IT’S a circus – we are. All of us. The whole lot. Yes, you. Him, her, them, me. We are complicit even though we do not realise it. Or deny it.

The people we point fingers at point back at us and the cycle repeats. The “vicious cycle”, as people say. What’s so “vicious” about it?

A lot of how we make sense of our world and ourselves is an illusion. The illusion is repeated and regurgitated in our culture – in this digital age, via the electronic media.

We are all biased – even though Malaysians are generally the best fence sitters in the region when it comes to sharing their opinion on things in person. I say “in person” because while Malaysians are loud online – Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Tik Tok and so on – in real life, in the flesh, we are a timid and respectful lot. That’s not a criticism – it’s a strength.

But as with any perceived “strength”, it should not be left to be lauded and left to the elements. This virtue has been exploited by the elite.

Take, for example, our exemplary “Malaysian hospitality” that we proudly show off to tourists. Do we laud this because tourists bring in their money alone? Or is it a virtue that tourists themselves notice and spread it via word of mouth to others?

Why is this virtue not shared with others, too, namely the seemingly faceless immigrant workers who come to our shores to earn a living while incidentally building our cities, our suburbs, managing our kitchens, markets, housing estates and so on?

Maybe we do, it is just that we do not see that much in the media, do we? Good news is bad news – we have a fetish for bad news because as the journalistic adage goes: bad news is good news.

Hence, don’t solely make sense of your world through the news – open your window, take a walk outside (adhere to the standard operating procedure, of course). The world goes on – all this stuff in the news is illusory. It’s not “the world”.

Likewise, a lot of what we perceive as nonsense in our world is also illusory. It’s not really as nonsensical as you think it is. Things only make sense to us because as a species, we always seek form in the world around us so that we can grasp it within our intellectual capacities, unlike other species.

“Species”, I say? Naysayers, especially demagogues, would surely disagree with this notion because according to the scriptures, we human beings are superior to other beings in this world – some say we were made in the image of God.

Herein lies the fallacy of human rationale: a false sense of superiority. Unlike say, other mammals, our superiority is not tested by our physical might – we expunge our superiority in what we leave behind.

It’s a false sense of superiority: in a world where every culture, religion, belief system plays on the virtue of being “the chosen one”, one can surmise that the real chosen one is the unchosen, the neglected, the outlier.

Even the holy books noted this: most prophets were outsiders of their times. Loners. There’s no such thing as being “chosen” anymore. It’s a myth. Live with it.

There are many things that will remain a mystery to us, that’s a fact. Heck, we are a mystery to ourselves.  

A lot of what binds us together is imaginary – just as much as we are mystified by the behaviours and beliefs of others from our own species.

Nation states are just the most recent experiment in human society and culture – it’s only a couple hundred years old. Before that, we had empires – the ugly and brutal traces of which have shaped the corners, crevices and spaces on this third rock from the sun we call home.

National borders are imaginary – but also living proof that even something imaginary can also be lethal. Witness how wars have been waged to expand or defend territories.

We are like children on a playground when you observe things from further afar – children are examples of who we really are. That’s why we tell them early on what to do, what to learn, how to behave, why it matters, who’s in charge and what not.

Evolutionary-wise, we are not really that advanced: the gazelle in the savannah is more evolved – witness how a newborn is able to stand up on its feet minutes after being born so that it can run away from predators to safety. We take at least a decade of care by parents before we become someone “useful”.   

Most importantly, a lot of what keeps us apart and suspicious of one another is also imaginary. Ideologies. False consciousness. Fake common senses.

Take a simple local example: if a Malay person – who is constitutionally and automatically a Muslim – falls in love with a non-Malay – who by the same constitution and ideological logic probably a non-Muslim – the institutional assumption is that the non-Muslim will have to convert to Islam by hook or by crook to make the union legit in marriage.

Strip away the religious and ideological veneer, what you left with? Just two individuals of the same species attracted to each other driven by hormones who wish to copulate and beget an offspring or two.

Why does the system make that so difficult? Yet, “love” is marketed to us like some form of “miracle” that rises above everything else. Well, love does that – it’s just not the sort that is propagated to us by the system.

The penultimate cultural expression of this is in popular rock group Search’s hit song, Isabella – the ultimate expression of the Malay adage “biar mati anak, jangan mati adat” (better to lose your child than lose your tradition) in the guise of a forlorn love ballad.

Read the lyrical refrain in the chorus again. What a brutal and uncaring adage, but ultimately melodramatic, pure theatre. Ironic given that Malay civilisation in the past thrived on intermarriages and cross pollination.

There’s no such thing as “Malay” by the way – it’s a colonial ideological construct. Politics is ideological, wise up. There’s no saviour. Only we ourselves can save ourselves. Kita jaga kita.

The system is rigged by design and our backs have always been against the wall. Taking sides will not make a lick of a difference – it just divides and keeps us apart and this is the currency that keeps our political leaders and elites on top.

Nature is hierarchical – there’s no justice in the animal kingdom. Deal with it. This is the best we have got. They are products of the same system you and I come from. We are all complicit. Pointing fingers will not preclude you from the circus.

There are not enough emergency rafts for all of us when the ship sinks. But we can dream to achieve that, and that dream is important.

The act of trying to achieve it is the good fight, even though it is an exercise in futility. One must dream. – July 2, 2021.

* Azmyl Yunor is a touring underground recording artiste, and an academic in media and cultural studies. He has published articles on pop culture, subcultures and Malaysian cultural politics. He adheres to the three-chords-and-the-truth school of songwriting, and Woody Guthrie’s maxim “All you can write is what you see”. He is @azmyl on Twitter.

* Azmyl Yunor is a touring underground recording artiste, and an academic in media and cultural studies. He has published articles on pop culture, subcultures and Malaysian cultural politics. He adheres to the three-chords-and-the-truth school of songwriting, and Woody Guthrie’s maxim “All you can write is what you see”. He is @azmyl on Twitter.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.