110: A Nice Country (2)

【Nice Person】
A country that embodies safety/politeness, yet shuns away people in need of help around the world.
 
A country that welcomes people in need of help, even when it means compromising on its own safety/politeness.
 
A nice person is someone who tries best to accept and help others in real need--even when it’s inconvenient, or at times unpleasant.
 
A nice country is where more people are practicing this nice person behavior--even when mixing people of diverse backgrounds can sometimes be quite messy. It can also be called a nice society.
 
That is, even when people of different cultures/customs face a challenge to share and live together in the same place.
 
Of course, safety is very important, and its compromise shouldn't be taken lightly. After all, peace is built upon a foundation of safety everywhere. However, ensuring safety only for ourselves is no doubt an “as long as it’s fine for us” behavior.
 
And that’s not what nice people do.
 
In Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Palestine, South Sudan, Myanmar, and more. Over 114 million people are displaced from their homes due to conflict/violence today, making it the worst in human history. Roughly 40% are children under the age of 18. One-third of the families can’t send their children to school, and only 10% can afford tuitions.
 
Meanwhile, many of us enjoy the benefits of comfort simply because we’re born in a safe/prosperous country; to parents who are citizens of those fortunate countries. In contrast, many of us are shut out from sharing in on those benefits simply because we just happen to born in an impoverished nation or war zone; to parents who are citizens of such countries.
 
Naturally, given that we’re all equal as humans, it’s unjust to be forced upon inborn inequities on the basis of place of birth or parental background.
 
With this in mind, when we praise Japan today as a nice country, we’re essentially praising as nice people those who continue on with “as long as it’s fine for us” behavior while refusing/excluding others in serious need of help around the world.
 
A truly nice country is one where people regularly engage in discussions about welcoming immigrants/refugees, nurture compassion through a global lens, deepen thoughts of helping those in need, and honestly work towards a more mature society.
 
At least in a little more than half of America, we find hope in the liberal spheres of the society where people work hard to try to help immigrants/refugees looking for better life/future; where people are willing to take up that great challenge to make this world a better place for everyone. On the contrary, the conservative spheres of the society mostly represented by the Trump MAGA supporters making up a little less than half of America, insist on the polar opposite while desperately trying to return us to the idea of “as long as it’s fine for us.”
 
In Japan, its government still refuses to adopt an official immigration policy, instead seeks to avoid tensions by closing its borders tight. Trying to advance the society that tends to avoid change, the liberal people work hard but are often shunned and, regrettably, are very few in number. The vast majority of people don’t particularly find the idea of “as long as it’s fine for us” to be a serious problem, perhaps not even aware of it, or even if they are aware, continue on with it, pretending as if people in need of help around the world don’t exist.
 
When we accept people of different cultures/customs, welcome diversity with a big heart, and share/live together in the same place with people from various backgrounds. At times, we may feel that our hometown has changed so much, maybe even too much, from the “good ol’ days.” Perhaps, we may feel a kind of sadness, a sort of melancholy, an air of wistfulness suddenly well up.  
 
Nevertheless, that doesn’t make it right to continue on with “as long as it’s fine for us” behavior, just minding our own self-interests.
 
To be sure, inclusivity is a very difficult task even with a big heart. Mixing people of diverse backgrounds to share/live together in a society can be quite messy at times.
 
In spite of it all, let us have the courage to nurture compassion and welcome people in real need of help around the world.

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