Though people still don't know the actual cause of Amy Winehouse's death, many believe she fell into the abyss of promiscuity, profanity and drugs.

The 27-year-old's tragedy is more or less a reflection of a society that, as her last album title betrays, has gone Back to Black. This is largely because of the one-sidedness of "enlightenment" and a certain hedonism that has given rise to a weird sense of freedom and pleasure among human beings. People feel the need for spirituality but are unwilling to sacrifice anything for it. Spirituality has been reduced to little more than an individual affirming himself/herself.

But living according to one's own beliefs and criteria is a false recipe for life. The refusal to accept life as it is and the lack of being held to a standard are ultimately the refusal of love itself, which ruins humans. It is precisely by allowing themselves to be pruned that humans mature and bear (good) fruit.

In this age, the intimate link between freedom and truth has been obscured in the minds and hearts of some. We all need to set out on the mountainous path of good where we will discover greater beauty, which lies in the efforts demanded by truth.

Paul Kokoski, via e-mail

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(China Daily 07/28/2011 page9)