“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country…” ~ Famous quote from the inaugural address by former US President John F Kennedy on January 20, 1961.
The recent development in Malaysia has prompted me to think a lot lately. There are lots of things that I wanted to share, but I kept on writing and deleting it for the past hour, because it’s hard to put my actual thoughts into words.
Bottomline is, too many Malaysians are complaining too much recently. We are always asking what the country can do for us… but how often have we heard from Malaysians on what we can do for the country instead?
Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
Malaysian social politics
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wow coming from ‘the grounds’, this is rather inspiring :) i totally agree with you on this. lets look positive, and do what we can for the country in our small way :)
i agree with that, but actually that quote, just to defend some govr’nt mistake or action for example of one country can’t give provide good facilities or sort of and then we demand for better.. and then big gun says “don’t keep demanding, and ask what country can do for you but ask what you can do country” come on.. we born as citizen, we work all day out, we study for most of our life, we make the system work.. that a lot thing we do… but keep asking “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country…” come on.. we tax payer remember… we deserve better..
It’s not wrong for people to demand from the government; with demands came improvements. We need to balance our act though… to contribute to the country instead of endless complains and demands.
Yes, some of us have been working hard our entirely life, contributing for the society as well as making a living… but not all of us can say that we are doing our best, or at least trying to.
Paying taxes is the least we can do, nothing to hoo-hah about that… have you done your best to make the country a better place?
“We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these ends, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government shall become destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, & to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles & organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety & happiness.” Thomas Jefferson
In which manner has any of the aforementioned essence has ever been bestowed upon the common people of Malaysia?
Unless you have been oblivious to Mahathir’s venemously-surpressing regime or you are overly unrealistic……
how enraging to even suggest that we ask not of what the country can give us but the other way round?
The Tourism Malaysia ads are simply a facade, a Potemkin’s village at best. Indeed we have plenty to offer but the bottom line is : who’s at the receiving end? Who gets to rake in all the profits at the expense of the deserving common people?
Every ounce of what we have accomplished hitherto is not a result of the government’s generosity. Therefore, please spare us this misuse of the infamous JKF quote, which can only be applied in a fair and unbiased scenario.
Your interpretation of patriotism is scary especially in the context of Malaysia. But with due respect, yes, Malaysia is beautiful-it’s flora and fauna; and i salute self-sacrificing individuals who inspire me to join their efforts in making this country safer, happier and more just.
I am not asking Malaysians to serve the government, not BN, not Pakatan or whatever political parties.
Look beyond politics my fellow Malaysians… there are lots of ways to contribute to the country. Have we done enough for the poor? Have we done enough for the environment? Have we done enough for racial unity? Have we done enough (quoting your words kokoro) in making this country safer, happier and more just?
The JFK quote is not misused, just misunderstood.
great post.
but, have YOU contributed to the country?
practice what you preach.
Contributed? Yes, and probably more than average.
But I’m still far from reaching my limit to contribute to the society; I mean, what’s the exact limit to what we can contribute?
I’m trying to strike a balance of living a selfish live and to devote myself for the benefits of others… but frankly it’s just excuses for me to not contribute to the society more than what I am already doing now.
The main article is not just to criticise others, but a friendly reminder for myself. Practising what I preached… I’ll keep that in mind.
I think serve our country quite well actually, with all the taxes and such. What else can an average Malaysian do? Spread the love? And if the Gov. expects us to do that or at least feel that way, they better pull up their socks! For one, other than spending a shit load of money on some stupid decisions(Ex. Proton), learn how to spend it to favor our country.
Another thing is, people from other countries do complain a lot about their political and governmental leadership issues, mainly I think that’s the only way to give the government feedback that would actually raise some attention. (Ex. The States)
The government is spoiled… and we should stop feeding it! And you said about benefiting others, like how exactly? And are you contributing to society, or contributing to the country, its different.
Example… there’s many Malaysians who complain about corruption but would never hesitate to ‘contribute’ to the problem, i.e. kopi duit instead of getting a ticket etc.
I’m not asking everyone to become a role model; but at least we could try not to worsen the problems that we’ve kept complaining on. It would be a huge breakthrough if the majority could follow this simple rule.
I agree on your point that we shouldn’t feed our spoilt government; but the country is not just about politics… it’s about the society, the people, the land, the environment, the culture etc. There’s many non-political ways to contribute to the country.
One last story… I’ve been donating 5-10% of my income to various non-governmental organisations for the past five years. No big deal, and it’s probably not worth mentioning. But I’m trying, that’s the point.