The definition of the term 'Slavery' from Mariam-Webster Online Dictionary is that of 'a submission to a dominating influence'. I associate this concept of slavery to that of the wedding practices of mainly Chinese in my region. In some cases, for Chinese people, their parents determine and make the decisions as to who they should marry, who they should associate with, how their marriage ceremonies should be carried out, where they should live after marriage, how many children they should have and so on.
There was a conversation between two disc jockeys on a Chinese radio station this morning about 'bribing' or getting into the good books of in-laws through the giving of gifts and paying lip service.
Call me cynical but I can clearly see the association between Chinese wedding practices and their way of life and the concept of slavery. There is always the dominating party/parties, in our case, the parents. And we always have to act and behave in a way which pleases them.
THe question is, do they own our lives? Are they living our lives? Are we then slaves?
While some people may say that respect and family values are the actual beliefs underlying the lives of Chinese, I wonder if it is simply slavery in disguise. Respect has to be earned. Just simply because someone is the biological parent of a child, does not mean that the child give respect the person without questioning.
Am I too extreme? I wonder.
Where does the concept of freedom and liberty to walk one's own path come into the picture?
No comments:
Post a Comment