(Business Lounge Journal – Foreign Insight)
BL: Business Lounge Journal
TV: Thomas Vardas
TV: Well that’s life, you always have to make choices you know. I’m from Texas and we have a saying that you know how the road is divided on Texas highways. When it’s a two-lane road it’s divided by a yellow stripe. And it’s in the middle of the road. So there’s nothing– The only thing you’re going to find in the middle of the road are dead armadillos, which an armadillo in Texas is– I don’t know an armadillo is a special animal that’s native to Texas. But who wants to be a dead armadillo? So you have to choose where you stand, and you always have to have an opinion. That’s a good thing. But that’s a good thing about a democracy, is that you don’t have to be afraid to show your opinions and you can still thrive. And you know sometimes the road goes this way, sometimes it goes that way. And you have to keep going and try to make it the best you can, and not be afraid to let people know what you consider is the right, the right choice. So life is about making choices, Michael. Sometimes it’s not easy but you have to do it.
BL: Well it’s life, isn’t it?
TV: Indeed.
BL: Some people have to make a choice
TV: The point was, you know we all have opinions and what makes a country like Indonesia for instance so great is that it’s– you great in your diversity. Even though there are different opinions, there are different languages, there’s different religions, different ethnic groups, but somehow everyone manages to live together, and to have created a wonderful country. So you know that’s to me that’s what is important is that we have to be tolerant, we have to respect each other, we have to acknowledge that sometimes we may not agree. But at the same time, we try to understand each other and we live in peace. And you know, that’s what will make sure that in the future, what we see is a global refugee crisis can disappear. Can you imagine all the wars stop, people can go home, people can enjoy the food that they love to eat, and that they grew up with and the surroundings that they grew up with. That’s what we all should be working toward.
BL: Right now I can only imagine.
TV: Well we can only imagine but with that imagination, we can try to move forward and make our imaginations come true.
Business Lounge Journal/VMN/BLJ