by the media, both its features and limitations. For example, having Glass rest on top your head like sunglasses indoors will not enable a student to cheat and is not a qualification of cheating, just like having a phone in your pocket. However, this type of conversation is good to start.

While I don't know if this e-mail is directed to me currently, I do feel the need to share this information clearly and openly. Your feedback, both in agreement or disagreement, is encouraged.

We should embrace technology, especially with the potentials it offers education. More importantly, we should not create hysteria and spread misinformation. Finally, integrity, including in academics, is one of my core values and I believe a society well-educated in not only knowledge but also morals and values will not have these problems.

As C.S. Lewis once said, “Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.”

From this point forward, I am reaffirming my commitment to act with integrity in an ethical and moral manner that takes into account my strict moral discipline, just like I did in 8th grade when I created study guides from public class notes and let information flow freely (allowing others to collaborate, build on top and download those guides at their own discretion) even after one teacher, with a complete opposite view than all the other parents, students and teachers, labeled it as a form of cheating.

You can learn more about my mission statement, vision and values here: 

https://plus.google.com/+iantang/about.

People, not inanimate objects, hurt people

A conversation has to be started about human nature, not guns.

Disclaimer: The following post may be sensitive, due to current events. But, there is never a right time for a conversation like this. The time is now, and I only bring it up because I want a better, more peaceful society where we can all choose how to live our own lives. Finding justice for the victims of today means more than just finding a perpetrator. It also means ensuring events like today's will have less likelihood of happening tomorrow.

I still cannot wrap my head around the senseless tragedy that took place in Connecticut. My thoughts continue to be with the victims, but also with the millions of lives that will be affected as a ripple effect takes place. It is devastating - these were innocent lives, each with a different story, family and future, that were cruelly taken away and cut short, because of one, irrational man who tried using violence as a solution.

But while we mourn for those lost, we also have to emphasize the importance to have a conversation about how to prevent these tragedies in the future. And many may want to wait, but there is simply never a right time. Just several days ago, a shooting occurred in Oregon, not to mention the other devastating events that have taken place in the last year. We cannot just wait until similar events transpire all over again before calling for change again. Part of giving justice to those that have passed is by ensuring that nothing like these events happen again in the future.

However, the conversation cannot just be about guns. It has to be about us, humans. Because, after all, humans are the ones hurting each other. Not the guns. Every time there is a shooting, society talks about banning guns, or controlling weapons, as if that would completely make violence disappear overnight. Why can't we blame ourselves? Why can't we blame our society? Maybe we are at fault. Maybe it is how we educate our children that is the problem. Not the existence of guns.

Google displayed a white candle on its homepage in memory of the victims.

The gun has no capability of hurting anyone. Not even if someone is standing directly in front of it. It is an individual, who chooses independently, to pull the trigger, that ultimately creates disaster.

And herein is where our problem lies. When did violence become so glorified? When did guns become such a huge part of our popular culture? When did weapons become a "tool" that is portrayed as a solution to a problem? And most of all, when did weapons become the cause of violence, not humans? These are the questions we should be asking.

The real, long-term way to fix our broken society is by education, not by some flimsy attempt to filter out the majority of violent weapons in our society. We need to educate society that violence isn't good - it is bad. It is horrible. We need to educate society that violence, guns and weapons do NOT solve problems; they only create a bigger mess. Because when a gunman shoots even just one person, it isn't only that one person that is hurt. That victim may have a spouse, and some kids, who will be devastated of the news. Those people in turn affect the rest of society, causing thousands of lives to be affected in the end. We can ban knives, guns, needles, rocks, cars, hammers and anything and everything else that we believe have the possibility of hurting another person in life. But that will never work. Because all of the violence is caused by humans using those things.

Like everything else in our lives, guns have both a useful function and a negative side. When a crash involving a drunk driver or a driver who was texting and driving occurs, we do not think to ban cars, alcohol and cellular devices. We may have laws against drunk driving and texting while driving, but that's similar to laws that prohibit weapons in various public venues. In all three situations, it is the people that are at fault, not the tools.

Furthermore, did the driver or gunman follow the laws? Nope. The driver who drank a little too much before getting into the car or who decided to send a text message while he was driving, deliberately broke the law. The gunman who decided to carry weapons into a school also broke the law purposefully. They were determined. And motivated. And laws won't stop them, only make the victims more defenseless.

In fact, education has been utilized to combat both drunk driving and texting while driving, as seen by AT&T's campaign amongst others by various organizations.

One final example: if a person drowns someone, do we try to ban water? That would not be possible. Water is a necessary component to live. So, like guns, while it has very beneficial effects, it also has very harmful potentials. We must work around them.

While we move forward and try to decide how to handle this growing problem, we cannot just think removing the tools off the regular market will solve all problems. They will still persist. Violence is created by humans. We can have the most deadly weapons, but they wouldn't be deadly if nothing were able to operate them. These weapons simply aren't robots - they do not have a mind of their own.

Education against violence and creating a society emphasizing love and tolerance is our best chance. Let's educate our youth that there are better ways to fix things, that there are alternatives, and violence is never the answer, no matter how tough life gets. It is a difficult time to talk about these issues, but it is also the best and most appropriate time to start a conversation about it. We cannot make a decision in a day. We need to decide as a society what we want, and sometimes, it begins with bringing up a hard issue.

We keep the victims of today in our hearts. And in doing that, we hope for justice and for safety, security and freedom to continue to be able to persist, only possible if we try to stop blaming inanimate objects for one second, think about the real cause, ourselves, and find a viable solution.