My next-door neighbor adopted a dog. Day and night it would balk non-stop for hours. I have always hated noise. But in addition to my mounting annoyance, the balking sound also gives me a chance for contemplation.
Noise
Of all the human senses, hearing is the most difficult to control. We can always avert our eyes when we don’t want to see something, move our hands when we don’t want to touch something, spit something out when we don’t want to taste it, and block our nostrils when we don’t want to smell an unpleasant smell. But it is extremely hard to completely block a loud noise, even if we hard press our ears with our hands. And of course we want to free our hand to do something more important.
That is why one of the most outrageous ways to violate human freedom is to use sound. Marketers are learning it. On the streets, in the supermarkets, in the cafeterias, using images for advertisement and propaganda is becoming the old way. Now we have big speakers barking directly into our ears about what is on sale, what is new, what is desirable, what a good citizen should do. Which is definitely annoying. But what upsets me the most is not that it is annoying, but that the Vietnamese culture seems to trivialize it, embrace it, or even encourage it. Being loud in a restaurant is normal. Turning the volume to its maximum level when there is a wedding, or a funeral is normal. The excuse is that it is “traditional”. Traditional what? Do we have big ass speakers 50 years ago? And why the fuck should I suffer bashing wedding music or depressing funeral music when I have absolutely no concern? No, there is nothing in the name of tradition here. What it is is ignorance and inconsideration.
Inferiority complex
I rarely have the chance to talk to my neighbor. One time was several years ago, when, soon after we started talking, he asked whether I know this guy or that guy, who was doing very well and who has some vague relation to him. I didn’t realize at that time, but then it has become clearer to me that people who talk in such a way have an inferiority complex. The talk is directed outward, not toward themselves, because they have nothing to say about themselves. So they try to use association, linking themselves with someone better to raise their status, to feel better.
Another trait of such people is that they always try to abuse the little power they have. It can be towards their own children (is it the reason why they love to have many children?). Or it can be towards a dog. After listening to my request to handle the non-stop barking, my neighbor admitted his powerlessness: “Hm, but what can I do?”. Then immediately feeling inadequate, he turned to the dog and command: “You, stop barking!”. We can be quite sure of the effectiveness of such a command.
Motivation
I should have known that making a polite request is a desperate measure. Certainly, I have no right take from others the “pleasure” of adopting a dog, the “fun” on their wedding day, the “anguish” for their loved one. I also have no right to take from them their freedom to be ignorant, inconsiderate, uncultured. It is surely a priceless, inseparable gift that their nature, their parents and their culture have given them.
So what can I do? I can turn my anger and hatred into motivation. I am free to do what I want, too! I can build a soundproof room (which I just did). I can try to push my capacity to the limit, earn myself different options and a higher level of freedom. The freedom to distance myself from the ignorant, the inconsiderate, the uncultured. Though I sometimes remind myself that I have to be realistic and admit that fate is not always in my hands, each time the dog starts its barking session, I feel an immense amount of power to take control of my fate. Thank you, dog and neighbor!