I’m grateful there’s no ‘the worst of times’

“WE may not claim to have fully reached the age of wisdom ...”

The tumultuous times in which we live in brings to mind how apt the opening chapter of Charles Dickens’s 1859 novel A Tale Of Two Cities is to the present.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

The worst and the best of times are encapsulated in the experiences of a 7-year old girl, from a war-torn city recently who tweeted: “I am afraid. How are you? I am on the run now… Please save us. Thank you.”

Her mother messaged a couple of days later, saying: “Please, please, please help make this ceasefire work and get us out now. We are so tired.”

Hours later, a non-governmental organisation reported that the girl was out of the city, and the Humanitarian Relief Foundation wrote on its Twitter account: “This morning the mother was also rescued from the city with her family. We warmly welcomed them.”

In the scheme of things, that was an irrelevant and unimportant incident.

But for the girl and her family, virtually a Christmas miracle. Perchance a reminder of the Christmas miracle?

Every day, when I pick up the newspapers, listen to the news or watch the news on TV, I read, I hear, and I see “the worst of times”, “the age of foolishness”, “the season of Darkness” and “the winter of discontent”.

And then I confront the reality of our own situation and that of most of our countrymen, which is that we live in a stable society, free of the strife and conflict afflicting so much of the world, even we may not claim to have fully reached the age of wisdom.

We are free to celebrate Christmas, Ramadan, Hari Raya, Wesak and Deepavali, a freedom that is something to celebrate and, indeed, something to cherish in its own right.

Let’s cherish this freedom by celebrating our festivals with our families and friends from different ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic groups .

Let’s also spare a thought for those caught up in the “worst of times”, especially the children, the old and sick, the women, the deprived, oppressed and downtrodden.

At the same time, let’s give practical help, in the true tradition of all religions, to all those in their hour of need.

May God bless our people and our country.