The energy and power to be yourself

1988: bus stop in Singapore, hot sunny Monday; an elderly woman sees a group of Japanese approaching the bus stop, gets up with a disguise in her eyes about the group not because they were from Japan and representatives of a nation once having caused serious problems in the region during the last world war...but to appear only in groups. Her look at me is still present in my vibrant memory.

Japan with no natural resources but a long-standing history of innovation based on the rich culture it enjoys has seen the mentality of working in closed groups for a lifetime loyal to the same company. Even after work colleagues party together and feel ashamed to make use of the granted holidays from work. Social pressure on students to strive for excellence relates to one of the highest suicide rates in the world...a very rich capitalists society. Honestly, trustworthiness and hard work and dedication to the employer and country are the pillars of Japanese society as long as the economic stability is not questionable. Globalization has changed the agenda and traditions laying off people once having not to doubt to be unemployed ever. Groundbreaking innovations stood and stand behind mass production and copying other world-shaking new products and services.

Former Communist and Socialist countries believed working in groups under the command of a few among them with high political ambition and less professional qualifications would create a fair, social, inclusive and rich nation. The lack of individual strive which by its core conditions comes with the reward for personal increased freedom and financial liberty with the spirit and responsibilities to lead others and partially rule over them lead eventually to its collapse.

China once dominated by ideas of Communism, like USSR having left many citizens behind in Millions of body bags opposing the spirit of individual minds, successfully made a u-turn before people in power got irrelevant. The numbers of citizens made it necessary to create a market-based economy on the principles of speed by copying others that had walked before them and advanced on their innovative solutions. Making very good use of the full potential of their citizens in the marketplace could potentially lead to unwanted emerging ideas that could further unpredictably spin the wheel of fortune.

The USA, the "County of the Free" sees the power of the free mind not only reflecting in recent mass shootings of innocent victims and storm on Capitol Hill, rather it comes with a heavy price tag seeing an economic, social and educational drift in Its society. Many of its citizens face eroding infrastructure while standing in line at food banks to make it till the next morning (having to drive with their SUVs and cars to this lifeline). Still today a career from Dishwasher to Billionaire in the shortest possible time is possible for the few unlike in any country of Europe.

History is teaching us the same lessons over and over again to allow the free mind to work and empower humans to excel beyond their wildest dreams for their own happiness as well as the benefit of a nation, something possible and effective only in wise societies in which everyone knows his place, accepts the advances in other people's life not with "pulling down mentally" but embraces the open doors given to walkthrough one the day or accept the conditions of an easier more layback lifestyle by the individual itself and based on its own free will.