About ten days ago, I attended a training session for Emergency Preparedness in Vancouver. Before the session commenced, the trainer asked us to take turns to introduce ourselves to the group of about 25 attendees. Other than the regular questions such as name, occupation, neighborhood, etc, the trainer also wrote on the slide "something interesting about yourself (in 2-3 lines)" for the self introduction.
The next day I asked a friend the same question. She responded by stating her assumptions that she would not want to reveal to strangers something too personal about herself. She gave a narrative like this, "I like to travel. The last place that I travel to is Morocco." As it turned out, I had a similar introduction and half of the group described their travels in their introduction. The rest of the introductions were so typical that I forgot what they were.
Out of the two dozen introductions at the training session, I could only remember distinctively a couple of introductions. A lady sitting at the back corner chimed out, "I have five dogs at home, and my dogs would eat before I do in the event of food shortage after a major disaster." The other introduction was a sales pitch from a realtor. Even though I was not in the market for buying or selling a home, his introduction stood out.
I reflected on the question and concluded that I do indeed dwell in a generally conservative and conforming society. Most people would not dare to reveal what they are truly passionate about. Are we getting more secretive in spite of the fact that we have entered the age of "Protected Human Rights"? Or it is an effect of the prevalent "I don't care" attitude? I believe it is a combination of several factors. It seems to me that the anti-war protesters and tree-hugging environmentalist must have all retired or passed away.
In many ways, it is not as fun to live in a modern society where people are indifferent about many things. Years ago, I would make friends with the people sitting next to me in a plane on long flights. These days passengers would put on the earphones once they settle in their assigned seats, and avoid conversations as much as possible. Prior to the internet age, when you had a problem, you would ask other people for suggestions and/or advice. Now Google is everybody's best friend. Be it a relationship problem or a DIY issue, all you have to do is ask your best friend.
No wonder when the trainer asked for something interesting about the attendees, only one person in a group of 25 people could come up with an original, passionate and unique answer.
The next day I asked a friend the same question. She responded by stating her assumptions that she would not want to reveal to strangers something too personal about herself. She gave a narrative like this, "I like to travel. The last place that I travel to is Morocco." As it turned out, I had a similar introduction and half of the group described their travels in their introduction. The rest of the introductions were so typical that I forgot what they were.
Out of the two dozen introductions at the training session, I could only remember distinctively a couple of introductions. A lady sitting at the back corner chimed out, "I have five dogs at home, and my dogs would eat before I do in the event of food shortage after a major disaster." The other introduction was a sales pitch from a realtor. Even though I was not in the market for buying or selling a home, his introduction stood out.
I reflected on the question and concluded that I do indeed dwell in a generally conservative and conforming society. Most people would not dare to reveal what they are truly passionate about. Are we getting more secretive in spite of the fact that we have entered the age of "Protected Human Rights"? Or it is an effect of the prevalent "I don't care" attitude? I believe it is a combination of several factors. It seems to me that the anti-war protesters and tree-hugging environmentalist must have all retired or passed away.
In many ways, it is not as fun to live in a modern society where people are indifferent about many things. Years ago, I would make friends with the people sitting next to me in a plane on long flights. These days passengers would put on the earphones once they settle in their assigned seats, and avoid conversations as much as possible. Prior to the internet age, when you had a problem, you would ask other people for suggestions and/or advice. Now Google is everybody's best friend. Be it a relationship problem or a DIY issue, all you have to do is ask your best friend.
No wonder when the trainer asked for something interesting about the attendees, only one person in a group of 25 people could come up with an original, passionate and unique answer.
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