IS SILENCE REALLY GOLDEN?

There is an old adage which says, "Silence is golden." I wondered who actually coined the adage because my experiences point to the fact that silence is much more painful rather than golden. Golden that is, in the sense that it is precious, good for us and desirable to have.

Back in May 1987, I was training at the Overseas Shipbuilding Co-operation Center (OSCC) in Yokohama and for a period of several months, whilst at the center, I actually heard nothing whatsoever about Fiji. Information silence prevailed. The Rabuka coup had just happened when I left, and it was important for me, I thought, that I should be informed about what was happening; because they would impact upon my young family’s welfare, who were living in Suva, without me.

As it were, this lack of information was a form of painful silence to me, and I had to overcome it by spending a lot of money to telephone home daily (unfortunately emails were not in public-use in those days) to catch up on the latest in Suva. Any piece of information thus obtained from home was welcome noise, for they helped me to contain my anxieties and I was able to sleep well at night, whilst many, many miles away in another country.

Ever since, I decided that I do not need silence; I would rather have noises, no matter how infuriating they may be, so that I can keep myself informed one way or another, for surely this is part of what our lives are all about; to be aware of what was happening around us, as it were, to hear the noises and sounds around us.

When, like my grand-dad, I take a noon day nap, I do not expect my grandchildren to hush up, like my grand dad would expect; because when they are not making any noise and there is too much silence, I will immediately awake and look for those precious kids, for I can only rest, if I knew that they were safe and were not in harm’s way, to explain their silence.

So to me silence is really not golden, one way or another. In fact to me, it is noises that are golden because they transmit information. I once knew of an engineer who was able to tell what was wrong with an engine, just by listening to the purring noise or sound it makes. This is what I am talking about; how can we know that something is amiss, if there was nothing but silence? Hence, how can silence be golden?

About a month ago we received a message from some family members that an uncle of mine has been admitted to the CWM hospital and was seriously ill.

 I quickly considered the creditability of the information source, therefore I tried to ascertain the noise, by calling my uncle’s landline and his mobile but there was no reply – only silence. Immediately we set about to go and check at his home, before I can be comfortable about contacting our close kin, to inform them of this bad news, but just as we were about to get into action, we all saw the gentleman himself ambling down our driveway in person, noiselessly whistling a tune, much to our surprise. He was himself surprised when we informed him that he was supposed to be sick in the hospital, according to family news we received.

He was in the hospital indeed, he related, but visiting the sick to pray for them; he has never been a patient.

Just imagine; but for the silence of his landline, which was out of order, and his Digicel which needed recharging, we could have resolved our anxieties immediately, for all the while he was at home. Silence was simply not golden.

We are now living in an age where noises are clashing all around us and we all have a dilemma, I suggest, as to the sounds we should hear, because all these noises deliver different information to us. Somewhat like the Fijian lali at boarding school; different beats deliver different information; the time at the top of the hour, the church call on Sundays, or the call to morning duties between six and seven every morning. But whilst the lali serves the purpose of ensuring that the school will function as desired; sounds that we hear in these days and age serve different purposes promoting lifestyle tastes, religious bias, political ideologies; all are meant to sway our thinking and actions towards an agenda which may be hidden. Yet, while noises are desirable, it behooves us to make choices about our situation after deciphering the noises we are hearing. Many of the sounds we hear would deceive us into taking actions that are useless to us on the long run, particularly religious one, I have to say, which are often taken for granted whole without checking, depending on our existing biases. This is true also to a certain extent of political ideologies and lifestyle preferences.

In the last few weeks I have been following the cricket world cup in the Indian continent, and slept very little during the Australia/India quarter final match, only to witness the ousting of the Australian team just before daybreak (Fiji time), which led to the noises heard a week later, to oust the captain, Ricky Ponting. Recently the Australian captain made some interesting points, when he said and I quote;

"The last couple of weeks there's been a few differing opinions out in the papers and out in the news about me and my future as leading the team. It's been nice the last week especially to hear some endorsement from Cricket Australia and the selectors about that position. But that's where the next few days are crucial to me as well. I have to really decide what I think is right for me and the team going forward.”

 The noise will be shouted out loud and clear from all sources namely the “papers and news” but what we choose to hear would be selective no doubt, and eventually the decision we make will be ours and ours alone, tempering our decisions to suit the noises we hear. As Ponting said, “I have to really decide what I think is right for me and the team going forward.” How much of the noises he has heard already, will affect that decision, we wonder.

For us also this is true, what is good and right for us, when we have to make a decision which affect our lives have to be based on the noises we hear being uttered roundabout us; of course we will still make our decisions even in the absence of those noises; as it were within silence, that is for sure, but such decisions honestly, may lack guarantees that the decisions we had to make, were good and right for us, going forward.

Adelaide Sevens

I know a lot of people did not expect it, but the Cup finalists in the Adelaide Sevens said it all; it was between, Samoa, Australia, United States and Wales. This means that the sevens game is changing face.

Not to be seen were the traditional finalists including New Zealand, Fiji and England. It was the beginning of the change that I had been expecting for a while now. Samoa as the only experienced side standing in Adelaide, when the cup quarters began, was expected to take the Adelaide Sevens and they did so with style. Congratulations to the Manu Samoa team and official, for a job well done. They have but two or three points to catch New Zealand and win the IRB Seven Circuits, 2010, if they can continue their form into the rest of the tournaments

Hong Kong would be important to all the competing teams because 30 points is at stake there, when the last whistle is blown on Sunday 28^th March.

I must say that Wales was impressive when they beat Fiji, but they could not replicate their form to win all their pool matches, when they could not account for the Kenyans. Luckily for them they played PNG (the novice side) in their last pool game and scored enough tries to win pool C from Fiji.

The Kenyans are good, but they are running around too much and often forget that the objective of the game is to score tries (i.e. quins). Run by all means but at the opposing goal post to touchdown for a quin. I think Scotland is doing the same thing, which is keeping them down.

PNG is being broken in at the moment but it will be hard for them because they are used to rugby league, where ball hunting is not as crucial as in Rugby Union. In fact this is their problem; they would score when they get their hands on a ball, but they rarely handle the ball, if at all. Unfortunately too, for them, they are entering the circuit when competition is so much stronger than it ever was in the beginning.

I think the Adelaide Sevens, showed up something that needs to be brushed up quickly, namely inaccurate refereeing. To name two, Fiji got a five-pointer from a Welsh 22 touchdown. Zar Lawrence of New Zealand was yellow-carded for being up-ended by an opposing player, as I saw it at least. New rule that one.

What is new is the acceptance of Sevens as an Olympic sport, so most countries will now try to strengthen their Seven’s prowess, because any team can win a medal in Sevens, if they become consistent in the next few years; the United States and Japan apart from all the rest of the Rugby giants, have the resources to up their performances and vie for an Olympic medal next time around.

Fiji as expected, is losing the Serevi touch, and is clearly showing that they have not learnt any new things since Serevi was unceremoniously sacked as Fiji Seven’s coach. Nevertheless I still hope they will do better in Hong Kong this week, though I am not betting on it, because I do not want to feel upset if they did not do well again. In fact, the Fiji coach and management are onto the blame game, according to reports in our two daily newspapers; “The boys are at fault” the Manager said, “They did not follow the game plans so they lost”. That is unfortunate I think because divide and rule could undo cordial relationships in Hong Kong for team Fiji. Manasa Bari, a former Fiji world cup sevens player, did not think our team had any game plan at all, and I have to agree. I think the Fiji Rugby Union should be viewing curriculum vitaes of possible future coaches from former players especially, to pick up someone who can take over from Tanivula soon.

United States played very well indeed and I believe they will become a powerhouse of sevens in the years ahead, when more resources are made available to them. Australia must be congratulated for their effort to reach the semi final, after so many years in the wilderness. The Argentine rebuild is already bearing fruit having reached the quarters in Adelaide.

Hong Kong Sevens will be interesting. Samoa could pull it again, but apart from the old hands, there are new teams on the horizon now, who could give them a good go. The five pool competition has been allotted with Samoa heading Pool A against Argentina, Russia and Italy. New Zealand heads Pool B, against Scotland, France and Chinese Taipei. Fiji is in Pool C against the USA, Portugal and Thailand. Australia heads Pool D against Canada, Tonga and China. England heads Poll E against Wales, Japan and Hong Kong and Kenya heads Pool F against South Africa, Zimbabwe and Korea.

Best wishes to one and all. By the way, Support Fiji Rugby, buy a FRU lottery ticket; for $20.00 only. Contact me if you are interested.

Vanity of Vanities

I watched part of the Academy Award show last night, and somehow this word kept springing up in my mind. Vanity. The women were especially beautiful in their dresses; which I thought were a little overdone in some cases, whereas the men were in their usual tuxedo; what else can they wear if it is not a tux? Maybe they should have a bula award night sometimes, and get all the men come in their bula shirt and the ladies in brightly-colored muumuu.

For one night, they all came to receive their awards for the work they had done the previous year. Unfortunately only one person can receive the award in each category and I guess those who won the statuette called Oscar should be heartily congratulated. In an interview, one of the hosts said to one of the guests, “Your look so beautiful” and the ladies response was interesting because she looked down her dress and explained it, as if it was the dress that made her beautiful. One of the meaning of the word vanity says; ‘excessive pride in one's appearance or accomplishments’ immediately applies here of course.

It was Peter Lee who once gave us an interesting sermon on this word vanity; but I did not really pay too much attention beyond the sermon time, to truly appreciate that everything in this world is indeed vanity. The point that Peter wanted us to learn that day revolves around the fact that whatever human beings did in this world was vanity. That is to say that everything we do, lack real usefulness, worth, or effect. It refers to the worthlessness of what we do.

I am afraid but I have to agree, because what I and two others did for Fiji ended up nowhere. There were three of us, namely Mackenzie, Sannergren and I, with a lot of good people, worked hard to develop a shipyard in Fiji; and as anyone can see in broad daylight, all our work went down the drain, they were all in vain ; vanity all.

In this respect we might say that the hard work done by Jai Ram Reddy and Sitiveni Rabuka and their respective supporters in developing Fiji’s 1997 Constitution was in vain, after its removal by Fiji’s President in 2007 or thereabout; vanity all.

Vanity also means something that is vain, futile, or worthless. In this respect there is nothing more relevant then the Global Warming claims that has been pervading the world until the lies were exposed just prior to the global warming hooha in Copenhagen this year; that this world was warming up due to carbon emissions caused by human beings. But proponents of the hoax have not given up; now they have renamed it climate change; and I am confident that if they change its name several times more it will still be vanity. In a letter I wrote in the newspapers sometimes ago, I said that the scientists did not take into consideration that there is a Creator in heaven who is in control of the universe, and that Creator had this (Ecclesiates 1:2-11) to say:

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit has a man of all his labor at which he toils under the sun? One generation passes away and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever. The sun rises and the sun goes down and hastens to the place where it rose that from thence it may rise again. The wind blows toward the south, and turns about to the north; it whirls continually, and returns again according to its circuits. All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place from whence the rivers flow, there they return to flow again. All things are wearisome: a man is not satisfied with utterance, his eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor his ear satisfied with hearing. The thing that has been is that which shall be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun. Whosoever speaks and says, Look, this is new, should know that it already has been in the ages which were before us. There is no remembrance of former generations; neither shall there be any remembrance of generations that are to come with those that will come after.”

I am afraid those who think that the world will have to be protected from manmade global warming make fools of themselves, in their vaunted positions as scholars in human wisdom. The words of the Preacher has been true for almost 7,000 years, we come we go, but the world abides forever. It is vanity that will keep the climate change fire burning, that in spite of the truth; there are people whose faces needs to be saved, they will maintain global warming now called climate change (in spite of the fact that it does not) is caused by human beings. What utter rubbish.

On ABC news today, I was furious to hear General Cosgrove calling for action on climate change and saying that Australia should be using its uranium to generate electricity and owes it to its neighbors to take action on climate change. He added “I anticipate the outcry that nuclear materials are horribly unclean. Of course they are, if their care in operation and custody overall is deficient. But if you look after that side of it, then in a climate change sense there's hardly a cleaner energy resource. (emphasis mine)”

I guess the General cannot see that he is merely spearing his own feet. If humans are the cause of climate change, how can he expect human to look after that side of nuclear generation, to control nuclear waste? Fossil fuel had a bigger advantage any day; its natural waste is actually part of the eco-system of the world. Carbon dioxide is a nutrient to the trees and the grass that the world rely on for its sustenance and maintenance.

Vanity! Too much irrelevant education; education for the sake of money in lieu of education for the sake of the truth, the reality of life as it moves on, while we humans come and we go.