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Mass Media
t-1
lThe television is detrimental to our abitity to think criticalty. 2should we still expect objective reporting from today,s mass rnedia? Society
5-34
3Has globalisation made the world more civilised?
4clobalisation has cr€ated two worlds, not onc. Comment. 5somc high-profile politicians have brought up claims that the young adults in indllstrialized or rapidly industrialized countries like the Unitcd Statcs and Singapore are too self-absorbed. Do yott agree? 6The family has suffered at the expense ofcareer iD Singapor€an society. Disc6s.
TCri(ically examine the forces threatcning the family in Singapore. 8Critically examine the forces threatening the family in Singaporc todav. 9Parents in Singaporc today hnve generally abdicated thcir responsibilities. T(, ivhat extent do you agree with this statement?
lols ar agl]ing population necessarily
llls
a bad
thing?
an ageing population necessarily a b:rd thing?
12ln this modern era, the aged are becoming more ir.relcvant than they ale useful. What arc your viervs? lS lhe greatcst obstacle to womcn achieving eqtlality is the wornen thcrnselves. I)o you agree?
l4our
lives are determined by the places $e :rre born into. How true is this belicP
IsPublic figures have to behave wel! at all times. Do you agree?
l6"Thc road
less
travellcd." (M. Scott Peck) is being diffcrent overratcd?
Valucs lTHumlln lifc
is precious nnd nrtlst bc preservcd at allcosts. Discuss.
lSAsian Values: Do thcy exist?
35-43
38capital punishment versus the life sentence. Discuss. 3gEx-criminals ought to be given a secoud chance. Discuss.
Sports
82-89
40Sport is taking fun seriously. Do you agree?
4lsport has fallen short ofits true ideals. Is this true of today's world? 42Is it true that competitiye sport is all about fame and money?
43with technology, sport is no longer the samc. Do you agree? Miscellaneous
90-104
44"H€al the world, make it a better place." Can we? 45"Science enslaves, the arfs liberates." Discuss.
46Any change in society begins in the school. Comment. 4THistory is dominated by wars. Discuss. 48comment on the st:lte of tr:rditional rrts in your country. 49Genetic Patcnting S0Tragedy and Our Response
\
Quotes
105-109
Vocabulary
110-113
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The television is detrimental to our ability to think critically. The srereotypical imase of the American family is often that of an obese middle_ aged farher. his wife and chitiren on thc of ,,li"L,*.. ,ra';"g white earine chips. rhis "",g" ..*u,io. u,o;;;"";;;;'.;;;;:.,. ", ].1.^Y:::,q" nor enlirety uncommon rn devetoped nar,ons and rew wonder orren calted rhe "idior-box". Of lare. it has [reen accused "h) of discouraging ir"","g a neSari\e effect on rhe vieweft' abiliry to rhink ""a "r.* criticaly.i;; #;",iil;,"r""!il,lir"",
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First of all. ir is neccs.an to clearly defi e whet is refercd lo bv one s ability lo criLica'y. tr rcfers ro rne ar,;liry of rhc i"di",d";i-; i;;i';i.Jri i1,10..,,".. o, ,,, issue and weigh borh rheir meriLs and.faltacies d;"#;;:;firion. To thintr criticatly is ro rhink independenrtu *a ai.pu.ionui"ii,;i;;,f";il"* unafl.ecred by public opinion. Lrsrly, ir is rhe abil;ty to make a rati&i;;:#;;lltson *hur on"," five senses have observed, not one based tlLink
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ln this aspect, the television itselfis to blame to an extent. Most of the timc, what ore sees on any tclevision channcl is the.A-".i.un ui.*. it ill i" i".u"u.."l",ng ,rr" e.onotnii .uf'er porrer. ir hrr. nrrmfred trillrnns *toUnt i",o In.Jir',..nn.lorr"',o p.n1",, ,,.
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advalced satellite technology in the world_ A lot of news and even entertainmenl we rcceive is not witholt an American sl one wonders how one can think criticallv when tt is o,rty u,re'ui.*;;l;:#;:1*
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Of'ten. the infomtalion we reccivc is already in processed fon]r. When flmous juagn'.,'i o,' ,,,f i,,u., iil'o.irr, ,",i";.", Atd"nt fans o[ celebrities hang o' to every word "n, their idols say even if th. ."l"b.itutl rirrrc or nothrrtg rbout a Prrticular issuc.
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Another important reason whv rhe teler tsion is more prone to such accusation in comparisoo ro orher rnass nredi:r i< ',"."','J, the ,.,.; ;il; il.rlormilin . WlleI r(rdi g,u.r..p,,p.r..,u,. ";;;;';#'i',in', hjls t,, tr) lr\t to tmirAine i d s..c the cverr rcporrc,t hrpperrinr ir s rrrirrd },... ,"1,u^n".s onr1 i. in""oi",*o .",o,,,"u nhotoBrilphs to aj(l the Fro!c\s.'ne The radio only providcs sound, so what the cvent itself IooL: lrke r. upir ro intcrtrr,.rirriL,rr fh"
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However' saying trrar rerevision.is. . alJ:rin be inational. There
only detrimenral to critical thinking woutd,
p.og.o--". to i","". Uy channels such as Narional Geographic, 'Diicovery ".a'"a"y"a "li ggc fn.iri.t ifr"*"i'ani Broadcasting Corporation). Oftcn, highly .ont,nu"rriit ,rr"*'_l'ol"o"o _a c\jltu.,,e,t. objccriv.ry ,,,,1 "p,,,u... t.ngrr,,";,;s,,;;._,i.n 1,:.:!:ll!,"u I i r\s[.s Jrc dehaled tu tlle evtcllt rlrar irs"ifr.r. and cuns rr( c\posed Jn,lll'lno,o the publrc can mrke rr. o$.n rdtrondt judBnrenr Jtrcr lhe d(tire ,,.,",. M,:,.;r";: ;ui..,,,. ,,"** cnJrmets \ucn rs BB( anLi f-lrarrnel \ewsAsr.r gu r\, gre.rt lengrh. to irrteivieu peoplc -caretir who havc sl.oog views regarcring an issue and they are nlot ,o le:we-out any other -o*,,'op,nron perspeclivcs. The sitting at home ian thus form tri"_ _individual on corrtenrior,\ rssucs Irkc clonrng L,r retrorisDtl for exan4rle, t on_fri"-o*n five senscs JrrrrrnlnKln: JOrlrl\.norlIib.r.kprolrlld.Lrplrrrrrernr..r "r.a puhltcofinion. are mind-srimulating
on
Whether the television has a negJti\ c Effc!t o[ crillcJl thrnking ',lr? ur not dcpends on what viewcrs want to watch. .fhc f:rct ihrt pr,.,gr"nun". *f,,.1 Jn c.iticat thinking tend.to be nrorc popular rharr rhose wiL.h.r", .r,",". "n.o"u.og" ,i", p."pi" iiuo,,1, ao no, .I.hcrcforc, want ro thirk criticelly_ one has to bc careful ,"ir"n'Ji...-ing *t,.r progralnnles to watch as a slaple dict and wha( to watch lvhcll onc wants to relax The
quu aments oJ-the qltestioh
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Should we still expect objective reporting from today's mass media?
The mass media refers to institutions concemed with the large-scale pmduction and diffusion of communication. News, which is the product of organizational paocesses and human interaction, is shaped by the mcthods used in the news-gathering process. News is thus affected by the infbmration sources available and the organizational requirements, resources and policies of pa icular institutions. A piece of news is ideally free from bias, opinio\ personal values, prejudices aod associated with scientihc data thai is generated under experimental conditions. Unlike the past, corporations and goverrments arc lrow asserting greater influence on the nuss media today. Also, the profit-motivation of media firms as well as the professionalism ofjoumalists are growinu factors contributing to the distortions of news rcports. Thercfore, we should not still expect objective repofting in today's mass media
In the past, media companies were mainly small scaled and too insignificant to acquiae any power of illfluencc. The arliclcs that they published weie also mostly balanccd and well researched. Today, ownership of the media is largely in the hands of large multinatiolal corporatiolts- Wc arc faced with an incrcasing number of multimedia conglomerales such as the Ruper( Murdoch's Media Empire which have large control ovcr the various tbmrs of media. The proprictoas of dresc large colporations often play the rolc of gatekecpers. aestrictiltg thc flow of infbmtation in a country. Illey often use their wide ciaculations to promole their pel political causes or dcligrate people t]rey disagree with- These are maidy done through the hiring and firinS of statT. For examplc, two award-winning Florida TV producers working for F'ox News have recently bccn fired after thcy rehrsed to broadcast falsc reports aboul Monsanto's controversial llenetically engineercd growth hom)one. Therelbre, mnny joumalists are 'cocrccd' or 'intinidated' into Dot rEporting things thal atlect the nolhcr company and lelalecl intcrcsts. resLrlling in news repofts drat are largely onc-sicled and lnisleilding. Thc prolit molivation of nledia firms also led to more alisasters beiug broadcast, lhrl appcal nlore lo the audicncc. Thus, due Io corporate influe[ces at]ecting lhe lrass iledia, wc carno{ expect oiiectivc reponing fiom il todayCornpared 1rl in the pasl, media companics today arc increasingly irnder government pressure- Vcry otien. lhe govcrnntent sees the media as a plattbrm ot wlich it can put forth its propaganda alld changc what the pcople think. This is cspccially so when a ruling pa.ty in drat country has a large sha.e of the broaclcast nlcdia timc_ In thc recent fhailand elections, more television coverage was given (o the prime Ministcr. Mr_ Thaksin Shinervatre than to the opposition lcaders. This suggests that Thailand's mass media is not oeutral in its broadcasring approach, espccially since Mr. Thaksin's fnmily runs the kingdon's largest tclecornmunication corporation. Allhough the mass media is given the ficcdorn to repod what i1 wanls and various laws are hid dob,n to avoid nledia bias in many countries, objeclivc reports still c nnot bc cxpected lronr today's mass nlcdilr due to govemrnent ill(ervcntiot.
Joulnalists used to coocLlr thal obicctivily wts the htllnlrrk of crediblc joumirlism- They largely wrote rniclcs orr rvhich thcy wcre tlloroughly informed Today,
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the recent tsunamr however, joumalists lepoft news based on how they see the world ln in their i,r"il"rrt, i.port"." tiom Sri Lanka are known to ex;ggerate the extent of damage of propofiions the to toy with people's emotions in an atGmpt to increase .*" itft'ected """*.y rii po.,i irr,o s.i Lanka Thc danage done to the coast of otherthe locals ,rr"t "ia Joun*i". *u, no,."ported. This skewed piece oiinformation may mislead both joumalists report news as they see it' they would freque[tly and -J io..ign"rr. Sin;e and u"ini.*io"n"ffy slant iheir "ou"rug". Oft""' when joumalists try to be objectivc expect still rp broadcasting their liberaL slalt' As a result' we cannot ,ft"y
U"fm""J,
".a non biased reporting in today's mass nredia-
news There l1as been a growing intcrest among readers worldlvide in.objective broadcast in *" pu.t. ihis m"iy
Morc ancl more newspapcrs claim that they are indepcndent ol -lhe Sovernmenl jollrnalisrs evcn devise ntner inttu"n.ing factors Some of thesc media compuries and publish The Oregonian' "na iiJr-"*t t"*tiq*iof verifying thc faimess of the stories they 'prosecutioD ediling callcd US fror"a daily. for examples, is said lo enlPloy a system "ir"-.r;-i. a stoly. Such news peoplc care about ftcir image and therefore he able to l{owevcr, il today's globalizc woricl' a tnedia cunpaoy will not Itrj."titity "a1tii"^,c
..u,'aotuu"-E'ventuxlly'ilrvillhavelohavelinks,cilhe'withothcfmcdiacolnP.lnie\oI acccpls utir", ,yp". c,f con,panies. Howcver. wllen this happens alld the media lomparly
downmess
kini of favor fiom any source. its stand on objectivity wilL cornc plumnreling ifr'"."to... it is still not possiblc tor us lo expecl objective reporting in today's any
media.
uninlormcd: if Mark Twailr oncc said. "[f you do not rcad ftc newspaPer' you arc lruc {oday' Lls you do read the ncwspaper, you are nrisinfomrecl'" fhis is especially po.ng."pl,,. To(lx), lhe nasr rredrrr lects en,rnclerting trend of lrguccl in the how lo it. c.,nt.ni. iherclbre, pe"plc necd to be cduc'tterl Icgrrdingdevelop r"ii..ri";,v in"bnu" ii"iiirv trri, various tbrms of media sul'iectivrty we rs re'rdcrs rlso ncLdl\' totruthful anda critical eye when reading ttre nc*'si'rpt' rnrl ehsurh tnlolnrtlLln that the nrass rnedia rurlay corupared Lrnbiased since morc opir;onltcd iclcas are rnjectctl intu mass media to in the pasl. Thcreforc. !\'e caflnol still expect objcctivc repotli g from thc today.
etsal' Contcnt of yttur esstty is L:lcarly ttnqlc and x'eLI otganizet! A tog(ttt Hong Ji g Har 04s22
fl Has globalisation made the world more civilised?
In our rnodem world. the word in vogue is .globalisation,_ After the collapse of conmunism and the end of the cold war, globafiz;don, where social, economic ahd political barriers no longer exists, emerged. The workl is a society instead of many smaller sepamte ones, with human interacdon possible anywhere. One of globalization,s premises is that it can eradicate barbarism. violencc alld wars, repJacing it_with refined a society with a univeAal culture. However, many people, including myielf, feel that fhis desired effect ofhaving a less barbaric society has notieen achievi. " One of the indications of a less barbaric world would be a reduction in levels of violence and wars. Tlre world would shrre a common political ideology in globalization, wherecountries would work together to improvc rheu iivcs. This woui-jbe frade possiblc through the transmission of ideas and ways of governance. The westem world, for example' championed the capitarisl cause and triecl to influence the rest of the world to follow suit. Anterica was the forerunner and its fbreign policies under president Bush emphasized a hands-on approach, wherc the Unticd Siates of Arncrica (U,S) personally fook it upon itself to propagare wcstern ideology_ They believed that the US way of govenitnce ought to be adopted by everyone and thaf this way was globalization in terms ofpolitical culture. However, through rhe process of globalization, t"tre US tract nn quatms r:',"s jb.* on rhc rcccr.'rin8 narion. They backed rhe Taiibans whcn rhey werc :l?ll trghttnB the Sovict invasron in rhe 90s because they fcared communism spreading furthel. But they bombcd thcm in the afremurh of ttre 9/11 incidenr They launciect thc traq War to stem thc tide of anti American scnltment. The Antericans, the chempioris of globalization in tcmN of polirical ideology, o[ly allowed for the American way of thinking. other ideas woulrl be quashed and if e.rtire countries were ,,,,in"J r".uu". of globalization through wars ancl violencr-, ir was unavordxble. The tjS-lcd globalization has only shown the inhcaent warring and brrb.lriL lurLrrc ot thc Arn..i."n, u"'u r"rutt.
be that the .. The benefits ()1 globalization in tenns of economic effects would .liading divergence the rich and pooa coult es would be reduced. and rhc _bctween exchange of technology and ideas would enable less_developed countries io catch up with developed ones- Thc developed countr-ics felt that this woulL.l bc an advanced stage in the progress towards racial equality since it was a case of thc rich helping the poor. It would the ulrimare level of aftainment in tenns oi moral values. Wid gtiUuliJ^iion tfllougt trade, the rich, advanced countrics could civilize or enlighten the'poor, backwad ones and bring rhem ro lhc same level. I{owever, rhis only works theoreiicaliy. Globalisation rc\uhcd In lhc ex|loit,rtion of cheap labour ;n count.i"s'tit" China and gnly :tt ,lt"d: lnolA. LaDnur Inten\tvc Lrctoaicl werc situated ilr third world coufltties, whcre workers uere trcared inhuntrncly, Lvrng rn squalor and bcing paid extremcly low wages. f.br rnstance. hum.n right. groups crarnrcd that for a uS$r20 Nikc shoe riiade in china, the worker reccived less rhan UStlj l_ Chikl labour was also reporledly pracrised by Nike shoc manufacturing ifldLrslrics in China as well. Llencc, giobalisation fhrougli tradc has allowed multi-lation{l corpor-ations to lakc aclvantage J cheap labout off.e'rctt Uv rtrira_ world couorr ics. Ycr, whilc they hide uncler the ba[nir of providing jobs t., rt,e ott,.,*,s" joblcss poor and bringing them to rhe sanre civilizcd lcvel evc"rriually, rhey pay rhe
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it is not v/orkers peanuts and give them pathetic livjog conditions This is because the poor would be desirable for them to b;ng thc Poor to the same level of riches since only a engage in siuch labour then. Thus, glotralisation through trade has ;;lh"g -""; civilized the- rioney-grubbitg and hhumane side of the so-called more ;;;.g-h, nations and matle them appear no less barbaric as a result
positive Ilowever, in temrs of global culture' we have definitely procee'ded in a past fifty years. direction. In thelarts, a worl6 iulture has evolved dramatically since the crtlture and Many nrod".nists have fused the best qualities of the Eastern-and Westem an intemationally formecl a whole new breed of fusion ari. For instance, Bright sheng, Chinese and merged successfully has ac.tuiorea Cnin".. compute. expefl in America' would stvles Westem .i^.i*f .".i" togcther. The successful fusion ol O cnlal andeasier to have access to {ar have beel1 irnpossiile without globalisation Furthermore' it is audicnces ln ini".nnLionut u"t. because of iire fact that they are aware of intemational high'-whar with the i.g^p". "f""", lhe number of intemational perlonners is very placc in the pe'iod of Siniupo* e*fti.t e.stivat, Films Festival and Arts Festival taking our cllture and n"friuo.y to ltluy. Internatiolal acts can be flown in and rve can diverslfi stonrore t.ing itio g."ut". fl.ights. ln this rcspect. globalisation hds definitely cxposed cultJralchangcs urd rnacle us more retined and civilized-
"Gtobalisation" is a word that s|ells much (hangc irnd its rcirch is oLrLy limited to or menlal Ihe size of our globe- Despitc our ditfercrlces' be iI rn temN of phy\i(xl hcnefils' ofl't may lt ,ilrp".iry, *. arc-nonetheleis equally cauSht up in globatisatiolr'Liti having a vibra t global atls;ullurc, or ir may spell tlisastcr like cult ral.rcscnlmcnl' iJentity to rnaintain individralily or the exploilntion of cheap lebour' ,ej".tiun n-f gtot,oi _-"fi",c " against such changes may llso show oul barblrric or civilizcd fl"" t*v *. anolher nlater when nature. We llave lo bleaLthe egg in oader lo nrake xn omelct' bllt il is it conres to whether wc woiLld bc wilting to sacrifice our h[manity for corplele glnl\Jtr'irrrnrr irl ill :llca- ofurlr lrulrrarr 'o ict1 Mttin probltm: You tiid nttt tuswer tl( Llltcstion "llas " htfu conclusiott (vo t slightb) Lack Gootl riisr:ussion dt.spit( lhe lttng wirlt:tlness arul perhaps tfu: stiSht of e\)alua!i.)n. Cool! c\anPIes Lirrt Yi Niy 04s31
has crdtted two worlds, not one. Comment.
globalisation was coiied to rcflect the creation of a world in which are non existent Indeed, the ideal aim of globalisation is to unite the this is made possible by the mpid development in communication Nevertheless, sociologists and economi.rs aliLe arc unltzed wirLr the tr,,ne globa,isation and feel lhat jt ha. fallcn \hofl of its rrue ideats. I here'a'.. people who feel drat globalisation has separated the world more than it has agree with this statement to some extent. ir, One of the most evident effects of globalisation is the creation of a .North_South le'- a term coined by economists to describe the huge economic disparity that exisrs een ich and poor nations. Globalisation is often see-n as a fagad" mi rfr"
apitalise
on the poor alrd
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m?Lke themselves richer. Most rich nations have )nted outsourcing policies thaf enable them to tap the ."roua"", of uuoth"a for thei own development. This is evidenr evcn in South_East Asia itr"tf *f,el" t of_the oilfields are owned by Westem companies such as Exxon Mobil. Shell and
sh P.troleurn. Former Indone,ian pre\ident Suklrno o \. dubbcJ gf"fr"ti",io,, .rr the 'new form of colonialism'. lndeed, in the economic sense, *" ;;" ;i;;;';;; globalisarion has created a huge disparity between the rich anil poor natio.s insLeaa of reducing the rich-poor gap. Thus, in a sense, grobalisalion has createcr nor one, but two
Politically, lllobalisation has created a wo.ld whcrc the more powedul ations have tltc most say in worlcl affairs. "fhis rgxin, ls eonrraly ro thc idea ihat elc,balisation \-tould urrrc llrc uorld. Ho$ r. thdr l,trssrble qlren rlre rnorr fowerlul n,rrion,',,r,.rt,e,.lr.; makrrg thc deLrsion? Anlcrirr rrgucd lhat therc was a ncedio invade Iraq on thc basis of Saddam Hussein's weapors progranlme. IJowcver, the Unitc.l N^tio,rlr'1U11 Secu.ity Council votcd against the invasion of Iraq, but was p,r*".t... t,-r fa"u"nt'ilr. ,nuoaiun_ After thc war, it soon became cvirient thit lraq,s supposed pnr."lr"ion-ui *""p,rn, ut mass destruction (WMDS) was a hoax. The events'that occurred in ti," traq Wa, highlighted a clear loirr - rhar the unired srares runs rh," *n,tu nna ,rntro,tv can srand irr its way. The situation has also becn Jescribcd o, u"r"u.r-ttr. *olti,.ituution. Thus, it can be seen that globalisation has not yet fulillcd ".U.S.irs ulr_, oi"riiin, ur" *_fa, but ha.s crcated a lrurf between natiors. Moreov;r, rr h.r, c,ruscd the less pn*.i.t,,t uuriun. to .slrftcr from an irfcdority complex and comply rvrrh thc ,lec,si,rns ol iti" ,no." p,r*"rtut natlons.
t|'r is not ro siry rhirr glohtlisarion is a complete
tailure though. Socially, mirde euhurol tusiun possible in many counrrics, whcre the lif.esryles of .9"t1':ll)r,'"1t:i. tne Last rnd We\r . e buth rhrivrng regardlcss of the paft o[ lhc world thal an tndividual rs rfl. t[ l\ commoD ro find n 'L'hin town' in the Uniled States ancl a .McDonalds, in Sirgapore. lhe intlux of forcigners in individual counrrie. i, o". * irr.,"""i ru.,o..' ,rr", make cultural fusion possibrc. Indeed, culturar fusion has crealed a harmoi'rious mrx ol cultures and has made peoplc aware of another pcrson,s cultnre. lftf,ougt it . i".u" .rf Amcrican cultural domination has oiien croppetl irp, it is quitc cvident tlu_t societies still _
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maintain thcir roots even when exposed to tbrciSn cultures. In the area of music, globalisation has enabled musicians to take the best of both worlds and come up wiih ;omething that shows traits from both worlds. New Age musician, Kitaro' is f'morrs for such com-positions and the Malaysian band 'Too Phat' is renowned for making 'hipiop' music using traditioral tuncs. Thus, in this area, globalisation has united the best from both worlds and created a new blend of culhrre that no country can call its own' In conclusion, globalisation may have failed to unite the world economically and politically, but its success in fusing cultures is not to be played down. Though it has not iully achievert iLs ideal aim of creating a world without borders' it ha$ come a long way from the 1940s when the idea of Germany holdirg talks with the United States was impossible. Ooc of the barriers that used to restrict unity language - has been rernovcd to an exrent. No doubt, globalisatioo is still not very successful- But neve heless, the future certainly looks bright as China rises as a supcrpower and balances the powe' once hcld by the U;iGd States. Hopefully in the futurc. we can one day look fbrward to a real world without borders. The grcdt ma
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is ),aur clear arul ol.lered
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Tan Yee Kiat 04s:]4
GLoBALTZATIoN Qu@T E s: IT HAs sEEN sArD THAT ARculNG AcAINsr GL@BALIzaTl@N ACAINST THE LA'WS - K@FI ANNAN
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DEFINf
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AFFECT TW@-THIRDS OF THE PEOPLE (DF THE W(ERLD. - IlmnY CARTE R
GL@BALIZATIoN HAs cHAticED us INTo A conPANY THAT SEARCHES THE WORLD, N(DT JUST TO sELL lDR T@ S{DURC!, BUT TO FINO INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL - THE 'WORLD.S 8€5T TALENTS AND GREATE5-T IDEAS. \i/E LcH -
IAcK
some high-profire poriticians have brought up clairns that the Joung adurts in industrialized or rapidty industrialized count.ies tike rtr" Uni;;'i,;il;; Silgapore are too self-absorbed- Do you agree? Just two weeks before, five hundred youth convened at the National University
of singapore in early Jure for the amual preuniversitf ,;;;;;il;;;, Durins the seminar, Dr. Vivian Batakrishnan rlescribed Singaporean yo"if, .,::r"ti frr"g.y *a seltrsh". In an informal poll conducred-by ff,. S"r.Ar" "., fi_!, nn ii * overwhelming majorirv begged ro differ wirh ,r,. rnrni.*r, "ililnii uarri"tpru., ,"r"i,[ iiourr, ,tu, ,t -nigir_p;fff. people oI their generation were becoming roo self absorbed. " So_. p,rtiti.ut figurcs have brought up claims that rhe young a.tutrs in rnaustriaiiiea o. ,upiaty indusrrialized counrrics like rhe Unircd stu"" u"j sing;po; ;;.;;i;: r* ," *o'absorbed. Altfiouglr there rna) be some erceprions. in ml opinioni rhosec,l.t,m" arc urli.t to only a srnall cxtent. As education today takes on a morc holistic approach, community work atul lre slowty being inresrated iJ," irr.' *un ,rri, :::l-,^lj,l,,llr"^"reDr """J'",itrrn.
iii!=:Tfli.iLi'f::Tfi'.'.':,'"'a::'"li'":i:::'J";ii'Jlll'"#l$"ily',fi:il:,; themselvcs in chariry work. be it local. o. uu"r."ur..i-1".i_* fii'.*"r"pr", in singapore organ,,.. .,..,",,. ."i;;;;;i, "ta"y in"",,.,'n",,, r.,on.,. :j:":l-"::ll: llii"rr. rrJr alr verv ue rc(ci!ed bv theirrtudenr.. I.lre:c srudenrs g" lreprl
ro tu huild proper schools or visit rural areas in ihailand ro ronstrucr toicrslu. ,i. ."iia"nr._ ,trv"y from home, thesc participants have no lnalenal ctrmlon. "anita,.y yet they carry -rrr"i. out the tasks t*iuta assigned r nuch cnjoymenr and enrhusirsm,
vi
t""*i.g
ur"t" positive diftcrence in the lives of rhe uldcrprivrlegca arr"ott -, "it.,a" r., t,act up the" claim that youth irt dcveloped counlrics do r""or* ir"-."irl. i" "^"r,rii" ."rlr"i"r,ri .,v".0 .."* from an issue of us sEV'ENTEEN ."g;,i;;"1. highlighted a group of teenage girls whu underrook, p".r,.r1r*"J., ,rri .nrgte hanacdly r'', (onrnrrnirv invotremcnr p,"t.., LJ_, r.""r".i,r,i *,,,,"ar"ao "',",,e.,s ::::1illi':d.. sorrlcrllrns tot th( lcss lbrtufi3tc. Ftorn tlte ahovr c\.rmph.s. rr is rhu. er idcnt Ihar yoLlll rn developcd countdes are hot selfish aod :etf absorbcd bc.;;;;; ;;;; th" n..,ts uf others bcforc thek own, contrary to uh3t rhe tcmr .,sel[-,rbsorbei..i.Jpii".. .f.nu., ,t" claim is tnre to o y a snrall exteni.
l;:;;;;;:il:;..#:1Tir""il;.,_"
ieason why rh( young adults in devcloped coontries are said ro be nor hecxuse dLcv ale tblc to take hardships in their stride and adapt to lhcir situation instcad of merely whining ir the hopc thal the situarion will bet{er itserf, or that someone will coil)e and better thc siruation for them. The frti",.ir-" .frurl.i".ir,i. ot yourh. f, far cry tionr thar in devetopert co"*.t", i.ouy. r" ,r,"" ::1"j.1,;ii^".,^:l:ll:"'brd wdKe ol rne terrunst Septentber I I auacks on the US Twin Towers. the US ecolomv was brll) shaten. \4rl) innu(.crt lrve: wcr. l,rst arrd rnarrl sulo brcr.lwrnrrclr stack. As nillions moumed rhe deaths hcro.. rr," Us, ".,i:;:;'i,;;. oir""ii, rrllrecl ro_gcrher. formrng supporr groups lhar helped ".,j..'in" "."",o ride each olhcr over the :T*U"","0 oeilln ul luvcli nnes. It is :uch inrtLntrvcs that show thrlt the y;ung do not clcse.ve dre {ag,
-^,, ^"-1i"t,l:rlt scrr-aosorDcd
i*t","
go a 'self-absorbed' for instead of grievirig silently' they take hardships in their stride and step further to help those in the same boat as they.
very Closer to home, just a few years ago, the Singapore economy was not doing well and cornpanies carried out rnajor retrenchment exercises' leavilg many Singaporean that a parents unemployed. Some, although sti1l employed, took major wage cuts such itranpe in tifesrvie was warranted. When interviewed or polled by the local media as to parents cited noru ih"y *out i .op. with the reduced income flow in the household' most buying measure; such as ."ducing their teenagers' pocket money and cutting down on to their In respoDse iu*ury it -r, purchasing only what was absolutely necessarJ' fo p-",it.' I."ta"rr.lt-"nts or wage cuts, a small number of Singaporean youth took the ;fieets in search of work in an attempt to supplement the household's income l-ess youth polled significantty, however, in response to the poll on their parents'.most ofthe reieated ttrat they would accept pocket money leductions and other financial changes fufther unquestioningly because they understa[d the situatio[ their parents are in When most youth cited lu"'.tion"a ^i io hn* th"y would aid the cuffent economic situation' the burden ol1 to ease sacriftccs like spending less and goilg out and eating oul Less often in developed their clders. As such. ii can bc seen tiom thc above mentioned that the youth situation the - deltnitely countries are able to take hardships in their stride and adapt to a mark of a self-absorbed generation. Thus, the slatemenl that youth in developed
not
countries are too self absorbed is true only to a small extcnt'
On the flipside however, there are instaoces when thc youth of developed ilr countries can be sclf absorbecl lt is lhese limes that catch the ettention of inclividuals
gcnelction' the govemrnent, who then speak abotlt il' tamishing the image of the whole the young whe-n is Oneiexamplc in rvhich this nature of being self-absorbed carr surface are lacing sliff competition- [n this situation. it is "evcry man for himsell'' and many would gJ all out ;i{l litlle regard of others. just so lhey would enicrgc vrcnnious' Althou;h it is convenicnt to seJthis as a characleristic of the generation as a whoLe' it woulcl Le bcfter if onc examines lhc situation into which the yoLlng are plxced- ln today's fast{aced world, cspecially irt dcvelopcd countries' thc young must keep uP with the competition should they want to keep afloat. Thus, it lhen becomes rccessary to bc selfish and self absorbed.
ln conclusion. the youth ill dcveloPcd coufltrics are self absorbed to only a small cxtenl. They have proven to be lble to take hardships in their stride' idapt to their situation. and thcy clo put the needs of the mderprivileged befbrc the needs of thcmselves. They do, however bccome sclf absorbed whcn faced with stifT comlctirlon' in which case it iecones a necessily. Thc clai tha{ lhey are too sclf absorbed probably stems frorn the fact that it is easier to rcmember the bad points of the generation instead of the good, but as has been proven, the characteristics displayed by the youth of today o i", ary frorn the "self]absorbcd" generation painted by many menhers of thc
"," gcneration
bcforc ours. 7)ood essayl l(ell baLanced, r:artJu[[y t ttnsidercd wirh u good ttst ttf cxutnples Nur Raihana 04522
l0
The family has suffered at the expense ofcareer in Singaporean society. Discuss.
As Sirgapore progresscs. oeopj: are becomitg ntorc alld nlote edu.ated. As rend ro wanr tu rocu' more on rhe,,'i.,.e,s.
;H1'*:\H:::;:t":;":xfi'";:'
a
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a,ed ir J""" ii' 0",_iur,'i.,fl "ll".1, :;,"oJL#:lll ard te5s rime spenl $irh lhe fa;itv olhers mighr .rr.."1,1., ,. iru.'",i,t.lr.n in rtr. tust place. Hence, ir would be fair to say that """" f".ify _f^o"r.i"r. ,i,o.i"nJ '' ," " ""*,ng ,t. famity ro be less ctosel) knir. as a resutr olenrptra.is dererio,
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r
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Traditionally,
men were the bjead winners srayed ar home and spenr rheir time tooking ,t chores. Bur xs more peopic are educated, ,n-",; "l' \ here both larentri are not workins ar As a resu ;;;.1;_: :, lJ,xl"iffi responsibilities at work, they now havr
of the family and women
usually
rrr"j'ii;ral"?"lu"olil n"*.n"a
;";;; "."',.,,r#:#',tj.. n"r"r,*, ;,;.;;. ;;J ffi lTii ;:il j Li'l:H:ilT1;:; ".i.r,,"" "n.,,gr, ;;;;"",*t;;'fi;",T.T"fi in::"ll].fir-:i::ili;.:1.r,"-i::i i
neglcctcd Filmil) rellrions suffer. xitd to worcen the situe{ion, ill somc cases. the chiklren pjck ut) bcd hrbirs sucb as snrokrns In.a recenr .i rr'".,ij."r"i,-,i lshown rhat childlcn whu atc djnllcr:I homc *]th rlre t;rrnill ucre Ic.\ jrLcl) to "rllRjr!,. 1 \rLclr acri\'ic\ sucn n. rang fiplt, i.d LiruB ahu\c ff,",.,i,-.';;;:'j,;;,,t;;;
mteraction is higrrry important in nlainrar.ing cruse bo'ds
.aieir: could grcallv ti.duce limrly t;m,
.
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a*,.'u,"nn".i,
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paretlts ,esoft ro hiring crorncstic hcrpcrs ro .#'li :'.ijii;',:;'fi'l ;i,1.',::j::rv'rs.cornnlon in singapore' as Inosl fimilies .o'sist of
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;r;.;'";.;rl;:;:;leDon ol'Ln r|'n push rh" r'\pnn',hil'r\ .r biir*,iI rp ,i,";"r;;,.'ii";:l'rrrs " :rbou rrrrrrng,n",,',i,,,""i'i".i",.',,1ffi::llli,;;:.:ilir,il',,i."ij'li;,,i,liiilll dual
rl,cir
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rhu. prctrnu ,,p rrdcsirilbte r"rt,,.. r" ,,tj,,t,",.
ucal r. :j,."ii"." Il)c chrl,lrcn se( therr rrrid. rrorc
lln,,, l_,,0.
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tlr.rn thcrr pJrcl,.. ii,r_. i, ,rr,,|e,,,.,,rf.,fo, they mighr bc cioser to thc maids rhan parents. Hence, tbr thc sake oiirr"i,:.r,.*, por"u,,
ffil , [iJ;1"1i:lrrrv
nt rookrns
'ti"' 'ur*",'',"''r'". a,,""]"'iiii,'il.iin",. o*,,",
tt.1l, lenpic in SinpJporc. rlre r.lrrl ,. r. ,, rlr. rrc talit) oI:ocict\ thJt jr
currsisr.,,t.fJr.nt,.,l|d,l,rl.lr.o lr ,*.o",1f",. *,,no,,, ,,,,,0,,.". Ho$c,c1 x,i.4.,.1, hcc,me.morqc,Jrrcar-.,"",.""r"*.",,i;:'l;;'",::jl:"..,.,".,_ "", tenrily
furnil) \\uIld
on thcir careers tirst and havc children at a later age, or nor have .nro_" ,".rii.' iirlli placing so much elfolt into building up their uilreers, sonte couples mighl nor want to 'pend o,,.rrirdr... hur ,nrrcad .p"nj,t,"i, r,n,a..,n.,i ;il,,1,lli]:\ r, r srL,,ry conductc,l rn Silgaporc il lead uurrrerr \rh!, uent tbf .f_,,,r,. ,,.." ,1,,^,,.,r jrs:ilyltJr rr,i, rr,e) .rid ,,or ui,,r bab,eL ro hro.r. rr,.,, i;; l',l, lii",. ,, suffcrs in that couples are less willing to slarl families_ Thercforc. at the cxpe[sc ",",,, ot career. fewer lamilies are formerl
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.
greater On the other hand, an emphasis on career does have its advantages- With family ties as income, the tamily can lead a comfortable life. This would definitely boost each other ,fr" f"-ify wouli be able to participate in activities and spend time with broken *i fr"ut ftu"l"g to wony abouitaking on more jobs to buy the next meal Many ends meet' make fu-ili"a ."aoliu, p-enis resort to deiperate measures' such as cdme, to 'I'her"fore, a stable and adequate income would be beneficial to the family With good each tl-" -*ug.fn"nt, family members would still be able to keep strong bonds with to keep oih.r. p".."nG should leam how to balance both lamily and work appropriately the family going. has Family ties are extremely inportant in keeping a family as one' To do so' one on their time to.p"nd ti*" tog.th"r with one's family. However, as pcople,spend mole leaving ."..!.r, .u"f.t ftiify time is cornpromisld. By just Providing for the family.andsituationthe worsen ifr" t".rpontiUifity oi t eping the iamily goi-ng to orhers woutd only sngapolean Therefore, to say that thc family has suffercd at thc rxpcnsc of uareel u society is generally justified.
Daphne Ho 04s26
Fanr
L'r Quer
e
s:
NATIoN IN PUT THE v@RLD RtcHT lN @RDER, \r/E musr tlRsr PUT THE THE FAINILY @RD€R: T(D PUT THI NATI@N IN (ERDER. VE MUST FIRST PUT (DUR IN ORDER; T@ PUT TH€ FAMILY IN @RDER, \I/E MU5T FIRST CULTIVATE PERS@NAL LIF€; \(/E MUST FIRST S€T @UR H€ARTS R]GHT.
To
-
C@N
FUcrus
BE CULTIVATED LlKg a GARDEN' TInE, EFF@RT, AND TmAGINATI@N musr BE suEn@NED c@NSTANTLY To KEEP ANY &ELATI(DNSHIP FL@URISHING AND CR(EVING.
Y@uR FAmtLy aND Y(EUR L@vE
-
Jrm
RoH
N
nusr
Critically examinc the forces threatedng the family ill Singapore. Having a family.is one of the most important priorities for many. ln recent years, families have changed and evolved over.rime in ,fi" f"." development of society. These chanScs include changes "i-gf.i"iira'tion and rapid in famify-.lJJ, u" *"lr a, comrnunicliorr wirlrin rhc family. herrce rhre-arening "",io",ur".
irinilf-"ofr"r,r"n...
togethemess.
"nO
The changing values of society have greatly thrcatened the family structurc. While such.a phenomenon was greatly flow".,l ;p"" ; ,h" t;.;, ii i"'n-ornino, u.,.o.,,ln" to find single parenr families. This is due ro rlr. high d*;"';;;pr.uif"rr, _ Siogopor", which can be atributed ro rhe changing _unti,.,1 *r" Wf,in pasr rctr rtrar rhe) werc ur)tigcd ro tive rrreir ti,c. r.ir, rl-"i, t,r.uon,j, .y::::l ll lT on." rriey werc nrifncd. womcn nowadays feel otherwise. Most women feel that they should have r Ireedom of choice rnd rhar nobody cun ."sUcr tt,ai +lJon . .""" ,n", u.. uniappy with their husbands due ro soDrc mariral problems, rhey immetiiatety opt for a divorcc and cease their DrarrinJ,e wirhour ,h,rk;s-;i;; ;;;;;;, of rhis rastr decisiurr ;nd
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Rapid development and thc demands of the changilg society have tlueateDed the Ir rhe pasr, a famiry consisted ,r;;,:;;;;. ir',,i".n,."r, ,. ,n. phenomenon [owadavs where f:;milv size "t is greatly reduced to what is known as .nuclear familiesl consislillg oi parents and one or t*o children. I{owever, I do acknowledlle thc iact lhat cerfain lamilics have cven six or ,evco childr.n. H,rw""". iir"r"'i"uru., _^t" up a minute percentage of the Sinsaporean populatjon in geleral. Undeniably, the use
^ family size.
,,"rt
i;ii
of rontricepri\i\ rtr( jcBr.tition ,,t .b.,ai.,, r. \!ct, r, g;";;;;;;;;i;l;;:.,';,: ",i;,ifr"'J,rr..,l.loi,,n" contributed to,this small farnily size. Houcver, I r..r,ir"i socrcty as well as rhe hectic schedule^are a milor tactor rcsulil,,g i,t ,fr".",r"...i"non*in* iifi,ri size. Most people put fhci. carecrs bcfcrrc rhcir iamilies, *frl.f, l.-"r,,j".t i;o,n rhe olany irrterr.rc*s,nnducred a,d prrbtr.rre,i ,",r," r\rn're rL) """.;";,:; "i ;;;.;;;;;;,i;" Brvi l)rrth tu nlore .lril,lr. or r\crr as to wirether or not thcv should srarr a
ian,ly o. it ,uouia
I
i.,.;il;,;;;,;;$::|ng
Also, the denlands of socicty havc threatened family cohesiveness and who,,,\^,", l.;rJ,.;;ihc household chorcs as well as ro lirss over rhe children. Ho*"";, ;r,;,1;.;-, ;,ii*t,,r, u." togcthemess. In lhe pasl, the wile rvouttt bc ore
.o_ who hold.pr,vrLisrrrg lob prosfecrs. leaving rtreir childrcn ro be raken care oI 5:111":^ u] rrilLos or rDro rng rhcnt in thijrlrarc centres. Even the eldcrly at home arc placed in thc old fblks hornc, as their chilctrcn ,i,,rpry lru. no-tin l ;;;i. ;;;.';i;".. comc honre larc,r nighr afrcr a rtay of wo.i ana .p"rd ,;;;'i"ii,, iir"o "*r," rerire to bed. Hcncc. it rtris conrinues, rhc lel9rc lhey .,i'ri,. "n,rd."" *a, definirely be affccted.
,;;;;
".h".;";;;;
lmprovements
,".i,,
in
comlDlrtricJlion .rn,j rcchrrologl lrl\u llcLted {arnilv r.rrrrrrre rr, rrh pi\r r,\,.d ilhd(r rrr, :jiln, ,,-r i,, r,.ri";', i.";;i ::::].:j]:.:^^yli': urrcrc\, tnc pcofic nt'wa!li)'\ |rctL-r to livc scpalately..fhel, buy llleit own hones once
tl \
thevcetmarriedanditisalsonotuocommonto{indsingaporeanswoTkingabroad'away of th.;;; .iuii"gt. rr" introduction of t"1'pho"es and thethisadvent ;;'il-;-; possible as many places and people tagether' all make i"i.*"i -aJi" *ii"rt has lidked Often avenueswith tft"it t"titv through these -."it".t ".t still getorinareiouch only visited on festive occasions' distunt r"lativ"s ar. forgotten fonn of television and the Last but not least, the media influence, especially in the rxther watch fot...r"i tt"" greatly threatened family togcthemess Most children l\rorld -rr,.i.^i^.1fi,"'i"r..ri,ion activities serial or surf o' tie Inremet rhan ta.lk about their dry's the In some families, comrnunication is reduced to a minimum when lvirfr ift.it rapid the as as well i"i""i.i.. i" t*i"ft"a on. In fact, it is this loss of communication the older and the gap between a"u"f_oprn*, of society, that has caused a generation the in the loss of eflective communication' hcnce affecting
p-*o.
y"r"gJt
*"""*i".,
-sulting lamil\.
colresrverlesr ot lhe enlile
in the face
ine'ritabty said, families today have simPly cvolved naturally and All 'J"u"topiu"nt changes' it will tamily of society. Ho*"vti, no mattcr how the of .upli always be impoitalt to the individual as well as to society-
also consider dttempts to Contprchensive answer gitting relevdnl Points' Coultt life strengthen these forces, e8. CamPaiSns to promote familJ Chcw Li Ling Jocelyn 04s l4
Famtlv Quor e s: THE FAntLy Is rH€ NUcLEUs oF clvlLtzATloN' .ARI€L AND \l/ILL DURANT Ho\? "r.o ttmlr HomE Is THE PLAC€ \('HERE B(EYs aND GIRLs FtR5T LEARN RIGH'IS AND NEEDS TH€IR VISH6S, ABTDE BY RULES, AND CONSIDER THE
OF
OTHERS.
- SIDoNIE GRUENBERG
HavlNG CHILDREN lnAKEs Ytou No MAKES Y(EU A PIAN I ST. - III rcrae
In
A
PARENT THAN HAVII'{G
A
PIAN@
r Lrvtre
t4
Critically examine the forces threatening the family in Singapore today. The family is the birsic building.trlock of sociery, usually consisring biological parenrs and their chitdren. white a majoriry oi;L."Aii"iri#ii"t of two rg orlo strong foundation for a country, more broken ;n"r""u" "an ,J.n'i,ro, . o," anarchy. Ir short, the family unir is vital ro a.ountry,s .f.a"y ",u," prospe.iiy i, S-g:ry1:, however, the family unit is no tonger as *r!J"'"ru,l. gou"..o,,"nt would like it ro be. ctobalisarion hir.s expJsed ou, il.J"" .u.r, o, fe^minism,,fechnological advances, liberal estem ia*, o"u!.y ,t...rtut lifestyle. When a small countrv like singapore is bomba.ded ".Ji,f ""r."", Uy.o rrr*yio.i", toauy, it is no wonder rhat our families irave become ir..""rirgff l,uirerifri;.
";;;J,;; -ilr.i""r. i""i *. "o;;;y-;-;; "*" -'"
Although feminism was already present in Singapore in fhe l9g0s and 1990s, I imia.t or trris prre,,Jrn"no" *" iui"i#uy, ro. ,r,i, wavc or womcn s ?j-1",,:: trtleratton"1,n,: has imncrceptibly but surely, rnoved into its third stage As its name suggests, trr" ,ni'pr"l"__ ii"i,rrir',nrro l*:i',1"'l^]"'": bnngs rs wltat p ts our famrlics :tr fl\k todr\."r*rr.ng..
*
*:* ::"::^:*f
**"
y]r1li1.t t:Tjit.T.
women have u!t! r6!rr dsen up alu and lelccreo reiccred merf rheir tracllll rradirionat roles as o rrn flouli.hing cetcers. rhel arc no n, longer the usecr to. In il"::"'::'"T'-:"T::::'T::-Y:l" new-found domi'ance in women. a, :H::j"^r:_o :-r men: h"usbands. *;,t' iiu. ,""r1.,"p....,ir'.i"',il"r"o, i:;,,;.1,,:i:ljl:.s:, of ao incre.ri,,gry a",,'i,'"", 1:::T."- liiilib",,,,d,into^lerant berwcen husbad imd wife thLrs purs n'arriar"
nives and morherb Wirh .iubs afld
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.n."*olr* rru*;#:::'lt# n*" ,pi;:::;i"'",,'.,i,ffil'.li:; ;; i;;;;';ll"
Couplcs who crnbracc ferninisr incorne -"y p..,ir.'ii*i, 1,,.,i\,1-":1,'i better, morc comlortable life in the famrly. n"*"*r]Ur," n".'i" _P".iu*.^. *nn both parcnts working, childre are often neglccted "rr.up by foretgn maids_ or worse, brought ""f In f:rct. soiiolut.rsrs cu\necr llrar rhr trerd L,t t\^n parcnl\ *.rf.rn'g unl il',, ,n.,.n,;,,g ','i,, chrld.d(lr)quencv mr) h. retJred w,rr, .r,ira,.n',,,,iu.,"t' ,". ii,"'i.,, ,r', *.,, gua.dians, rlre percenragc of rhem teaving rrnn . ona .;ointiig result, wirh children drifring farther fromhome, .uo*,y rr,li.a apan. "".
d'ai
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i', e;;s;;;.tt.*
i"-Ji;';.";;ry.
tt'.l
husband and wifc are furrher suained by our IT :::::.11,,,::: ,belween riresrytc. rn a slolrarised, f^.r pu."d ;.o;;;;y,-,il;;;,*i ;;; :::T:jll]:l :jl.'tt pl.*o wr', r. ..",".,,,.y
*T:Yl"r:l-:-.::ll:i may promolc rLntlcrslrntling bctwecn _
i"f
I
;,i:,.; ;'J";;;::;-::'::
moae often than not, irrilablc behaviour, n--"^^-;^.. and - ,.tcrnpcrecl caused_jpouscs, i depression ^-r !fraye(l .y srress, niat\e marrirges tirat -,,""" rnore o[ a
a-troly, rrrrion hcr$ccn
tt\o tcoplc tnis. ..rpf"J
Ul proccedings, has caused nlany tnarriages ancl familics to dissolvc
fenance
fr": l;' .l: ier divorcc
,Sonre forces which inrrde nur corrrrtr') tnda) (v..r Jrrr\int tlre tlllnllon ul families. Heavy workloads rn,l rhe lajk ul timc lor so..til ifit,.rJ\rron ltjr le.l r.).,,rr
l-5
a heallh) demograPhic graph should show Covernmenl u"it i'"ue rhJs srepperJ uP on Policies ro the possibility of them J.ut- -o." oppoaunities fbr young peoole to mecl and thus raise such as RomancinP srenrnp families. While lhis ta" strown sonle success campaigns the main reason for fewer mariages and
(n.i.rv havins more sinales lhan
il;i'lJ." ';il;;,i"i..i"r o*"r"p"nt
i:HA#;;; Iarnllies
il*"
.."uur' io oual"utc
the high stress levels al work'
jeopardising their career In fact, many young women' with the fear of childbifih either vow to stay single or p-rp.*, fruu".i"lia"d ,o-to.go the ordeal altogether' They re'ent Nation"al Dav speech' int"i .urriug" with no intentjon of slaflrng r tittity tn tti' leave and.family-friendly i.i-. lli"i.i.. r-". nsien Loong spoke of increa"ing matemity as thc which could help promote the foniation of families However' ;;;;;1i.;. the nrrmher of n"t't""n drastic' Iioiesee that there will not be an upsurgc in "'tr"^,rgJ.'iut" families started in the near futrlre'
ALso'theinlluenceofthemassmediahasbeensogreattodaythatjlhastaten sex and adult
p^r;nts. Today's children arc more exposecl to violence' according to a British survey by *r*.*i ,fl* any generation iras ever been ln fact' pomographic videos ."n.r-"lt""n.. Si,ti"pur"ort louths have received and sent morepurrsrar' bccomc ).'.in.',ii. .:rt,,i,.ill". u,'l tr..' counrrv Flrmlovarrr' In\olou\ moral v' ha\c as such ues good our role models. displacing our pa'enrs' *ho er'emplity on television' ladio and the lntemet' i""*rt -al"yuty- Witlt t'h" "tt'ftit of informationtheir familics than thosc of any other ,"4"u ir" ttorc Likely to drLft away from "i,ri..-i age- This weakens fumily ties significantly'
ot.. ,h;-;;l;;;
of ideals and infiltratiotr On an internattional and national level' thc liberalisation fitmily as a of W"r,-t til*. into Singapore have also thrcatened the conventiooal lor cxarnple' has takeil a n]ore tolerant lhe tor society. hrrit{lnp block Soveromcnl' ",.*"ro' gay g";r- fty *""';"" is thal, rvith globalisalion' .thc acceptance of ioo.""irl family lhc convenlional ,ii..rr*"r . Sutgap.,re *ili be rnevrtable Once this is allowed' end start only whet logether tiia"ftti "-fv u" threatened, as gays set uP their homcs "*t they theinselves consider a family'
Cohabitationhasbecomeatrend-Today,Peoplelllelivingtogetherwitlrout lltd .r"*iug;-;;.tiri;;;.. Their relationship' "t" bu"d irn mutual .t*u "11-:^: expectatlons' and unknown .una"niuuf og...*",tl. Cohabitation. with its unwritte ruLes ale slrong advocales as cohabiters uP' ;;;1;t"1y ffi;;;;;';per faffilies from being set of living together without tamilial commihnent'
Today'anrultitudeofforceshaveinviLdedSingaporcliketheptagLlcandhave of convcntional tamilies- For policy mtkers who birth rates' incrcased child foresee the undesiJable consequences such ns plunging now' the ;;li;qt"n.y and social or,rto.al tlet"dent", it is a dcadly conundrum-.Even g.""r'.-".t at-ggl", to protect the precious fanrily unit lvhich it recognises as the basis sol iely Th' b.rlrlc 'rnlirrrr"\' iu, r,,y
th-rcatened the existence ancl fbrmation
"u.."*.ful
l6
t t l I ]:
havc covcrcd mu.h
siof(. Organisaion can be improved and try
ints .is forces of some kind. Could be a bit more r the thredts are reallJ threals.
:t
critical dnd eraluatir '
Wai Jia 23
ANYDODY INVENTS,
'I
]L
ALWAYS CRE EP5 BACK. IlI rao " Illan can e
r
Y@u HEAR a L@T @F DraL@cuE oN TH€ DEATH oF yHE ArnER!{: FanrLrEs.q.ndt'r oyrNc- Tsgv'n! nERGING tNT@ Brc c@NGLori:r -ERnA B@nBEc( N@ succEss cAN C@IIpENsATE FIBR falLURE IN TlrE rJem€. IncKAY " DavrD
e
NoB@Dy HAs EVER BEFtgRE asK€D THE NUctEAR FAnlLlr rro :. ITSCLF IN A B(EX THE VAY w'E DO. W'ITH {O RELATIVES, Ii'N
vervE puT IT IN aN Imp@sstBLE slruaTl(EN- IIIa,n caRer IlI eao
t t I t I
I
I I I I
I I I
I t I I \.
To Yr'hat have getrerally abdicated their responsibilities' today Singapore in Parcnts ao f ou agrct nith this statement? ""*i of a y are very much similar to those Shgapore in parents of The responsibilities rr*lc a"pects such as.the pro\ision ol narcnt around rhe worl.t..lhe) *" ,n.tJi*'"-ot nunuring o[ lhe children {ensuring i-ssenrial" t.helter. tooa una .tort,,ng,'ui! i1.y.i"nr naiirllnJ ,"ipon';uiiiri"t 'uch as the emolional rheir hcclrh is cared Ior. to. "*un,pr.,. s dulies' t?lnnot Lc omilled from a porent tn"u""'"ft" tft" ol edu(aliorl and nunuring io be neglected by the modcm worling rhoueh sadly, rlrece rre Icr\ *rt''r' u"'rnl"itir'" iotut p'tittt have abdiecled lhc above tiitrt io lh( assecs lo order ln narenl. "*'t"rtxlmi"iltrtiiJ;Jtt""at' tn" pttysical aspects as well mentioned resDonslbiliti"s, *e m"s a\pecl\ of his lifc a' a whrrlc' o. "*orion"t as only reeds' wlrich l choose lo dehne ln terms of providiog for a child's b$ic \thrih mnsl Parents in Srnpapore hrve i'-";;;;i .urvivrl. ,h,' hr* tor lho.c rssentrnls pattnt'' dtl'b"o'"ly dcpri\ing lheir .,,t ncsle.(cJ No ci1'Ps ol tr""rrt'""" i"ttip'""n"nt Sing'tp"'" fv'n in thc ca'c uhctt llrc t'"""'i"' ft.'t" rnLl lood ut chrtrlrcn 'hcller Pro\'idrng ior llrcrr "r^d'quJlel) oarenl\ b.long to t""' 'n' 'nt.- gtuuti "i'i' "tt"'i' ""' ,
:iliJ-",, il.:, .",ir, ,ro s',"i,'r-*' ll;l;l,XT: :;ltL,':ili'-Ii',ill'"":i t"ormenter e{uirement or i,,nl n -"'" i;'X'JlJi' :t"#;H:'?"'.1\ffi i:"':J r
pirrenthood-
Ilowevcr'theelnoliol1alespcctofparenialresponsibilityiscomnonlyoverlookcd salisfying their pr'ysitui i*"at teri to pro lapse into as catering for the childrel's 'frto tt tftJ t"'"ot ten'na w'trfrng irdults"\lxving away for wants and clesircs nratcdal
* "";". y:1::; ;*I;ul,: ;::r:; [,'illil Jil:l[',i]: I'Lrrpo.eofellnrdrrrvlrr\'rrrc\ru -^:,,:;.;,;'r,orirr',lu.er1larnrl) lhJllrol1(]I(
iff ;"ili:
r'
.rr.nr'.r.ucllt I!'n)'lrrlucl{r IllFnllicecqualt\murcoll(rr \\ilh I'nu rhe re'ult bcrrrg llrJl th' 'tt'f'f"n "tl"uoff' lcll
nu onc
lo ltrm Io lnr
lhc
;:i;:ilil;""i;";';;" l;1 :*::l:;lifi j;*l;:;:ff'..'-:i;#T[,".i'ilT,il': in'c'jiriduur' a e re* n .r' rrhc'r lll:'l;:ii"";i"';;,;"',',' ',.n :#l,,1" i'i,::i"":li\':',l \\hcre socril t:t::5[]O'morc uporl amidst todaY's rat racing' paper cha"ng "o'''1y prrcnt' rn u'p 1'"' ' hirdrcn rn 'horr' srrre'potPdrr t'"''e i,.' ;"' i"ll;']"t]r;',,;,'i,;" lor rleir (hrldtrn ol ."ncr,,t u,,utd bc eurlrl ,,f
:;:lt ;;;.;';";;l"
r
frovr,ling urr,t"q,r,r;;J,;;; ;;;""." irnl ing out rrrerr drrrre' irr rrrrq rclc'r
c
'"''i'',"''it
Duetotheevcrirrcreasingcornpetrri.)nllllltc$orldtl,dlty'PJrcntscannotallbrd proper ptorLtlrng llrcir childrcn wttb a oot to seriously enlphasize th""- tlui'tt ur A(ripto oL"Jl,..'uon b"eyontl aceclcmrt,grades educarioD_ Mosrdoru,,..u" in,rr" "Ji.,-l ttntt woutd rLrrd"trbt'dly enablc one to ary Popular bookstor" r'"tot" tr'"'it'i "i t' ttr'ot't a head start nr ttlruc towards giving theil.progeny sce otl display the con,,ttit'o"nr p"t*it l"cli't tbr all subjeots rlpidly flyllg-:fi academic u'ork' with brightly cotori'l'"tt"ttrn""t bookshelvesintothehilnds.,te"g.,mutl'...irdlelllctantyouflgsters'.suchascenarro would bc not many of those szrme parenls it'"t t"ni'^iion thc stark nrincl into brings {8
si ing down wirlr lheir chrldren and going through rhose . books -':'l rnem them h bnngins up my earlier point on emorionat .uoonn" r".""i,iii'.' ;::.":-:::l: willt . fcwer sdll would probably hrre rhe rime ro rake rheirrheir.hir,r,.. chirdren ^,,, ,^':,.... ,n nr,,y l:l :1"'o':l
*,
iil;,.*.":;i"",i;:::l:":lr;:T
"pon. ",o-;" *"'ii
#J'::fj ;',:::l:::1":1-::"1'l:1..l''n'''t'"' books and going through assessment
*resJpnrints
"';
;;;;;;;i;
;,y
i"".) ilJ"',ij,f; troxr nours io",, of o,,",uo, tuition
f :?',:,.;};l i"1t;ii ! liifl,}H]fff anaipp.ofriui.fue-."*iui ,ii"r..r,o 0."r,
the academic domain - an education in molrur, those children way ahead of theh peers,
twenty years dowll the road
In conclusion, parents in sinsapore today only see the need to furfil the material of rhei duties. assunrins rhai the only qualifications iue those in black and white and rhar by providing cveryihine aspecrs
auromarica r,,,y,r,"."i"*_l..lii,: choosrns sroup dares wrrtr rtrcir fii.nds 1."':,1" *,r.nrs. 5rmrty because rhey find rhe spi.irual sarislacrion *o _J"p,?.". *n.n severely lacking back at home. In a s rbough parents"_"r!.r'rn.," have not entlclv abdicated
!
ttreir rusponsiuiiitiJi,^;' abour Lrrcir a",i"..-vr,,,
.ffi,"#i
;il,. :;1,:T"S"JJyl$:? -Hl#lt ."., ,;");; ;;;; ';i;';"t; !lj^,
:;re|se rhr cormoraron rhir rhev do nor ca,e jr " x ;fr':* would definitelv wa'r theL children to feel
;;:;;;;; on;lJ;.il ;##t""'s +,:t' :ili:":l J iI I;T H,: I ifi ff l"* * il f, i:i:mi f X_ of*":making up for the lack of time e,'otionrtly se*."
orher
",i"";
spent wrth each
Fluidly writtcn niitll d ,qood sense oJ coherettcc. Valid p()lnts were well-argued through.)ut the es:d), Adeline Quah l,ci Shan 05s
\
Il I I
necessarily a bad thing? Is an ageing population
':tr"il+'T'ii]:"i;H"ff :l
Be.er sanitarion.,lt** I'li'Jnifl"i""i,x'i[,lf ate increarrng rnrj'flf yecrs.old and il is still rhe man) factols rhal .i.l+ry-io rtsen has some counlrics like Japan is mo.. of a bane.dul a boon o""orf"tan lhat leel may iirio*. Soln" peoPlc i,^^.^,r ,^.,,.ndrr rhe elderly people ur therr necd ur' in beca-use ot an increase rtr beaiand regard elderlv "*":,",:iil;::;; ;"'J;;';"" Thev lhere is a PooJ for heclthcare scrvices ":: :'::;'J"L a coin ha" t\^o sides. i, i;,, ol facrors people as resrrictins rhe'-r c'owrh ,:r::;;;, ;. , bad rhi,rs bcccuseyoung ;:;;:;', ll 'ride too and poPulation ro rne,rB.ing moral values lo lhe Tila.nl,'f *f w *fl' valuablc "ia like the elderly impafling lhc economv of iit"ttincalion pro.o,"
lti"li "lii*tl
I
ii"y
*"rli,#lJ".,l,l,ifi':i *
::ilil$"T-,i:
one or rhe reasons whv ffi,"#:J req.uire.c.,suiilrl"ilrolhc bccausc clJcrl) pcoPh ," ,".*ase rn rar cotl.itcd fromin an .: rrur lncnr' lor "^ o,lvernmc11r has ro frovide .^ ":.^^^., "". clderlv ncrson 'working p.pur.,ri''n as Ihere $ irr ,": :Y:1, T:',1:::::ii:':.i':"';'lilit"'"o* '' rh.e cgeing popurari"n t'19-i-'-":: ,r,i, "" ararnringrv l'l*" i:l',": t* \uppndrng workjni ddulrs ''"''11,^:'..;;i ,,^,^ n,.. Drv morc ra\e\. lh' agerng rhP increr*e Houe'"er' alrhnugh rhe !ountser ;;;ii;;"". ',' ihii i. b..''ut" promotc t'r "::'jl::Ld;i: helps itrtrea'< in Jclually ""'"'1":-'-,^": en to nooul,trron ", r,,,llr leads l,.(rlrlresoanu relrlP'l inn,!\:rior,' Jnd new in'a"^"'',t tor
"i:lii";.,;;il
i'
f"t i':":l,i lil"-*.
* ''"''T'i:'Jit';;;[ll l":l*:lll::ll';5"]::il ; i;;;"
i:l':;
x in,.
l[
i], :'l
T:i:,
:,,"",';J,1.
ll:
'];;;i;"t''j:::':,:j ;lil'T iii;ili3ii:
:',:."'T;;iiil:
I'illt'll"*:;:il
li:1,:":"';:
"': ':l ':';I":'1"'li,'il'r',,i",. ,u,,t,, r.,,ne', e.n"'o"on .1:il,1;l l""l':::;l ;:lll;;i:;J:il.ll1: lt.'{'ihi:t Ll;llll;t ;lh::T" ronrblnlrrtsl'''i,"a"r". h) i' nut ncccssrrily lrare l:,ilc.l to s"e lhJl 'l 't'.y h.rLr
*tr'run
- :tgcirrg i"oopulaiirrr'imparring 'fififfi'J:l'Jr3:if.',irt::::'i'"""J1L":;'""0"'i*' 'innf vo'ng'
to them
wisdom and insight
in the'mud who Ih" thlr d'gLre mry in The "":11-l::f'\ On the other hand' soole "tn"ll' in thc cn!rronnrent they arc easily not and ,re rror flexible ^u^o1,rj.tt'to'.nr^*. 20
I
ged are only conrfoftable in familiar
fit, :::. 1;:u:fl Ji;:[T:,".,ilfl :: new ,t,r*r",r,;=, i; mer ter,caprctry and potenLjal. Bur.l ffi :il"l,,oin,roduce charrces ol expandrng *."r,f lif." . "",,i1j(sro
arc ruoreo In lherr moral ;i:' fl'.flilfi: jH gi,;i'eynli1'j:i!!!:1 .nd val;j. :l';:tmj ilv'^'/ "l:l.:f#ubelicf, : :il:;1,.",,xt tr ;::11 *, *ii Tfi J#'': ;1,:::i i#,..:i *;,. T";",:;li: ::: li
lVhile the elderly u.t;.v" i: in'srar
T;il:*
i+#fr
l(ry r ney should hold principles i"H"". of lifc $; flfast to some ot lhese i":! f"-" fr.--,]r.'"i'E '"ro'sr'rvin8.rrue -O lo thcm\etve'. lhe )oung may .r,r"g" ;""t:11'l tt'".'"tu" ol aged bv doing rheir besr ,,In"jJj),;: in *n",.,-"-tl.l. rrrrv oo. do.. Thcy lncy wiil lhcrl succesr. The moral values success. rhcrr reip rhe lruit oI i-n*"a :j^ri ^ln:, oi. or.;;"'^ ""rr." ro ,mpro!c vounBcr senerarion rir..fr" oi,r,i "u,.
_"*l
H*:i"i,+x,;iJ1:,l"T.fr "6.'ir,
l{i,:fr:*,fr f ,." .or;';,"iliHfrll:;
f^i:
wi
ir;";;;;;,;;:i,T:""T::,fl:
'r'.
In conclusion. I brlieve tlat an . , younger the vounBer treccssarily e g""".urion perceive rhe .i;-;. "-'-*'""-'..'' not necessarily gellerarion a bad rhinB rhins if it d\ d sour'e r:",).: ot.wisdom ol wisdom es'ential nriat moral and morat uuru.",o,rr"r,r,r,r'*".!iv team frum tlim leam uutu.",art,".,r,,,,.i""";:: i rtrem berng.infle',ibtr berng infle',ibrr and co,,rribur,on ro j,ocierJ j,oc,err rnd una rrgid. " mr(rng nu conrriburron .giJ. Ar;;;;,;;':::" ;;;.;,,;:j::::,,"^:.T,i(in8,nu even even,hoLrah,r'"* ,n though there is d,\e,.s,ryins ,h, ecnno.rr ,. tuiin...o".i
f..""i*'iil""i'ffll*"n-tt*it",.is
them.Irth;-:il:;;J;;::[? *n' ,r" i3,o".i'ir'"11'"'i"*;i", "ii".,.,."i";;1::i::l::'i^":::^l:!s ;,ii:#i:T:ros'PPon b;;;i;;;; Jli:J,liiil,i;Jl il'.'-*l',t*t* to socicry wher rhey t,, rt
in the futu.e.
):I;.''"tt Kang Zhi Ni
o5s22
insightr,eft.
cliscussed.
";;:u#;.#I#H:;,:: i.o# "";.;:il:
"-""rr["
More concreLe eramples h,oul.lhavee hetperl
the
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ll
I
Is an ageing population necessarily a bad thing? is population may not necessadly be a bad thing An ageing population An ageing"#niirr in the oldei generation forms a large podion of the poPulation . popuraiion" i. in emerging co-pa.ison to the younger generation This phenomenon is gradually in d"u"lo,t"a und devetoping counlries due to many factors such as improvemenls years in the-.recent healthcar. seruices, high itandards of living and a low birth rate may disadvantage a the elderly up of ,+f*roogl1 ttoui"g u i"laiively large population made elde y can assets ."".rrii. ""*itt *"ys, the eldeily may also prove to be valuableyoung children, .The guiding aspects of life such ai in caring for the .onoiuot" ir, ,t . "o"ial to confribute to you.rg p.opL" una U"ing good sources of advice They can also continue lhc economy by slrying in thc worklorce'
would be the large significant disadvantage of having an ageing poPulation Due to many age expenditure of the govemment on healthcare services for the elderly nced for ."L,"d illrr"rr.. tlt"at are prevalent amongst the elderly, there is 1r constantto provide is obliged affordable and quality healthcare li..uittsl Th"s, the govenment have to be oi tlre .ost of the working population, as thlr working people ,rr*" ""*i.* .lhus, this creates a strai; on dle youngcf generation as they have to taxcd in retum. working citizen r,,op"" ,t-t" growing ageing population as the ntio of clderly to each nurses and irir'"^".- rri"." i. it.o-u ni"d ib. t oin"d medical personnel such as doctors' .^G".lt t"-"n"tta to the needs ol the elderly Morc people would then have to be trained in thc field of geriatrics
A
il
.l I
iirl
Thcre are The iocreasc iD the nLlmbea of eldcrly may also lead to social Problems to takc care of many cases of the e ldcl ly bcing abandonei by reir chiidren who ^refuse as they for.thernselvcs h"i o. giu. tt*t tftelb; The; elderly People are unable to feod tbr these eldetly in jrn-" ro retu. to_ Thus, it is necesiary to provide lodgings ,ro t "u"for- of low cost rental FIDB apatlnlcnts This resulls in the govemment having to in" stlch as the in the construction oi thcse homes as special considerations t;r;;;;t planning for have to be faken into account Furthermore' due to ill satety of rfr" fiscal "tA"Ay trced retirement when many clderly peoPlc\ were youngcr' the) alc -with job' many-of the elderly difticulties. As they are unable to coritinue working or find 't Thus all these frou" to ."fy on a";iy allowances givcn to them by wclfare organizations a large- role in doinS so' needs of the eldcrly have lo be seen Io and the govemment plays a filancial burden' As a resuh, this slrains our vallrable resources ancl the elderly become
OIrtheolherhand,lheelderlycanbeasselsinmanysocialaspectsj|thirsociety.
These children Grandparents can be responsible fff taking care of their grandchjld'en of maids cases necd nor be left solely in thc carc o[ the maid Since there havc bcen reassuring if abusing young children without thc knowledge of their employets' it.is.more importantly' More naid gaurtdpu."nt can be at home to supcr',isJ the child(cn and "g.inap*"nt, can impa( knowleclgc accumlLlated over lhe years to the younger life with their grandchildre ' !en..ation. They can also share veiuabLe expcrienccs in tiom lhesc ihcse lcssons in life can grcatly iDfluencc the rninds of the yortng childrcn as them tionl strdling t"a.onr, tf,"y can leam nr-orals and the right way of life, plevcnting
22
----.---_..
intolhe wrong path. Thus, grandparenls ctui be seen as an intcgral part ofany their, abuidlurce their phenomeral oo,tir1, ,o .ur"'ufiita#
.f t1r*iig"'-a
to
grandchJldren. An ageing populrtion has irs silver lininE.
continue.to contribute ro rhe economy. *'1" some t,L" ul ,he ,r,. ,."-^:;i;,,:: :.":^::':ll'l responsibility of work orrce agam. ". ., ,, .ro,*. cen take up r"* ."."".'". *-t securify guards, relief teachers and mento.* -back ttors r" ,r," younger .^1,.-." gencration. :::" to the --]::i:_';: By going to d,^rl. ihc ar,_{-.r,,not. onry able ,, to o""upy tr,.."iru.!, ;;iJ to the.economy. r, :lT:::":.-:"_^Til" been scr up ru aid rhe eraerry in ,*r,",.,,Ji", i.u.. rii. IT,T,::,,:g:]:'.:lr,avc ro-work?rosramme has auracted many and can population. "t;;
I::*::::j::,",t*il
:i
:r.:tn elderly people who are still fir are abte
:T,:j,*j::::t""j:f^1T:t,ro*', ::ll.*..^"tj:lt.,t ::l!b"r"^
r"il,".il" ;ffi;
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i,.i, ;.;; ^;;';;;",#;;,"'-dff_
Morcover, the elderlv do not nccessadly have to rcly on others. They can also bc independerr and live acrive iulfilrins rir""yr." ef pran^"j *,,)jrn.,11?.n., rn ,o", they can prevent themselves from iacingpr"Uf?... ilr""grl riraintailing a healthy and rcrivc lrtesryle by con,ranr"ly-on"ia.y recrerrionrl rcttvities such xs ball pln. ",,",.iii,,'g "o.,rt "na
#
r,,j,.U,u,rt" il ,"d".",r,"i;;.;.;;."";;,."*il'f;::'.",:*1.Sfi.$1",:i",'"J":1il?t"in:,?.:l$
heath and loneliress. participarins acrivety i, ,t. i","tr] .Jii"Trii".'.rn o..u"n, rhese from happening. Thus, ir can bc seen ""ai, rhat the elderly burdens ro socicty, as long as they have the financial "." ,ri",rr'rt".tu". oi .*ppo,rinf urra ,rr" determination to lead a hcalthy lifcstyle. ""p"rrilitv
,;;i;;"
Fiom lhc above, it can bc seen that. tbough thc eldet.ly may pose burdens to thc country as a whole, rhey are also valuablc r.r"t, ,o- tlr. .o,r,,nrn,f .,1rj *i.iin.""_ ou" ,u
knuuteJse rnd er1,c1iq11r.s. ,r,"1 ,."1,,,,i. 1i,,,,r.,""*".r",.,",n" )oullp rlld.llrelr granJclrildren. By.rdolring I lt.rltlr) and cldcrry can renair as conrritrurins fack)rs ro oJ ct,unrry. .r.rre ::j::."::::,.fot,:i: ur\JUvanrag(.. ttrv lg a aucing pUpuhrion can be,lctcrred b1 inrplenrenring polrcre. lo e\lcnd rerirrmrnr agc. err..ruraging.lo.cr rrcs herwec, ir",,ii.. r1 ,".1 also en(ourages rhe eldcrty ro jerd heatthy ",il-,t.ir'.ra", [f"rtyt"s. fnu., an og.i rf-p.iri",i.rl necessa.ily be a bad rhing. "r"y "",
::::1,::1:,1-',1 wu,rr('r(e .lno edu(Jlc the
Rather Jluidb)
writen
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ancl convincingly atgu.(1 piece of h,otk_
Cytthia'Ian 0-5s I
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In this modern era, the aged are
useful' becoming more irrelevant than they arc
$ 1
What are your views?
l
from the world our fotefathe$ The world we live in today is markedly different breakthroughs that have liv"d n, Jo. to rapid industrializition and advanced scieltific havc seen the our slandiud of Iivins Technological hrea-k*uoughs lo $e "-"lf'.-i't *i""""tions of elecronic gnig"r, r-ging from lhe basic comptler i^?"",ii "'"0"*""."d to-otlln"" gaaget' a. vcry much characteistic il;;;;;,;";;;J;iJ"o "ont"'"""iog rn now Our ttuna*a of living is also enhanced bY
of the
:
modem ela we are
g"n..,ions ago. the rged toiled a''d "a""".".".".r'r'"athcare'allowingtnorepeoPletodaytolivetonger.Theagedare ii.* *rr" rr"r. -^"rred the age of sixty-fir," -i f"*Although this modem era has seen ..rt.ilrti"a wholly to the fatnily anj economythey are still the rote of the aged' i*ir""r"g*"f ui""i tt"ughs that iheaten to take over a a lige extent be it on a micro or macro scale' t"i"t"., i.J
"t"rtr
this modem era the be difficult for one to debunk the view that in tt would "pJ.ui*. ul in lherr ,"p,"..n,inp the 'econd Benerrlion cre murc cauglrl ,,riaJl. ag"J shulllinv ol ploduclr\it) A' r.re'ull *"rt tf',i,ft";, o$n nJrenls due to the emPhatrion hours $ orkllace er T":"1f:: ;r";J;; ;;"; *ori ,o l,ont" ancl spending long responsihilitres_rs.palcnts .lheir to a certatn ,rru,' ,r"i. iL. ,."ona generation tend to neglcir their distiptrnrng the children to .*r"n,- irt"."for", th-ey retegate the tasl'i of nurturing and l.roL all"r lhe lhird
the rged rhcir ,,wn Darcnts. *hom society reter to as rhe rgcd. tiavrrrg cenrre- nr voung(rer ' ro 'hilJcarr ;;;;;;;;i;' ., ."ry r'blc alr':mcrrve ro scn'lins-atrhe nrind can i' -i.J ir'"'" The ,sed' least thr'se \ ith . sound *;ffi;^-;;ii lnd uith lovc The SingaPorc a"ir"'i"iy-i. i,,,si.a to a"at with Lhc c-hrl'l [airlvoption because it now encourages luve realizcd rhc viabilitv of this ;;;;;;;^;;;", As an incentive"it h's made it threc lier famtlies to stay togcdler. or even ciose togeLher' -irnd Devclopnrcnt Bo tl (HDB) tlals.".i". ii. rft..-ti". t"milies"to gct lalger Housing ol': on a grealer o. the role oi the sJcon.l generalion as tlrcer f."l]: i,i ,rri. ,r-a"r,r ".u, vacuurn lcft.behind by th€m as child imDoftance, the nged woulct hout tn st€)p intit the faorily *'.t.tl*c.rgetl are srttl re[vant and useful to a large extent at the
'"tii..r. lcvel.
trvc arrd shove hxve sacriticed At the community lcvel' nany ot thosc xged 'ot sirly rhe comlnunity as a whole Happily rnuch of their time in order to servc thc ncetls seeklng to challelgc number of the.aged renlain atrrvc Lonstantly ..,i."a. sLrf.by To cnrich "..ig"iti""* (heir minds instead of 1u.l ..n,n"tirg idlc anLl wstLhiDg-lrnrc one cffoll in a course at a thcmselves. some of the agetl nrfft to "o;nluLlity work Slrould oni-lo td find lhat ..".ty ...*t"irv ."ntre iCCl in Singaporc, it rs hrghly Pussrblc lh'lt t"tmber '_'l the "rgct1population"' one out of lhree traincrs there would;e a rttit"t ani a of them reveal that working in .+iirlorgl, ,rt"y go p^id a small fee for their services' many working snall contribution back to society Fu herlrore' thcy say
in" cCi.
lrrtirt"" An cxamplc ol-somcone with peoplc and interacliflg with them kceps thcrn lcelrng^1uung the needs of lhc who has redcfined "retirement" by rnnrcrsing hcr"clf i'r ttn'ing ('onccmeLl hy the.dangers lurking in comorunity is Mrs. Cannee Lim' an cr-pnncrpil thrs modem era she avtl"r.p^." and the easy access of the inttrntt tn youngstcls in 24
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you eq[ality is thc womcn themselves' Do The greatest obstacle to women achieving agree? by women whosc aim is to Nowadays, thele are so many campaigns orgrnised nol achievei ten Hol"J"'' unittoaoy itte) slrll havepeople eive the woman equalirl tirtt rtte believe in societv some lain the somc n"orm.nt us men ,t;ir;;;;Ii"hi"; equality' to women achievirlg that women themselves ar" ttte greutest obstacles the culture of the community ; -v .piti.", ttrere arc ottrei ractors such as il;;; the wometr flom achieving equalitywomen live in which also playt a tot" in hindering We nust consider dris toomay become an obstacle for them In the first place, thc charactenstics of women women tend to be less competitive than a g".""q""iitr"i"t"ictt prnvet th..i u"uatty or their complaints and needs men. Consequently' they may not toit" tfttit opinions nol nnlrrinv lhem. M^reover' in mosi people rgnoring tirern ot perhaps men "r*'..t'*it.l*, "i"g plr)sicrlly weiker rhin m'u Th"* irr lhe errlier d:ry' secn as the *1-n." "'.'r.,rrrrv .,utial indiuilualt than women since they were \nnlinuc\ ;;;;;d*J;.';;re Llid nol hr\( cqlrelil\ cnil lhi' r-,..t.,.fi,n. 1'n.,1;g. l: a recull \ omen ur ttre tu11t1, i,,.,,"- nrl l'rrrilt nD rarlrer i' s
il;l;l;:"t:';; i;;;"*" ||ll..; o, ilJ';Jt,t"J equality.
who bear children may be a Furtllennorc' the tact that womcn are the ones lo seientists rs the Individuals who flinaron.J'o"*u.r,"n ""lri"',ing "qu^liif- Actotdrng rlra. nrcrr lrrvr' :;;:;;;,t,"thcir.hrlJrtrr'*'m'nl'"""ir\rtonu(rrr(wirlrrlrcrr'lril'l''rr in reising the:hiltlt:l1-::l hence arc Thereforc. lhey are seen to bc Ilrore capable al homc and inost of the lirne' they have to stay associatcd with this task. This rneans that iu sociery. that it is very chores roo. This view is roo{ecl so deeply ;;;il;;iJ Drer can rcplace women rn i,rr.rri'io. ...", ro change il toclay. Hence, although ulro :ll\ al fourrLl lL' hc rrising tlrc LlrrlJren. worn"rr are rrr''r" frcqu'ntl) '1,'," ltt:n': ctle 'rn cxarrrplc lo !llLl.lrJle rnv pUirrt My llurnc, l:rl'nP iarc ol lh'il clrrtaren lrt mt carc of me whcn I wes a child' whereas mother was the one wllo stayed at home and fook lo work Thcreiole' thc fact thaf women my talhcr atways went out c!ery w''rrking day the Lesutting in thcm being.associtted with are the ol1es who glve blrrh to Lneu ctrildr'en, equali{y' i^.t oi nunu.rng ,i" tattet' hamPcrs womcn's effbi in achievirlg
Ilowevcr'tlrerealeo(he.tectorshirrdcr-irrgwornenintheirfighllbrequdlity. they live Some by the cultures t'f the coinmunity i which fhes" and causc women lo be "r.in"x.*ptifi"cl solne coulltries ut" ntot" f'"n"iiti"t to mcn cultures
significant than n in Cnina. a son is considercd to be nlore "xampte' As a.rcsuli us{rally-th" daughter since thc sol*itt p."..rut tt'" fomily nallle l:*:,t-li'] Anolhcl casc occurs in collnlncs ln receivc tnore wealth frorn his Parcnts whcn they die as nlen ure seelr as treing more East Asie, wherc wcxlcn are deprivecl of eclucatiol
iirra"an,"g"0- o:"t
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I I imporranr and de*rve educarion women achieving
ber equalny- --'ter'
These culfures'
of
course' arc
ot.ru.t., ,o
f
:::::,.T:i:i,iJht"#il:ry#:1?!i!";"il:.,1,J:JHJ.,:,:.,#::,Xf men to take on certain jobs in countrie
:';li3* dcprired uomen ofa fi ;l;rxitti"k]^thrJs'Ji'T"i;lllrr::::li;,fl countrr h.. ,.,^--- ll",.rli i: rhe -r *,ii""lrl"i*ill; il:lXT to counrry where d,ey rhcv riwF rive by enrerins war. In addition, in somc counrriesl
has
f,Ti?:"*:-:" jn::*".':*n*t":'k"#,]"1.';Tff
chance
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serve
:tr:';j.1lT:",;il
**,**i-**;.ii,,'i:lr:1"l:.;#:i+flir,iTlT['tiliH;.; miy el.lon\ ol-r{",*,, i" r.f,""i"g.q;;,r;, -', some counl_'e\
obstrucr tlre
secn. wom(n themsolve; rem$lvei ,,rn , {\ uc halr Len h. bc ob'13'1q' ^h.,^^r^-1e w6rne .",;. ;;; ..;;,:i'r pos.ic.. ,n,r ,t,. tl.r',r,ri,ili"in '" berrers. ,o$c\er. lh.re rre orhcr ,rhc1 cquatiry due
0"n,."'ne
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;Uiil* :*il:'il#;iii#, U*[ ;:H" f 1;h,i*l:fj:h:fi:l:'1 ;,J:I::'1:i:il';t.'ff i['-]ii,ff I -r .. ,*, ;iil:i:;T;S;l;l,r';:ll';::J:'il H";il'i:1"i,,::. ;:jl'.::,:y -,t:
o'ndoncs a,
s "",r ni",p tll€rr countn(s wcll. However. ulttil ti,
;i:::i:cr 'esi,,cn w"'ntnt""4"""'it'"""'"urll,:':i.t,,i:J;l ur.ycJno\.i,nnr(.rhcir$.eakressc,n,do'
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cuse is
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wtll orgunizetl antl
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Susanlo Winata
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Our lives are detcrmiDed by thc
places we are boru
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into' How trre is this belief?
lre bom into-ia true to a The belicf that our lives are detemined by the places we while plates r€fer to both certain extent. o|.ll lives refer to ouf lilestylcs and ]uturc and the suburb' different countdes and different parts of a country' the city' countrysidt and norms beliefs our ffri. fr"-fi"f i"qoit ttue as the place where we are bom into shapes be true in that nothing in ;;; i;;id.t..pportunities. on the other hand' it may not a"t".*ine our lives as if we exercise no choice in our lives' thi, *orta
"*
you are
Fi$tly, my Point to show that this belief is truc is that the place where who are-bom into the countryside Uorn into alt"p", !oo, character- For example' people and have to eam ,"na to t. mor" iu*ble and hardworking as they are generllly loor nore afiogant are cities eu""ything Uy working hald. However, people who are bom into to eith due to the envirorunent around them- PeoPle frotn djfferent ur nlo, "r"Ao*r, collntriesalsotendtodifTerintennsofcharacter'fbrexarnple'foreignworkersfron
Ctirlounalndiaarewillingtodotoughhobsforameagersalary.whilemany bv the phces
il;;;;;;.;-;;
very pickv ibout rheir jobs. So, our lives are dctennined
we arc bom illto-
opporhrnities lt Secondly, the place where wc are bom into detennincs our chance of .l"t".*in"a ou, .itun.es of survival, the ch:uce of obtaining education and lhe fbod' for example ii.ai"g r.l. tn places with poor medical scr"rices and shortagc ofdie jusl wilhin days " bal)ie! Africa. many childrell do not suavlve lrto adulthood and some rnay lind inlo the world. People lrvrrrg rn sorne LouLllries.like Induflesia ,,p".iil"i, Ls something ^itl".f be a luxury while for peopte irr-Jnprn' ttn yejrrs ol cducrfi"n elu.atinn to jubs toay t" pt",ttifut in t"ttaitt parts of the world but scare in. orhers Also' .;;t'p"i-t;rybut rot in the c"ir"in f"uet of.au.atioir may land us a job in less devclopcd countrics ^aar",[""f.p"0 oncs likc the Unitcti States Thereforc' our lives are delernincd lry the places we are bom into orrr Iives ale From another point of view' migrJtion can rnrke rhis bclrc[.tlr'rl nre pcoplc who r:an be bom determined by the pla."s *. a.. bortt intJ to bc untruc- Thete migratc lo ,he majofity of the peoplc ar.e poor like in Africa but they in,u loun,.i", *t "i" like En;lard. Wtren ttrei" peotle migrate at a very young age, their lr"ri". nm thcy are "oontri". y* ,o fr" mould"ed so their character is not determined by the places oa^.,". i, horn illto as "t tr.." i,li". .ii;"if"Av, ,heir oppoltunities will nol come from the pltce they are placcs we tf*f *iff r,r" frorrr another country. Tltus' our livcs are not detennincd by the ate bom into.
we are My sccond point that opposcs this belied is that no matter which counlry o\{n hands aod bom into, we cafl ovctcolne all sorts of difficulties Our lives lie in our for our nothing but oursclves detennine orr lives Wc create our own chances scarch by the Places own ofportunities ancl build our own future so o{rr lives are nol determined job in a poor goocl a *" u." to* inro- No rnatter how slim our chances are of obtaiDing crowd' nothing developinS cotttlhJ, as long as we can make ourselves sland our from lhc he can schools proper i. i'npo,r.fut". If a person is bom inrc the countryside with no
28
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I travel to the city to obtain education as long as he is defermined. Once again, our not detrrmined hy thc plrcc\ we are bbm into.
livc,
,rrc
However, dcspite the possibiliqr of migration and self- derermination, the majodty of people's lives are detennined by the places they are bom into. lf a person wirh a very high IQ is bom into Af.ica and is very poor, there is hardly any chance of suwival to make it big in the workjng world. Even if he survives, the denial of the chance of education will kcep his intelligence hidden_ However, a person who is not smafl but is given an opportunity to study will be able to acquire skills and be successful. places we are bom into do shape our characters and determines our opportunities. So, our lives will always be determined by places we are bom into for the majority, even into the future. Goocl points raised and well-supported. Keep reading to hone
jour
use
of
EnglislL.
Tan Bao Ling Charlene 05s45
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Public figures have to behave well at all tirnes. Do you agrce? Today, due to the openness of the media, there has been a self proliferating culture of scandal of which public figures, including celebrities, politicians and sportsmen have become victims of. Journalists dig out the dirt on them and hold them accountable for their actions. Secrets of infidelity, drug consumption ard sexual habits are uncovered for the world to see. These public figures have yet to realize that they have to behave well at all times, not just at public events, but also behind the glitz and glamour. Cood behavior should entail behaving morally and ethically and detinitely includes obcying the law. As public figures, these persoralities have the responsibility to uphold the repulation of the bodies they represent and are rcle models to many. Thus, they should be virtuous and upright at all times to be worthy ofthe limelight they bask in. Public figures have to behave well at all times as they are accountablc for the rcpotalion of the bodies they rcpresent. This is especially true tbr politicians, who rcpreseflt their party and the govemment. Ao example would be the recent case of Sinaporc's Non-constituency Member of Parlirment, Steve Chia. He had taken'sexy photos' of his rnaid, made a hobby of taking nude sho(s of himselt. and had an extranarital affair which he ended beforc the 2001 General Elcctions. This 'private' infonnation was spilled out lor public sclxtiny aftcr his wife reported him to the policc after she found the maid s pictures in his computer. Although he has since rcsigned from all his posts in the National Solidarity Party, hc is still clioging on fo his Parliamenl seat. Political observcrs say Ihat his crcditability has bccn undennined and whethea he is eligible fo| future elections or !rot, is all opefl question. On lhe sanlc notc, in 1977, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, then Prine Minister of Singapore. adviscd mcmberu of his party, the Pcoplc's Action Party, not to misbehave themselves as anybody rvith a palemity suit against him would be 'out' of politics and Lhere would be a by-election. Thesc cxamples show that public figures, especiiilly politicians, have to behavc in a dignifiecl manner at all times, even al home, as any iscondlct can hevo grave cftccts on the cledihbility and integrity of Ihe body they represcnt. Their misdecds could damalle the body's standing as it would go against tlre values it endorsesPublic figures also have to behave well al alL times as Ihey have to live up to the expectations society has of them Io dcvelop olufual tiust- Atlcr all, they thrive on popularity. Successtul lubic tigures rccognizc drat such trust hlls to be eamed and often wrap thcn$eives in the cloak of 'family valucs' and paradc their firmilies befole the media, prescnting themsclves as likeablc chaaactcrs and showinS the public whdt they are 'really' Iike 'up close and personal'- Fbr example. David Beckham, cap(airl of Il glend's football tcam, often parades his family at public events, showinlt himself to be a 'tamily person'. lor Beckham, his good behavior has brouSht him lar.'loday, f)avid Bccklam is England's most populatr footballer and is also a household flame in countries like Singapore aod Jap:ur. Fans cite his 'wholesome lamily image' as e rcason fo[ his popularity. For politicians, many feel fhat privnte conduct coonccts shorgly to public ofiice. For ex.lmple, joumalists nradc Ihc issuc of whether (lcorgc W. Bush ever used cocainc as thc campaign qul-stion of summcr 1999. Colunrnist Molly [ri[s and News$,eek's SIuarl Taylor poi[(ed toward the relcvmt policy issue: Bush's sisning of thc
Texas law that made even fiast-time possession of small anounts of drugs punishable by prison time. The question was should people less fortunate than Bush be ieaming from their youthill mistakes inside a jail cell? Bush denied any consumption of cocaine and
his good behavior paid off. He was elected president of the United States. These examples show that society expects public figures to be upright and worthy so it is important that public figures live up to those expectations and behave well ro gain the respect and tust ofthe public.
Public figures are role models for mxoy and they havc ro behave well at all rimes to set good examples for the comm[nity. For example, a study made by the University of Califomia, Los Angeles, School of Public Health, stated that lgqo of the teenagers surveyed named sports figures as role models while anothet l0olo looked up to singers. This shows that public figures exefi a strong irfluence on impressionable minds and thus the public expects them to have clean and acceptable behavior. Whether they like it or not, famous pcople arlr mimicked, not just at their profession but at everything they do. During her recent Super Bowl half-time perfonn:rnce, singer Janet Jackson accidetrtally exposed her breast, causing a huge uproar among audiences_ Some thought that the scen.: was disgusting arld that it promoted the baring of flesh as bcing fasl onable. Janet Jackson's invitation to present an award er the Cr.lmnry Awa(is irlcw days later, was soon withdrawn- She had been denied attendance at the covetcd music award show as hcr behavior was inappropriatc and undignified_ Thus, it is important that public figures behave well at all times and inaintain a good, clean irnage as they are influential role models for many.
I I I I I I I I I I
Ilowever, one can also argue thal it is irrational to idealize public figures and demaftl pcrtection of them. Aftcr all, they are ollly hurnall, and it is unrealistrc to e\pcLt them to be omnipotent. Some feel that public figures have a right to do what thcy waflt privrtell a. long a: rhcv d,, rlreil t,,bs uell. lrke tur cr,rrrplelrl,c Bill r linrurrtMnrriia Lewilsky scandal thxt produced thc first prcsidential inpeachmcnt over a cenrury_ Fomrer l,resident o[ the U ited States of Amcrica Bill Clitton admittcd ro havinS an affair with Whitc llouse inrcrn Mo ca Lcwinsky. but he was srill electcd president for fwo lerms- Polls rcpeatedly suggesled thal mosl Americans did not think prcsidenl Clinton's allegecl peccadilloes undermincd his performarce as president, rlthough they undermincd their rcspect for him. This shows that ro some, ir did not matrer if Clinton. the public figure and Clinton, the private an, wcrc two difierent people. To thelll, as long as hir was honcst in lhe way he conducled his politics, whclher he was honest about his personal ljfe rcally was nonc of their-btsiness. Thus, public figures do not havc to behave wcll at all times because cven lttough thc) have .t !cftarn leveL ol erpenise, thcy are still human and to err is only hurnan. lt ca be argued that as long as they do their job, what gocs on behind the scenes is nol impol1ant.
T
Public figurcs seek lhe bcncfits of tame and thev must be able to takc thc dowrside of public inteffogirtion. Givc rh(ir hrgh pr,rtrlcs rht,y h.rve to behrvc well and project an ethical imagc to society to gain (heir trust and live up to their expectations of thcm as role models- Morcover, a.ly misdemeanor on (hcir part could also ruin thc good lran1e of lhe body they rcprcsent- Indccd. somc of their ilcts might bear no rclcvance (o
t
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public and private is their jobs but public figures should rccognize that fol them' what is behavior noiu'lfu"t_u"i_*rlit" isue. To ask the world to t.m a blind eye to any immoral would simply b.; biting off more than they can chewThis is
a well-written essal Good usd of emnples and insighful conments nade
Joame Teo 04s26
R@rE lll
oDE
L Qu@TEs:
(ENE PEf,soN oR maYBE AN H@NoR TlE BE A R@LE m(EDEL T@ BE A ROLE IIIODEL' i IIIORE THAN TflAT. IF YOU ARE GIVEN A CHANCE T@ II'I'LUENCE A THINK Y@U sH@ULD ALWAYS TAKE IT BECAUSE Y{EU CAN T TO OO. LIFE IN A P@SITIVE LIGHT, AND THAT.S VHAT I WAI.I
I Tgrlr tt's PERSONIS
THAT'5 wHAT IT'5 aLL aB@ur. -
Veeos.
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CHILDREN NEED In@DELs RATHER THAN cRlrlcs' - J@sEpH f@uBERr, FRENcH EssAYlsr (17 s2-1824)
ExamPL€ HAs m@&E IOLL@WERS THAN RE ASON. - CHRIsTIAN N EVE LL BOVEE, ANERICAN AUTH@R ANO TA'VYER II824t9 @4)
IrnrrartoN Is A NEc€sslrY
(DF HUIIIAN NATURE'
-(ELrveR !?ENoELL H@LmEs' JR" AmERIcAN luRIsr, SuPREfiE C@u&T
IUsrrc€ (1841-1955)
32
t road less travelled:', (M. Scott Peck) is being differcnt overrated? M. Scott Peck had it .ight when he wrote the phrase, ..The road less travelled_,,to the idea of choosing to be different. lo this time ug., utt oi-u. ar" to be different, to the extent that some find that being diffJr""t l. disa$ee with this view, to a large extent. Being unique in oie,s ideas, thoughts and viour is not over-glorihed. Instead, the emphasis is need "ppropriat,'as *r,Ii:T dre crowd,_ro_power rhe differeni sectors of *,. y, lh:1""d business, science and technology and the arts. When a child,s nature "ou,rt m"ets th" different forms of nurturing, a myriad of unique individuals .me.g.. H"nce to them to continue being one of a kind is par for the course
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For example, in any country who would want an economy that has encouraged a .
pot trade centre, our
a,r country's neighbouflng countrles .ounrri.a stafted ""*-'1., economy would have failed as other nergnDounng a,*"d,loi doing the , same. Trade would then bifurcate between the countries and-profits would plunge. H-ence jJ:l9il:':;f gt1 e.'u"*,'*, *.gr'i i. r'-,". il",;;;:'u"J""1"" "ii;;".;;;;;;. industries. One might argue that if our ncighbouring countries did not change, we would have continued to mirkc money. Brt it no onc coirinues changing, we viould alt just revert back to being cavenen, grunting around, and there is no pJintin that either.
It is importanr in business to bc diffcrent, crcative evc. An individual with unrque iideas can creatc a whole ncw business, rvith gargantuan profits, jusl iike the creator of llread 'Ialk did. Why iust have plain bread, *h"n *. i,"u. bread and pork floss? With that simple, yet creative idea, a unique man became a"o,, rich busincssman. Also, what if a differcnt soll of approach can achieve the salne clesired rcsults, with less etibrt? Having ru rrdv[E no ua.urar natural resources o[ of oul own own, Stngapore Si would ncver be tamous fbr anything with .,!q !vs4!v regard Io LU BUru. gold. Yet rcr da strrrlJrc simpre rwcrKrllg rwcaki[g OI oithe tDe rnrnd, rnind, and antr wc werc able to crcate purple Durore gold. and start making a name fbr ourselves. So being diflercnt is not overraled, but a necessrly_
Another nupurri{lr ,-uurEr important area :rrea wnere where oeng being cltlterenl different rs is a must is in i science and technology. Imagine ii people werc contcnt *itl, n.u", finding out why oblects fall, or ncver In/'l rilking flrghr. Wc wurrld be rn the ate of(dn.llc\ ho,..irr*n."-"g.,. Having diffbrenr, creative ideas wiLl opcn new doors for making "id new tecturology to inprovc our lives as well as to extcnd our physical capacitics. If cv"eryonc nlade do with simple tools. we would not have nanotechnology. the atility to manipulaLe the smallcst of particles: nor would we havc stenr cell researJ which has brought us one step closer to eliminatinll ceftain discases. Nor would organ trarNplanls t" a,,L."rrtut. A. *" xnd probe rhe boundaries scr by ourselves, lhe f;ture bccomes filled wirh "^pto." endless possibilities, simply because scientist dared to be dilfercnt and crearivc lfcing diffcrent allows differenl sectoas of a country, like the anistic community, to,bc kcpt alivc ln this epoch, a large nunber of people tcnrl lo favour sciencc subiects i scltools. as thcy bclieve it will lead to a brigh(er flturc_ But sonte i[divicluals rernain
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afis sector- This is different, sticking steadfastly to their ambitions' which lie in the .,"*.ct. us it ltJws a contioued cxistence of people like fashion designers' ntrtiitionists .ou.ti"tr. These people allow a country to stay vibranl having a diverse inJ "u..r urta a colourful pop.tlution. Besides' if everyone did enter the science faculty' science graduates' ".onorny if-ter" *o"fa not be enough vacancies in all the science sectorc for all io*" *outa "tta op ftav;g to be different and taking up ajob they were not trained for" Again, being unique allows for a better future' and should be encouraged' are Yet a lot of peoPle tend to be so different they disrupt social peace Most of us norms' probably unimpressed with people who do something totally unacccpted by social to io so because they are being different This is where being e uniquc uncl "laim individual is indeed over-glorified. In some places like Singapore' with a meagre diffcrence in people Tf small fofriuti.. of 4.4 million, t"lt.re is no room for a vast .f people tbrm, each headed for different business' that business will lnsurely i.it"," this '.oLtapse, a,le to a marginally effectivc working force considering the 'small size is situatiod the till on diversitlcation should be stymied' ron'ii i"*^"""
appropriate.
"n
"iph..i,
Ilowever. these socially unaccePted actions or lllrge dil'crsion might actually hclp rhat would in the right circumstances, to be a springboard for People to create something cre rling new in be more_ accepred and pnctical Being ditTerent again, would help artifacts and ploducts that will allow us to advance.
diflercnt is generally llof overratcLl Wc need to bc differcnl ;n order the to help kecp econlmics alivc. We nced crcative ideas 1tl explore thc urknown and going. u,.h"^ia oft. we should have unique individuals to keep various areas of hurnxnrt) So being cliflerent is a must, alld cafflot be consiclered overrated
ln
a'1, being
tt tltt:ent tListussiott - rt)u n(ed t() vtttrk a little on tt uctutitry' E\amplcs nair points up. F lu(nt a d confident wrililg
Mostly hraL:e
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I : Human life is precious and must be preserved at all costs. Discuss,
It is almost inevitable that every human individual considers his own life to be of utmost va ue. However, in a somewhat paradoxical fashion, the lives of other fellow human beings are often perceived to be of less impodance. This leads to controversy sometimes as to whether every life should be preserved at all costs. I would say that to prcserye a life at all costs is not economically viable, and is very impractical. Rather, a balance needs to be struck between morality and practicatity. Although such a balance is imponderable, it is an ideal that slrould be striven for.
The idea of preservitrg a life incorpomtes the concept of saving a person from an imminent death, o. extendirg thc life of a person. lt is bitterly ironic thar while people seek to preserve human lives, it is often other lbllow human beings that kill people, or even themselves. Wars are the ultimate embodiment of this. Man battles against mall' resulting in an asfonomical loss of human lives. Casualties ilr World War II greatly surpassed the loss of lives caused by the Black Plague. peace is preached in an attcmpt to avoid future wars and collflicts, but sometimes, wa.r is waged in an attempt to preserve peace. Although it may seem ethically wrong, humal livcs have been saoificed to achicvc a goal, to lealizc an ideal, or to protect the lives oI people close to us. 'fhis goes back to the idea thaL we placc dil'ferent values on thc livcs of different people. The livcs of people close to us are usually perceived as being morc precious, and to better or to preserye their lives, sacrifices mxy bc made even if they arc the iives of othel humans.
The assumption thal human life is precious is also ulrlermincd by people who perceivc the own lives to be of litrle value. Pcople afflictcd with terminal illrrcsses nray find life intolerable, or do not wish ro be a burden- Preserving the lives of people strickcn with illnesses such as canccr or AII)s is very costly and taxing, and may adversely alfect people close to them. Howcver, there arc rnoral issues that nake this such a colundrum_ Taking away the lives of such people is sccn as playing God, and doing so goes rgainsr all our cthics. I-[ence, euthanasia is still noa widely accepted in most countrics. Conversely, are the lives of pcoplc who arc of little value or even cletrimental to our society wonh prescrving? Murdercrs, rapists and robbers offen take away the livcs ol other humans, but docs this give us rhe right to take away thcirs? This..eye for an eye', concept fbnns the basis of capital punishnent_ Thcre is the altcmative of implisoomeut which is oftcn preferrcrl, since it givcs crininals a chance to rcpe t and strrt afresh. but for those impervious to changing tbr the better and unrcpentant, perhaps capital punishment cannot be avoided. Howcvcr, effort should be taken Io counsel and try to help thc criminal before capital punishment. Prcseffing human life is an idcal rhal should be strivecl fbr. lt would be ir lumanc to lct a person dying of lltv simply dic without mcdical aid. tf rirar person values his lit'e and wishes to have his Iifespan lengthcned, albeit tcmporarily, attempts should bc macle to preserve his litir [or-as loog {s possiblc- AlthouSh rhis maybe an excrcise in futility, the few cxtra monlhs the paticnt lives would bc priceless Io the feople who care for him.
35
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from other animals is our code of is murder forms the ethics and morals. Our acceptance that killing other human forms choose not to' does comerstone of this code- If we are capable of preserving a life' but in a moral this not bord., on murder? At times, it is a conflict of ethics that results and is hence' its surroundings' Jif"t"-u. n"..y human life is unique, is conscious of be weighed pt""iou.. Uowever, the sacrifice made in order to save a life must the lives "on"ia"r"a ag;iist ho; the resources used in doing so could be used to betteror even save line that fni. may seem to be a very inhumane statement, but the bottorD lives-is The o? ott ".,. to preserue .esoo.ces ar. limit d, and an opporfunity cost is involved if we are the^ life of a cancer patient can save numerous children in -"".y tp.", on p.eieruing ,qll"u f-rrt starvation. Human life may be precious, but the sad reality that we place prcsefve ;ifferent values on the lives of different peopte limits our capacity to truly It has been said that what
separates mankind
hu.-rir".Rather'sometimesitisourcompulsiontosavealifeatallcoststlratmay prevent others frcm living. a human It is said that the road to Hell is Paved with good ntenhons To preserve can be so life at all costs may seem like a noble intention, but the social rilmiflcatioos life is u4r,".," ,o the cxtent that other lives are forgone' The perception that human place we values p...io* it one that is widely accepted, but the truth is that the different preserving a in different tives undermine this concept. Truly, moderation is imperative in lite, for sometimes, the sacrifice is.just too great' sentence in the While the essay i fotused, the itleas are a tad unclear' Lack of clear topic nis' :;'ntc paragraphs makis for a difficuh understan'ling of your argnnent You. 'inr"r"rrirg ideas bit ditl nil take them to the conclusion you suggest This is Lt pity' LangutrgJ is quite niceIr- controlletl Good use oftocabulary and etPression
Daniel Chang 04s63
36
Asian Values: Do they exist?
The concept of "Asian values" has often been refened to ilr mary diflbrent contexts_ Arnong the values often associarcd wirh asian:;oci.tle" a.e tn"l.in"ipt" of community above serf, the premium on frugariry and hard work. wi r' ,rrl oJ"u.."o". ot the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 came a wave of cnriclsm, maiaty from Westenr commentators, that the death klell of rhe myrh ot Acial u"lu." hJ b.en sourraed. However, I believe that while the various attacks on the oi;A"i*' uutu".,, a,, "on""pt**irr*-i" have some justifrcatiol, Asiar values do exist and will probably U. ,"f"r"* in the future
One of the criticisms levied at the concept of ,,Asian values,, is on the most fufldamental level - that Asia covers such a huge geographical area and spans such a dizzying specffum of diflbrent cultrrres that ir is meaningless to speak of ,,Asian values,, as if it was a homogelcous belief system. For examplJ, have otten been made, espelially in Malaysia wherc Lhe bumiputra policy "o.pu.i"orra is an issue, between the tendercy of the Chinese to enshrine fhe pursuit of Draterial suc""ss a" a core value, itnd thc relative laidback. relaxed ethos of the Malay comnunily. Of course, compansons such as thesc have oftel been attacke.l as being over_gencraiiscd, evcn racist, but they do point to some dilfercnces in value systems betwecn cjiifeient Asian cuhures_
with the increasing globalisation of thc world, trytig to compartmentalise cultures along gcographical or ettrflic lines is becoming increasingly futilc, as cultures are now interact and influencc one another to such un e?t.m ti,ot on. "world culture" is begiriring to take ioot all around the u,orld. it.rugf, li,ouy ls,rff fr" "u-becn cied as espccialty Mrny lleople B)inr our that vatLres rhar have li^'-l].li*1,]'".,"t"" jn sLgortrcirnr Asixn ruirure, such rs the principle of cornnlunity above self, are in fact not unique to Asia but rathca, to somc ertenr, unrvcrsal. hvcn tirc biggest flag bearers ol Westem civilisation such as thc Uniteil Srxrcj rrd rhc Unrrcd f<,rgl'|""i ir"i," f"*, ,fro, arguably inlringe on human righrs, such the USA'S patriot Act, plciseiy because rhcy have weiShed collecrive sccurity aSairNt human righls and f,r,,ntf ttJ forr,,.r rrrur" tmportant. Thus, therc is nothing particularly ,'Asian,' aboul ,,Asian values,,_ rathe. they are motivated by co[cems that would be relevant to lllolc or less any civiliscd socrcry_ Fufthemore,
It is largely on this basis that the various critics atlack the concept of Asian values as bcing more a political insffuntcnt tiran a social rcality. .I.hcy ,1,o, in a world increasingly dominaled by "wesrern varues" pcrvasive "u,,r"rr.l i.",.,n" rirr-rr iriar arJar.iiiil, market ethos of the economic realm 1o the emphasis on dernocracy anJ in;i;idual liberly itl.politics and popular culture, Asian lcerlers ."*,, ,..o,r"..li"s "e.im values" to justify and thus preserwe thcir rcgimes, ,hi.h "","1iir *nr.t "f ou,l n." aut.irutic'"t patcflralistic at best. Thcse leacler.s clairn that Asians, unlike their Westcrn counterparts, ,ll: ahovir sclt rnd workinlt rogerhcr for the comrno( good rather i1""1 ::""-unity l,lt-iii lllan rr,li\idu.rl libcr(ic.. end rhus rarious rrprcsrirc rrrcirsurrs 5.cll a\ llrc.unrrLlrlcnl ol ftec spccclt iD thc irtterests of |re,!cntmg the fiagmentation of socicty are to be applaudcd rrthcr driIrr rnrr(lernncrl. Thesc clltrc\ also pJilrt to practices such as cronyism ancl nepotism, nrasquerading as "Asian values', o[ ioyalty to [amily and friends, as thc orjgin'
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Asian govelrunT:s do hijack the While it is true - and sadly so - that many go so far as againsi enlighiened reform, I would not conceDt of Asian valires as a bulwark Politicians ua-lues b-ecause of this Phenomenon ;#;# #;;;;"*i"t"n"" ot a"i"j"t'ou"...orLed to shrewd ploys to achieve political throughout the ages and i,, utt .*i"t.". values unique to does not negate the existence of il;""i-*. ;;i ;,i" i."i *tut ttt"y do thrst,o'it-"itl'" that Asian values are a mvth' trt" "'"g""" ""v itr. iug" .p""** of cultures that Asia ";"il. while there are inevitably aircr.n"."*;itnln*itf i" ti"t"'tott"tes that are more notable encomDasses, there are also common stranA' to tle fact uor''" svstems This can be attributcd
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i"t"r-linked histories and thus' have developed nou" that di{ferent areas of A"iu .Itrc tited example of this is "^Lt""ilv tnov sr'Jifi":rnL' most "ft"n end sustahcd interaction verv similar philosophics' "tathe ntinrate irr ionfucianism. Although it originateii p"tintuf" Malayan socicty resultcd in the of China with Japanese, Korean, ^ni """n tui'"" tft'*gn..'t Atir' unrlerpirrring rnanr LrlieI
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shou'd not write thefi off one evcn among diflerent Eroups within ;i;;;;;. Tt;.; .;" *btlc drffererrces in values of chinese trtui at"" not mcan we ne;ate the existcncc H:ffi",g;;;.;" tot^"v' r''"'also "Asian" are not true that some values iclentitied as valucs ot American values lt is vastly certain poinls ol sitnilarity between rigidly uniqr.rc to Asil there *" oi't"ut values tt" madc is that but thc important obs"'luotio" rltui"tutt
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values that make up thc value svstcm differences is in tllese value judgments that thc
prioritics whilc thc
miqht be similar for diflerent socletles' it
libcdv a d the idea of 'nawia"ot 'r'ir" to eilher westem society or Asiln common lvelfare would not be "tp"ti^ity "'i"ttt"nto in l^vour of w"ri"*'a*i"ty i. mu.t, a.rr" likely to rule society, when a trade olt "rir"r, t" llt* iit"iy to play sale Lry castirg its k)t with the the fomer, whercas Asi{n society latter " valucs are deeP-roofe'l in Asian In [act' ] trelieve it is preclsely because cenain ic, trt"* values has decp resonance with-the society that polrtrcal propatsandd ^piJ"rilrn rrol scll il ll\e rdcr o[ (ornrnurrrlv r peoplc in thc lrr 'l Plr' e pdtcrnalr'nl rripll "rrld lhc rcccnl lllv'nlrun ol llrliorlxl ler'ler* rbov( ell $erc rllelcl\ lhP "*t't -tt "'*l"gi'rl 'rr it logrtlrer" cthus ot th^c-British welfare value of alt culturcs, whethcr b" tit;';;-"i Americnn rpprorch havc come ..^rJlat aty indePendcnt and iltli v itlua tistrttystem cngendercd by such valucs "t.,""t trnclcr attack at so rc time or othet Ji"n ift" "utiun"f a or iolitical trouble olten provide sccrned shaky, indicating lhal ti'nts"oi "tono"tic convenientframeworktornakesocra"|,-ulu.","."p.11n"ttnfJ!t.lvhilenrltnypcoplecite A\rrn values the irony is that political motivations as thc source- o[ itt" l-onttpt_nf in political agendas too Asian ledders algurlcnts against this co cept ot" ofr""
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atlLrflous [o preservc thejl system again ur what wnrt rhey " roLqq6rr! of tnev perceive ocrceive fo be estcm ;rcm cultural cuttural imperialism, imoeriAli
.
But will Asian values lose meani ino"^ingly globalised wortdi, I believe har 1r nsr,ead instead of wanins, wanins Asian asian _"r,,-values ,..,Si,,1 ": not a one-way process and has not onl_J r.v|q6q,\ proPaSalcd u weslem ]yrsr(nr values to the th"e rest o[ ,rld. ln fact, world. lacl. wiLh ol the wirh Lhe rhe;.. o.,.._^.,^I on lhe-world rise o[ Asian n. ^r slage. \uch as china rnd a nend is alread; India, p.^"",u1 influcncc -J,.1rons .E ur ol Asran A.iaD values o[ on lhe the " n While it could be rro,,a,_r world. ,h"i ...- ..- Incans orld argue6 that rhar "Asian vrlues uill ceaseruexisrby rtreir uery ab.orprion'il; :J;;:" 'globalisalron ccnnol a' al least le3qt m in lhc ' 6'vvdtlrdru' carurot' llr. foreseeable lorerrcable future, turure, be complete comotcre sucl <,-,, ,"", ,,^,,-.ll tl]at al aistirr"l ",, thus Asian ua"", *lr .tli u T':TilrXf":r,r,ffii, "nrr
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Chua Shirin 0445 i
Humlr.r V.qlug e vore s: Ir we vete r@ waKE Lrp stomE n@RNING aND FiND TIIAT €V€RYONE YHE SAIIE
.!?,AS
RACE, C&EED AND C@L(DR.'WE \X/OULD FIN D S@ME OTHER CA(,SE FOR PREJUDICE BY NOON. - G eor.c e Arrr s
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u", , ), . \r& itl,.t .,1 at,an v,ttuor. ", ,,;;;,:;:,':;:,,,,;:",:,'"ta.hara116a -urtlttllol l''rtt' rn: of l'rlt^irut.'t lto,tt4t\ At.r, o1, th,
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IS TRUTH.
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Rivalry brings out the best in one. Discuss' of our lives' Rivalry happens all the time. We are bound to face it at every.stage st ge or our working stage RivaLy cirr bring out the best in be it during o,rr "iritalooa comes from the competitive one but it Jan also bring out the worst The nature of rivalry to competc for what we want' nature of human beings We are bom with a natural instinct be-lhe best and ni, d^ Uri"n" oul 1e besl in one by lorring one lo give all lhc besl lo sclf-confidcnce ri"t*ti. i*i o" irt" oLher hand. rivalrl also causes selfishress lcck o[ and dirty fights among PeoPle. one's heart will When one laces rivalry from one's peer, the competitiveness in the best in fo.". on" to ,i." up to the chitenges. Through competition' we will briflg out role. For play an inportant .,r. io fr" U"u"r,fr* others, dete;ination zrn. perseverince student must be in u."a"*i"s, if a student wants to be the best in the school' the this kird of rivalry that "*ulnpt., a"i" i,r"a o.,.t ,nu.t work hard to achieve the goal. lt is tl*orgh th".."L,.. and strive to be bctter' Thesc qualities can be developed ;il; ;;; when one faces rivalry, thus' bringing out the best in one-
Withoui Rivaly is also essential to maintain a certain standard of achicvementsnot be recor-ds.will and rivalry as a d'.it,ing for.., we humans will not havc progrcss world the Ian Thrcpe's placc in U.ot"'n- fur, i-ug;i. if Michael Phelp had not threatened
with record. Ia Thrope then would not havc any dvals to conpele could havc m"..f,r." no incentive to improve hirnsell ln fact' his perlbrinance maintain "na J.L.in."t"a. Because ol r-ivalry' Ian Thrope had to work very hard to keep xnll bring out flJl""oiJ f... ft"i tc takcn away by Pheips l'his rgain shows thxt rivalry cen the besi of someone-
iJ
in Lfr"
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loo much rivalry However, therc is also a darker sidc of rivalry Whcn thcre is wilt cause goinll on. one will feel very prcssured to Perfonn -$cll .Too 1::ch,f::tsl.l-e hecause of io-.un" ,u bccomc very srreisetl up and rLr tur'n dllcct his herlth lt i5 also alld end up ti""f,y,f-, *lt.n on" porty loses, he or she will tend to become deprcssed develop low *ottn'*irlg in sadness. Thii will cause him to losc his self-confidencc and selflesteem. tn the end, rivalry only brings out the worstbecause everyone Extreme rivaLry will bring an ulwillingness to share This is vely wa Is to be thc best and every scrlpe of Lnn$ Lcdge rnd olfortunity.lrecomes themselves and cnrcial. Due to the "need" to beconrc lhc bcst, pelrple will then isolatc of Hijaz people the refuse lo help others. For exanplc' befbre Islam was intro
fom]edthcirowl1clans.Tlrerewercrivalriesamongclansloconqueftllemosllandand amorg lhe people riches- In the end, the "assabiah" spirit arnong clarls caused disuoity had bcen willing to and war broke out. lf only thcre werc no riv^Iry dmong clxns lf they share, many lives would havc becn sp.rerl
Ilivalry can also bring out the evil side of humans- When wc are too absorbed asidc rvith the idea o[ winni^g a'<1 iorni.g out as *le best. we tend to put everything elsc iust to reach ou, gorl.
ih"t
is {he time wheD we
Llse
dirty tactics to down our opponent
40
just to get a s(ep closer to our goal. For inslance, jusr take a look xt thc reelity_game show ,.survivor" [t was supposed to be a test.ot'.physical abilirres bur ir enaed ulas.Nst plain back stabbing among castaways, This rivalry brings our rhe worsr pan of liuman beings, the dark side. Io conclusion, rivaLy is important because without it, we would not be wherc we are today and rivaly does bring out the best_ in one. It is extreme dvalry that will bring out the wo6t side of human. Therefore, we should encourage rivalry only up to a certain limit -,that is, it should be just enough for improvemcnt but nor to t_he extent ttrat it wilt cause disunity in the human race. _
On the whole well-argued and organized. Fluent English but do be careful of your t?ndcnt r to writ., tnfomplttc scntcnter. Suzanne Chcng 0-5s I l
RIVALRY Q UoTEs: C@npETrrIoN ts rHE KEEN AWAY AT COSTS. " H €NRY F@RD Ir
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IIIOST €FFECTIVE \x/AY (DP UTILIZINC HUIIIAN EN IS TH&(EUGH AN @RGAIIIZED RIV,ALRY. VHICH OY 'RGY SPECIALIZATION,AND S@CIAL C(ENTR@L I5. AT THE SAME TIME. @RGANIZED CO - @P€RATI
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Rivalry brings out the best in one' Discuss' There is rivalry everywhere Be
d
it in a famiLy' school'-society or between
to ar. 'nable ;;;;;il;is strife ' and this is all pafl of human nature .Humans inslincl of survival ""r"tti.t cimnlv lea.l lives wilhoul conslant contpetiti;n bccaucc oflhe basic rhe srrongest ll',[Jruiii':. j;r.;t.o*'ri."' r,"ut"a a rar race: e\eryone desires ro be
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"' does bring out the best for some' it also has its
'iuut'y
is able to than others Undoubtedly, under the constant Pressure to do bettet .on€ its tof of potential' strength and utiiize his or her trlents !o the ,"p i";;;;;'i.";; hone his,ahililics and Willr ri\ alav. man dcvelop' a fenrclou\ cdge lhrl rlllo$s hlm lo i'""1 rake rhe olvmpics ror Insrancc Fach. competrt'rr ;;i;; ."?riitv or "ot r"'ting anvone get in front of lim or her' Rivatv :''":^ In the .t.*grrt .,i mind and tic cletermination not to be beatcn' lies the competitors' there also b,tntt.tl .r""rtt J..s noionly exist between the present to best the man next to i"Jit"'a rr""- r*tou. .e.ord hold"ts' Tu many' it is not erough you, to be the ";est". They want to break a wolld record'
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n"u"t tn"n that nn: Rivalty brings out the inhercnt hurnnn ncccl !o prove ':,.111t^t: constant ;i;;. ;l;;.,; of succcss' rivalry can bring otrt l|c Lrest in ulc LlLrc lo-this 'fo a has the same definition of-"hesl" ""y.". striving for better lcsults. However' noi everyoneprove lhat to ..a"f;nofv1*"i. "best" might reter to pe"'nrl 'utces' aLld dch'e\errent person rcsorts to lrrscrupulnrrs means lcl on" i, unpur"tt"t"a in his orler arcn^- Yct i[ r Marly lake iiti. thcn rivalry has insteed brought out the rvorst in thal person -t. do anything' no ^.fri."" ."pr.r"nt su"c"s,; and to achieri this success solne would "1r""1" lt carries with it a a"spicable Rivalry is rlcver ahvays pure and clean ,*",,"a fl.*-i.* uncomnlon Io some to i""".lty ".afld the inhcreot sellishncss of humans lt is llot Lrp to thc top fake the their way """"i" ,".* ,o iu-n una cheating and backslabbing lo work perspectives: one' vo'can merelv i;; be viewe"d in two il;,;;' i;'"J";i;;;;i' or ..-.p.,;t,.n belween ihose in the race' striving to eam the sold; of :"i;i;;,:.;:;il being accuscd 4"i". a."p". and s"" thc number of cases of competitors livalry ,*",'V"i blillgs out "^" cn}rancing drugr to achieve their Peak- In lhis case. f,kinF Dertolmance i' r(spe!rcJ b\ rhe ;:;1"^'';',:;; ;-. r'"'"p'"" "r." $in( b) lris " i'"' o*n Incrrr( l r undcrharld means to *o.kt ior t,ili o. her ubility io excel, bur onc $ ho wrns by resorrng This acl cveorenl can hardly be *i"" iti* .. tt", " u..st i; uldmaiely regarded as e loser' Bringing out the ion.ia...a nlrt.*", if one doesn'l depind on hrs ur hcL o\ r strengllrsr d being abLe to pres\urc ;;.; t;t;;;r;.id"g out one's abilit) !o shrnc undcr rntense to lorv (lown and clctennination' Instcad' for thosc who rcsoft ;;;;i;;-;;JJr";th success' in reality ,rr""n., .iuafy Uringi out their weaknesses Though lhey might achieve hut to seek ih"y tou" foit"a ai they l,au" chosen not ro tap on their own strengths' unwholesome aid.
or it lirrl "Best" can rcf-er to many thi gs; it can mean pcrsonal' matcrixl succc\s accept defeat by 1l refer to thc good character c,t o p"..ion lf one is able to graciously trilirs? With the rival. is this not also considered a "best" in tenns of his or hcr character
42
elections in USA coming up soon in November, competition bet{veen George Bush and Johl Ke_rry is getting incrcasingly tense and heighlnect. White rhis allows them to display their leadership abilities and capabilities to iead their country, the competition to prove that each of thern is the ..better man.. has also caused rhem to iownplay each other. Can fhis be_considered "bringing out thc besr'. in rhem? Uttimately, there wili only be one winner, and in this case, is the loser able to acknowledge defeat and pledge support to the wirurer? If tmmpeting the flaws of an opponent is the means by which Jne extols his or her abilities, this individual has aheady failed to a cefiain extent as he or she is unable to prove his or her capabilities withour betitling another. t";;;;;;;1.-;;;ufting rhem down might achieve a "best,, if one is able to attain the coveted"success, but this is also a "worst" as one has to rely on znother,s flaws, and not one,s personal achievements, to bolster one's abilities.
Whil: thete are people who can work well with intense rivalry, there are also .those who fail to do so, as
they succumb to pressure and are demoralizej, unable to excel as they do not thilk that they can better their contemporaries. Rivahy has two effects; it can give one confidence and a zealous drive or it cin also instill ulcertainty anc.l fi:ar. Because of this lear of failure that they are unable to prove that they are worthy. Some cven develop a "cannot do this" mcntality, and they are alrearly clefeatetl. Thus, they collapse as thcy ailow thek weakness to tait mph over their strengths.
It is a dog-eat dog world, and the ,,best rnan" may not always win. .Ihe
word "best" is too subjective, whether it relers to a moral bcst or a material b;st. In either sense of thl: word, rivalry is indeed able to brirg out thc best in somc. But we cannot ignore thc fact that rivalry can also clrum out losers, be il those who ,,selt destruct,, by collapsxtg undcr prcssure, or thosc who, under contpetition. display thc worst of their character-s.
FluentlJ written. A sophisticat(.d tliscussiott. A pit)J lou did nLrt tr| to give a runge of etarnplcs especially x,hen in the intro, )1ltn ),,1u t.tLot b mettri,,ne,l trt .ul,a rhat could he explaitkLl .eclurols (runks) Danielle Wong 04s23
41
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In
a technological society, do
libraries still h:rve a role to play?
The library can be considered an immutable part o[ ttle technology wave' a public retaining its place even in this modern day and age. It still serves its functio[ as right hungry intellectually collection oibooks. from reference to fictioil, to satisfy the down to the infant leaming the alPhabet. ln countries that rely so heavily on computers
societies and machines for their day to day functions, it comes a's no surprise that these :fe inherently fasFpaced, wherc peoPle often crave specific knowledge at the snap of of the their fingers. However, with the impeilections of thc Intemet (the closest substihlte ,rre here to library)'and the ineplaceable library experience' it is satir to say dral libftries stay.
society' thc place of the library is challenged by the fhe InerneL pcrvasiveness of a new altemative, the lnlemet. Known for its high speed' iriumphs over the books in lhat il co bines tcxt, graphics and sounds [o creale a mole engajing reading experience that stimulates the senses. Compare this with the tyfical dull ti#uiy toot tftui is often tom ard tattered and easily outdatcd Moreover' the volume of infolmation on thc world wide wcb is no less than that of the library ln fact' there is ari unlimited acccss to the htemet whercas people can only have acccss fo libriry books rvhich bavc not bccn borrowed. A merc search ol1 googie l'or 'Britney Spears' fol example, would chun out ovcr five nillion rcl:lted lioks in just about a second These wouli includc the latcst news abo[t the celebrity' and a hugc anay of photos end music vidcos. much more than wouLd bc found in librdrics.'fhe Intemct ill itsclf is ilso much more convenient than the libaary, as it transccncls geographical boundaries anrl can be or on the goaccessecl front any compulet. palnl top and even hand phole' be it xt homc to the Converscly, people have to sPecially lio oul o[ thcir wly and ruake a t[ip down nearest lilxary t;bolrow books whiclt Ihcy ilre llot evefl sure cxist in thc fi$t pl:rce!
In this technological
Howevcr. this constitutes only one sidc of lhe argumcnt Thc lnternet in rcality is not as perfcct as it seems F'or rll the abunclance in illfonnalion. the lntemcl aclually up suffers a huge credibility crisis as it takcs so liltle fbr auy Torrr, Dick and Hany lo set lakes skili Fudhennore'.il a web page]jumbling up tacts with opinions and half--Iruths ana practle io mastei searchi g techniqucs to accurately sier'c ou{ thc useful infomlation from the rest. Tllis leck.rf technicel know_how $lay bc a hindrancc to thc very oid and very young, who would naturally prcfer lhc librury Finally. the dillitalizatior of pdnt rlei;a is qaraer th.rn it seems. Not only do compaflics have to get round-copydght laws nnd intcllcctr.ral propcity rights, lhc mere frocess of copying ovcr aLreedy entails somc unwanlecl inuccuracies, Io i(s attcmpl to digitalize all thc resources in an Americall library, Google Iocorporatcd finally ddlrrittccl lhe tutilily of lhe task as lhey needed at the materiills wouid already bc outdated by lcast a dccadc to complete the projecl, ^nd then-
However advancecl our level ol technology' there irc still asPccts ol llre libftry that catrnot be replicated. Thc esse cc of the library cxperience in frct involvcs walking in{o one and beirig grcctctl by lhc cntire ranSc irlld varioly ol books, neatly shelved and catalogues. waiti[tl to be explorcd. lu lhis ciLs.. therc Llocs not need to be ll sPecific
14
l
t purpose for visiting the library, but an opportunity to chance on material rclatxrg to the interest. Moreover, many still cherish the sens;ry experience of froia;rlg |loin"tfrng tangible in their hands, flipping its pages and smelling rhe *nilf" oi-i*]p"., a.o un rhe book. Espccia y for shatespearean ora.n_a,y :T_19._.f ctasslcs. tr :"t ts srmply more authentic teading them on paper than on "ug"a;r',no sireen. Long hours on computer also srrain the eyes and det;riorak u, ,o *n1, ,tle libraries.srill have a role to play in our society is than maly loots, maeuzin.s una mullimedia avrilahte ltrere ffe not found on rhe inremcr lLi" written before the invelrtion of lhe cornputer, and refcrences thar aie copyright protected. The assortnent of newspape^ a.d magrzines on library st,etues are ,r,Jl" &t"n ,t un no, disallowed to be published online and peopt" or" ..qui."a ro.uUr.JU. oni poy to.,fr"n. As such, the library holds a different vrriery of resources arrd e^p"rien""s aitogether.and car withstand the test oftime.
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the ulique .ole of the library that caru1ot be replaced, ,thaf the C_onsidering it can be seen library still has a future
in this tecltological society. ft _".i, fro,""u".. tfo* *i*l the times and constantly update its collecrio. ot'Ooot. ana ilefrunir. tfr" J.o-"..r"r. go,l' the lntemet_ard the library have their advanrages an.l shoulJ b" ,."J a rlontr"*t oth(.r. Rcsults of rhii are c-lihraric\ ,,nd ..crrologu.. rfr"r ,lig,,ufir" rf,. .JJl ,n .*i*,;ng libraries. Whatever Ihe case, dre library will hold its place.
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Lee Min Xuan I
Ltoranv Quo.res: TnE Ltar.aRy ts ouR UN IVE
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can, and no one should
oF tNTELLecr, ouR
TRANscENDENTAL exception: no one graduates fiom a libra.y. No one possibiy
'PnEstoeu.I, Ca,rN scrs C@RpoRATroN VarTa,N
G
r!cer.raH
LIBRARtaNs HAVE
al.ways BEEN AmtBNG THE mosr THOUGHTFUL AND HELPFUT PE@PLE. THgy p,Re TgAcHERs .VITH@UT A CLASSR@@m. N(D t IBRARI E S, NO PR(EGRESS.
'Bloaocast€tt WtLlato
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(jreat erpression and good points.
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Tar gugrrc LTBRARv Is
iI@RE THAN a REP@stToRy @F B@@Ks. [T's a mYSTERI@us. woNDER@us pLAcE vtTH THE P(EVER T@ CHANGE LIV€S. 'CHICAG@ Trrsutr Lt.rcrary rorren E Lt za,r eru
Tayror
45
t t t I t t I t I
and serve for better enErkinment v n, as t\e reed
ourserv".;;;;;;;il,;il:.;-.?.^:kl. "9ll.r ry ano audrLonrlly
becomc increasinsry stimuletjng source
qublishing and orher media coutd pur rhe ti,e ofboot s ar risk due tn' simple rr"rPrc reason uf bcino ul rte to most people. \ible bcirg Inosl rnosl DeoDle con\i,-tc;,," considerirrg ,r^, Lh;, ^-1" mosl peopic lrom
l:d::d..oline :r. tts tuture shines confidentjy
' '" "-
il
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on
.a
of purdng alt knowtedSe online is doubrful to me. with billio^ :e-[a:l':ali:y on earth trom the past antl prescnt. of it seel" to me ,ffi:":1il1J",11,:', i^possiblc to put all of it onlinc vinuar pr:rrromr. vrrual ntrtfoml rr/r.jr- -_..L,: , _
whire ,"uri,r,i"e
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envrronrnenrat and cosr benefrrs. doing so tor erisring anJ necess:1ry.:r\ they ere already eircrrlJling rn the
trtdition:l b."k
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i,.,rn.iilJ"_ ",,. *.," ;;;i;",
or,
I must agree that, u hiie ir is tl \ ifluJl book' their benefirs 'ud onlrne prrblrrhing do have \!lri *r,irt" ;.':t 'lti' rrrdui'uv "n.r nadirionrr hoot ,e.rni r;''ili;i.";,1:lrruoughs PIav.rs "arr riJe upun. rire
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_iil;lii,l,#i_ :iljril:,i;:l i;4',;.iilTij;illi::T:i,,,11il,,'J o1 lrom
pages or a bo.,k $ourJ aenniretu ne.J .'l'f""-'n't"'o f. ro sL'me avid q.,uld asree thur rherc rerrdert a cerrain herur)"Jr-u,i;r';;;;:,,;;: ," p;;;"";;;;';;,'ii.'sd I notel and rcvelline in rhe berurv ofrtrer, econon,y or -":";;,.j-ir';;, ]."8'h:,'j brc.rdrh of rhi\ dn\.rcrr r,\cniu,,. somehor{. rtre,,,".,.,,.1.'""i"i,"j"j:i'. phv'icai,r) r'd ,.',";;;i', ;;,,';]l;"rJrrerrcc ur rhe \ rnrral bot'k can ncvcr rct,ldcc rtr. view. bur' \,,irr r,ora ,hi. r""g """; surell. nor
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re'
hrolog). llrc
: ''rrd lilclrle "u".1o'," ,i,".'.,J?lj ?ff lu\el\ le,'ll( qirhurt ,ril "- tr.." ," .,* "ur)\ ',
Written with som(. r,it urd Tan Wai Jia 04S23
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Does the book still. have a
future?
a Primarity, books are for reference purposes' data collection and storage' and acclaimed simple yet powerful mears of conveying literary language The book is highly nna ."liable as knowledge colrtained within its pages can be passed down to d" is able to generation to generation. Despite its pages being yellowed- with.age' if Irom "if."tiu" the servc'its purpose ditifully. However' the existence of the book is threatened by means of various ou..*fra-ni .-"ag"rr"" of new educational software and of the entertainrnen; TechnJlogy despises the basic element of the book - paper' Because well as' people of world's obsession with iechnology and its ability to serve the needs 's or better than books do, a tirne may corDe where the book becomes useless'
Preseltly, as maiy counlies push towa[Is a knowledge based society' the use of wjth infomration tecirnology it.fl is p..uilent. In Sing:rpore' every school is equipped Irouseclare cornputer laboratoriei- where slte-of-the-afi computers and prograrnlnes least twice a week Stuclents have access to such hiSh technology cducational materials at that where computer lessons are conductecl by the IT savvy teachers lt is believcd away from sludying in Ihe classroom call gct boring' and hcnce thcre is a l1eed to move aimcd at programmcs thc tracitional use of books ai the teaching material Computer aidi[g stuclents in corc subjects are deemed io be mole stimulating and cha]lengiog to thc Ko[g and brain than books are- Countries such as America' United KiDgdom, Ilong doing away Malaysia ar-e also inlegraiing the use of IT into theia education systems and with ttre bulky books- Othei forns of teaching methods with the aid of techrology are Girls' Schools' seen as rnorc practical ancl less cumbersome Take for cxample Crcscent a bold nlove lo usc lablct PCs Evely secotldary one student this year hxs to purcltase way' ln this $3000 tabtel PLI o[ rvhich homewor-k assignments have to b{r cornpletednecd not bc hturding up homework is easily tracked and workbooks or assignmcnt lrooks clealilg a of the hope carried to school. llel-erence sources alc tufting lo technology in ncw fonn ol iheir Product. Diotionaries can now be found online' and so can i stead encyclopaedias. I he f:mous Encarta Encyclopedia comes in a compact disc fbrn of r \vfr,rt" scries of nlore than 20 large and heavy lomes This saves spacc ar'l can be willl easc. Even now thc mosl widely rcad book, the Biblc' has a latest vcrsion ^cccssed in the foam of a palm top Biblc This is so much nlore convenicnt, user friendly' and mostly, lighl weiglt. As iuch, many sources ol refere ce items arc now assurning nlort technologic{l [omrs-
When pcople think aboul books' they usLrally also associatc il -rvith fiction literature or booki fbr reart;ng pieasule. Books are promireflt examplcs of ;r so(rcc of enterlailrmenL Howcver, lhc najority oI the worLd prefers rnorc rnindless enlcdrinnl(flt lhtn that which is provicled by books Fihus, lelevision' video CDs and DVDS ere all lhe lhesc forms rage these days- Many clevcloped counlrics are atfluent enougb to indulge in of eflle ainrnent. The clemancl fbr films. television silcoms video CDs and DVDS arc leslintony to thc fitcl that lrooks are losing popularily anLl appeal The world gyrates to at enlcl1airunenl sou.ces thal rcquire morc techilology than just peo or papcr' The speed the dran lastcr is ntuch market rvhictr ncw lilm vidco CDs ancl [)VDs rre availabLe in the
48
time taken to write a book, publish it and wait lbr it to hit the [rookstores. The future of the book competing against entertainment sources that are aided by technology is dire.
To counfer this argument is the fact that books have a strong histodcal background. From the past, the first bool6 were created when Egyptians began writing on papyrus paper and the Chinese began caiving their edicts onto thin bamboo ships. People have come to realize that books are the most dependable form of data collection. Although computers are more efficient for data collation, just a single virus is needed to deshoy the computer's software, causing it to crash. The vital information stored inside will be lost forever if no backup files were made. Furthe.more, even if backup files were made, drey could malfunction if left un used for long pedods of time. By contrast, infomation from books can be retrieved without fear of it beins lost the verv next second.
In the long run, the evolution ol technology will mttke certain fo.ms of infomation stonge outmoded. Take, for examplc, the floppy disk. Previously, it was the only way to transfer files, but now there is the burning of VCDS and even DVDS. They can store much more information and at a faster rate too. ln time to come, cornputers may not include the drivcr to read floppy disks anymore as it becomes unpopular. Hence, infomation previously stored on floppy disks cannot be opened anylnore. Thc samc will go for tapes being rendered obsolete by the emergeDce ol VCDS and DVDS- Howeve[, hooks are irreplrccable 5ourccs of inlormalron The continued popularity of books can also bc seet ftom lhe flourishing website Amazon-con where books are bei[g sold online. h shows that avid readlrrs have not lost interest in books nor abandoned them for other [orn$ of enteltaimnent. Filnls or televisioo sitcoms bascd on books somchow plle in compariso[ to fhe book. Tl]e perfoamance of the stellar cast maybe lacking luslcr aod the plof of the nlovic compa.ed to the book e[ds up too skeletal duc to the timc constraint of the movie. Thc cssence of the literary language is lost to the short and minimal diatoguc by the cast. Fuftherrnore the director of the movie may construe the plol in a orarlne. that fails to capture the most captivating parts of the book. For exarnple, movies that have been made lrased on books have not succeedcd in hitting the box-office number orle. The Harry Potter fiolie serics is much more poorly reccived than the books writtefi by J.K. Rowling. Another examplc is the Notebook by Nicholas Sparks and the Green Mile by Steplrer King. The nrovics werc all a poor retlcction of how alluring the book was in ny judgment.
As such, thc book has a ccnain ineplaceable lactor about it. In its simplicity. books will have an enduring and codearing aspect that surpasses all the movies, VCDS and DVDS enhanced by tcchnology. Thc book will still have a place in dre futrrre and remain victorious compercd lo the rest of the sources of entertainment and infonnetion technology. Requi'cs to be less sweeping and simplistic in plac6 though it is good on th( r'holc. 'l ang Jia Hui Eudora 04524
49
f
Does the book
stilt have a future?
Today we live in a fast-paceJ. rapidly changing society lhat is driven by technology, which progresses in leaps. and bounds each day. It threatens our lifestyles, forcing us to adapt or be left behind. For centuries, the book has been regarded as ao icon of litera.y wealth and a symbol of the pursuit of knowledge- But like many other aspects of our society, it is threatened by the advent of digital technology and other mobile sources of infomation. Letter writing has been replaced by the much more efhcient and cheaper email, while online diaries, commonly known as web logs or 'blogs', are now popular fixtures on the lntemct. However, an essential characteristic that gives the book its longevity, is its ability to adapt and change with the times, catering to the everchanging needs arrd tlemands oI socier). The book is a ubiquitous entity. At school, at work or at play, the individual wiil dcfinitely encounter the book- In schools, books are the lradilional medium for teaching and leaming, although in rccent years its rcle has been slightly marginalized by the use of information technology (IT) during lessons. In tluth, an online lcsson, though more creativcly presented, simply cannot compiue to an actual lessol in class where the studcnl is guided through the lesson by his textbooks ard doubts can be clea.ed up immediately still the mair tool of by the teacher. It is not surprising theD, ftat today, books ^.c teaching and lcaming in schools. As comparcd to earlier textbooks, the books r$ed by students today have adapted to the new aims of education, which are to further independent leaming and nurlirre critical thinlers. Integralion is the main aim of publishers. end a majority of tcxtbooks now co rc with useful web linl$ to informativc siles on the lnternet.
[t is csscntial fbr studcnts to bc lT litcrate so as not to be lelt behind in today's inlonnation driven econonry. 'Ihe book has thus complemented lhe role of the lntemct by lecommending useful and reliable siles to students, maintaining its role as a maj.r s.urcc of infoamation and an importallt teaching medium ill schools at prescot and in the future. In thc past, at workplaces, the book was used in stocktakinS, accounting and for various othcr uscs. Today in most businesscs and corl]panics, books and handwritten rccords are regardcd as inefticient and cumbcrsomc. Companies now look to IT soltLtions for clficiency; the majodty of all company operations arc automated and most havc cornplcx data storage systems. However, for- all its efficiency and productivity. tcchnology is not infallible. A power surge or blackout could result in the nclwork bcing down while an important gate runs the risk of being erased- Thus, it is of paramount imponance that hard copies of compLlter documents are stored as wcll, ensu.ing the srnooth running of the company when the techflology fails. In Singaporc, hard copies ol accotnting documcnts have to bc stored ul to 7 years, for income tax purposes- Adapting lhc usc of lcchDology in workplaccs is comnlonplace nowadays to increase the level of elliciency end organization at wolk. ln the past, Ihe book was vital ill managing rn enlire busirrcss. Today, the role ()1'lhe book is rcncwcd as it takes on the responsibility ol backing up sofi copics of informi ion. Hence, it is clear that the book still has a fut[re at thc workplace.
50
Tluough rhc ages. rhe book has nrovr
ledge.
ihe 1,oit ;;-"}}J
ro be a souce of lirerary
wcarrh and l':"lr 1l:'",",fro.,r.well. providing Pruvruurg lnowledSe lJ]owledPe arnment. uut todav rnore rn^rc,u"than auar. -.,^- n socrely faces an acute probleri and .nmenl Bul loday, ing number ofyourhs *;.; ol an Une primary rcason Plrrtdy would he youlhs of ol loda) locla\ tre lhat trhal fr.c.t u i,r. ";;;:Jl . ,mg the ljle ore faced \^ itlt a - Dlerh, ^r^.1^ acrir ities lile compurer games. on]ine chars. o. and :' ,i:':"':pjck *""'*" ,';il j:'^l:'Jlo i:1 _'"' up a DooK " '",rr'. book rhit P'r ^ uP l nl\ 'lv alarming alarmine probtem problem ha\ Ias brought broushr aboul abour ro rack lack oi ;;:,;;:: socierv ulSing vourhs ro read. "j "n"o*un.,_ rrl.er hand. ,h. n"pr; ;;*";;l;."',T'n' on rhe ':o'n _ ""-' novels.has ta.Ken taken olt off successtully, successfully, ranscending scending bourdaries ' bourrd:ties of age ase and an,.r lun. ,":1:^:":',t1 'filt"lage and aclrieving populariry with pcopte Idwide. Reading ;. , ly dJlcrorlcdos uho wrru wlll will purcltase ourclrjr\e novel\ ron lheir suppon therr favorite frv^ri'. authors. novel. to r. '".i""-,i thu, Lc rhc pubtishing houser open. lr rs e\ Lhe toor tra., a ,, ;.r; t;;;;;;:1",;).eprng idenr rh:I _ ' ""' l\ rll conllnlle lo cnleflain many ntorc generarions ol
readel: in years to con-,"
The non fiction book laces th( greare\r rhrllcnte rn __ rhi, lnlonnarro. Agc rhltr we lire in. 1_;",;on 1,"*r d f.^,,...ii,i i," own randri( rl rollowers who hu1 thnpn r'6, correcrion purpose.. T"h. i;;;."J;;l :1':'h:' I'r lhc book ulrinrsrclv rlcpcnd\ on frofir' made by puuli.lrer..'NJr-rrcr'io; t#""; :i: brunr ol'.lh' orr'laughr or tccluuloB) jh: i5 narurllly so bccir'se r";;;;;;' | rris :: necdcd rs vri'lelv arcilablc on rhe rnremer. Brirannicl is, The '.' ";r;;;;;;,;'r rrom rhc Unrred Kursdonr sord rn sers consisring i;"";";,,;l;llol:,::l:llTt:'ll
' ru / vcrrs 3eo. lh(' e\otbitnnr cosl md bulk) nJtrlrc "' ol th. ;ncvclor rrnpracricrt in-rtrrs dav arr,t ryc jlli9: llrcnr, where rnlormirio|| ncedj ro be rrrL Ir'rrrr\ricrs -:,^,,:,"lit In(ll Iomlrcss''l lnertr\ v,rlunlci ol itrlonrratr,,
in,o ., .",nor., .ri,,\'nn'r Ir'rlrrrr'h(d rr 'r' rlrc new B'rJn.i,J. rre atso.\a;i..;;;;;:,,.:l;:, cai(res monrhrv rce r rn!,r, ror ,, ,i. ,i*", '", '":';l:;:,]l]'::il:.:l'.w-wrrorc ',d " ""' rol' o('unje,l infurmal;on pruvidcr\. lr\ I'o,'ks .i\ '',. Bul n,ur" ot,"n n"' irr';rrnirri,rir nvrrrhble un rlrc tnremcr c.,rr be ,on,erirne. t,,r,.r,r,Il"o'i*.i,"ni,"'1" u""'" lrc( oI Iivision rn,l e,lrliJrg. lleIL.. rvr can \(c rhe bou( conttnurng I ur o *,),,.rce ol tclt,,l,lc Intormrrion B.ra.nrci, i\
tuturc.
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Thc reach ot technolosv rDa\ racr or rne m.rrrcr i* rh,,i ;;;;""'j ldck ut clecrriciry. ,"J
'i;:1.';"t:ll1il^^ltlil o-les5 unsro|pahrc. tsu, tr,c \rrrr prdcc\ rlrc'cessihle lu techlrologJ. Liui ro J 'rr r'",;,"orr. rlJ\j'as,terl rhebrrokrrrr lorrgbeenregard"d".;".;;;;;i ,l]i ;i1:l:8).rrrsir'irrrr'rcnt rircrac) itrr'r turowledtc and it hes nl:rved it rotc beaurirutly rt i.rugrr ,;" ;;rr;'. ;;;i,;: ',lr',1 hc.buo( ju\ririe\ rr'i longc\ irv hv rrs r,nprrbirrrl ro chanse rnd ,h"'- ,p;; ;;;";,, u,ure and wir , h;i ; ;,;. .:,i;;:,I"Y:'j' i;:ii;:,,".;T ;f;:;i:i:;,i;;: f " Y,,ur ca.te wat
beaitifu
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Eugenia Ono 04S22
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Does the book
still havc a future?
Traditionally, in the age of feather quills and papyrus, books werl- the only source of information, and writing the only medrod of storing data. Now, with the emergence of various technological devices, some people tbink that the book has gone the way of laser discs and odler obsolete inventions-
Yet, I llelieve that thls is not so. Books heve a certailr old world cham that eldears them to thejr rcaders. In fact, some people pass dowll their books to their children, alld this goes on from gencratio to genention. Some even love their books so much thal they :ue willing fo spend hundreds of dollars leather-binding them, or do the cheaper altemative of fabric-binding. Books have becomc a symbol of literature itself, and one who reads is given the air of dignity, or so sorne would like to think. Besides being a syrnbol for the leamed, books ride out lhe wave of change as they are tangible. Reading a book is verl different from rcadiog something on a computer screen as a book gives you a sense of ownership, and some identify better with books because of this- Furthennore, books can be revisited over and over at leisure, without the rcader being subject to thc availability of a computer- Websites are often not a hundred percent rcliable either, the dala on the lnternet may not be trustworthy wheaeas a lot more editing work goes ioto a book before it is published. Websites too may not endurc thc test of time and ntany have expericnced fmstration when they type in an URL and see the error mcssagc "page not found". Other thall webmastcrs ooI rctaining their domail, the use of intemet also faoes other problems of spywdre, viluses and wonns. This makcs ajourtey into cyberspacc lcss plcasurablc than it could be and the security a book offers makes it still relcvant in the world loday.
IDfonnation comes fhrough many channels nowadays, ranging tiom thc abovc menlioned Internct to the telcvision. radio and neq/spapers- Howevea, thesc rcdia are more cxpeflsive than books, and not everyonc can affbrd them. With such media, one is unable to a degree to control what one sees, and this may not lr desilable, especially when it causcs children and young people to be exposed to sugges(ive advertisemenls or Pomography. With books. one has a greater degree of control over what one wants to see. Though such media havc thcir tlaws, they do somethirg that books ncve. could achieve aeaching a wide audience in a short span of time. Books take a longer time to process and even best selling novels may not have the reach of the Ielevision or illtcnicr.
This is ot to say that books do not havc a tuture, for bookstores still generate a good incone- In Silgapore, though there are Iwo major companics (Kinokuniya and Borders) vying for the sarne slice of pie, they stilt liavc enough sales to sustain their growlh. This shorvs thet people irre still reading books. Librarics show similal lindings, with crowds coming in to borrow books, and this is especially so during the weekends. ln recent years however, librarics havc startcd a process of going digital and some have started Loani g ouI CD ROMs as wcll as DVDS. Books have the disadvantagc of
52
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being susceptible to atmosphedc conditions and yellow over time ,. besieged by silver woms or other paper eating creatures. The shecr \i,! up is also a major point that even book-lovers calnot ncslect. Other nr,: data like CD ROMS or thumhdrives have srerdily lrorv,r in pot compactness nakes them desirable. has its imperfections, .is enduring . Everyandmedium this cannot
but I believe that books possr:
it
i
be found in any other medium. no matter_hou advanced. As long as people lovc to read, books will continue to he aror:,
E(onomical \,(t cffcctivc.
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Sarah Shi
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53
Technology has dehumanized us. Discuss'
pax.of our.everyday life jn Undeniably, technology has indeed become an integral infiltrated manv d", 2fi;;;;t. 3orn" t to.i-it as the insidious bug which has slowly be looked upon as ,'.-,*"o oi ou, tit", u" ii social, polirical or economic. Technology can gadgels. ln many faclories, ,,r5.i".*o.",." ii*iicial rnre igence into machinery andinitially by workers can *i fr-,fr" i"ip "f ,".ft"ology, laborious and hazardous worka shift fromdone labour-intensive to i. t"pf"*J'*iritLl".atylitactrines. Ftlns have thus seengrealer social r'relfare TheriseoI .r.,;Lll intcnsive invcslment5. leading lo efficiency and rr' cumr.ntrn icar ion wirh ;"i;;";;;; ;".i.;j"rv trr, *u,, a-t'n not be neslecrcd with of a button' m a level of convenience which merely involves a click ttu" Itt "., "rrotu"a created easily Howcver' some fear that Ha.ssle free document spreadsheets could now be and emotions' i"ifr""f.gy ft". a.ft".irized us' making us dc!oid.of humln interactions as so happening arotind us I fcel that rhese feats are unfounded una indti.."n ,o humans' i" fact' bii
""tt
ID this a8e of globalisalion lnd progress ir
i\
undeniahle rhirl ,inlonnation down of birmcrs' tre ir social' technology has p-iaye
livcs albeit The use of €chnology, has blought much conveniencc il) our on our petsonal computer' discounting the various viru. aito.ks as well as Trojan horses
broader perspeLriv(. we the coilvenicnce ir has brought ro our lives from a When as much wilhorrl be able to say that we would iot have cnjoyed tife the via he can eithcr do it clectlonicallv
ii*" r"ri'^, would ther
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transaclions,
";".i(" int",ir"t ,t t'ougt, e_Banldng or just po|
rutomitlc lsller macline' which is originate t"". tn Japan, ihc place where most silvvy technologicrl agrrdgets of polir:eman This "f""i,""i. i;;;, ,ir.y ;*" "t";devised a robot which could relieve the work out small flres' thus ..f* fr"l fr""" designed to palrol the strccts daily anci cven Put conveniences that irl.*ai.g tfr" levcl"of safcty in its society- l-ooking at the vanous b)
the neilrest
not dehumenize it technoloiy bdngs, one has to say that teclurology erriches life and
gLass Many might be conceored thirt peoPLc who communicrtc- only across a inrerlclions' \krll! and ,oonito. o..n LCb s.reen io their oundr;e lives rnrght laek sucial or e-billing' e shopprng. it since virtually everythioS can be accomplishert onlinc bc ul thelr chats wilh However, while chatting onlioe. users uan now choose to spile is also lvidely eoroticons and display picttres, to showcasc feclings Wcb conferencing We should or not opcnly available. It is only a matter of choice if they choose tt) intcract
--=E
blame technology fol the inftoduction oI loners in society who choose to spend tlieir ir front of a technological box. Instead, we should consider the possibiliry that their could be anti social in the fiIst place. Thus, technology has not made us less as it has made multiple online social ioteractions even across geographical borden
However, ill the long mn, the fact that users of the computer might become of human contact, thus becoming dehumanized, must not be overlooked. in China who are obsessed with playing computer games rue sent by parents to military-based camp in which they are forced fo participate in healfhy physical r, activities and to undergo psychological counselling. This might be a case in point which ' shows that young people today might eventually develop to become ovedy dependent on technology, thus leading to a withdrawn community of youths. However, as long as schools and parents play a part in inculcating ways of leading a balanced lifestyle ir their children. t-his problem would rhcn be ea\rl) be pre!enteLl.
Many fear that the many conveliences that tecfulology introduces to our lives would only make us lose the human fighting spirit ard cause us to becollre complacent and lazy. Peopie might no longer see the nced to work as rnany of their rolcs have been replaced by technological gadgets, and it is nor a necessity to toil fbr rheir fruits of labour anymore. I feel that this is a narrow minded mindset that we should not even consider This is so as competition is prese.rt il1 many diflerent fonns. With recluology pushing our livcs to becomc increasingly fast-paced and more efficicnt, therc is a greater necd to surpass othels by having an even greater love and pussion for everything. Thus, technology does not makc us less hurnan. but instead il brings fbrth another mode of competitiofl_ ln conclusion, as long as propcr rneasurcs arc taken to ensure (hat tcchtrology does not cause huDrans to develop an ovcr rcliance on it, and tltat it is pul to good use, it is unlikely that hurnans will lose their human Iouch with the inctcasing use of technology. The world is still colcerned about the less fonunate, thus showing that we are not devoid of human emotions. The rcsent tsuDami aid effbrt is a testi ony of how the world is able to contribute wilh the help of rechnology. Funds pourcd in quickly fiom users of the Intemet through credit card accoullts in a sho* span of tinle. Voluntccrs could sign up online to assist in tsunarni stl-icken areas. Indeed, globalisation, alongside tecfurology, has only made us more awa.re of currcat affairs and more sensitive {o issues that allect fhe world and ou$clves. Thus, technology has ror only bridgcd the gap across geograplical boundaaies, but also brought many cooveniences and awarcoess to our cvcryday lives. It har not rnudc u* lc.s human irr .-rn] n:ry
Ovrall a sound drgument althauglr yotLr discussion J7i1>flops bctv)cen tht two
dilferenl
points
sides
for
so it's not as tightly argucd as it t:ouk! ht: Tr1- un.d ba tLorc sLtcancr, ct)en as tou' re balan<:ing your view, deal witlt tfu point as a u'holc, ruth(t than a:oming bdck to do it later. Sheralyn Quek 04521
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To what extent should the government help the poor?
A constantly recuring issue in rhe polirical forums of many counrries is that of the extent to which goverunents should render ..help,, to the poor in society, to elevate their living conditions, if not, to pull them out of pove(y. This was an issue that emerged during the tenure of Silgapore's former prime Minister, Lee Kuan yew, who at that time, vehemently opposed the creation of a welfare state, citing the failure of the United Kingdom's system as a classic example of the disastrou" of rendeing too "orra.qu"n""a much help to the poor and needy. Whaf constitutes the poor differs across geographical boundaries and societies. In developing countries, thc poor itre those who are unable to jump onto the bandwagon of irdustrialization and they live in appalling condirions with a lack of potable warer, access to proper sanitation atrd access to healthcare and educational faciliti-s. The ,.poorest,, of the poor jn these less developed co0ntries may even be suffering from starvation. ID contrast, the poor of developed countries are relatively better off, lhe cause of thejr pledicament beinS rheir inability to keep up with rhe r.apid rate of economic progress. Gererally, the [)oor in any society are those who do not have access to opportunities which could lift them out of poveny. Hclp fi.om the govemmcnt could come in rn ly fonns such as monctary rewards, rebates, butlding ot infLrstnrclure t.r the poor ancl even fiee job or skills retraining.
Generally agreed is the notion that e goverrurent.s main role is to care anci frovide adequately for its citizcls in arcas such as sccuri(y, tbod and water supplics afld in the economic aae[a. llcnce, {lrc government should afte;npt to a]leviate poverty, on Ihe basis of the noble airls of goverflancc or at lcast, on the rationale that havin!] a significant group of impoverishcd and discontentcd denizcns might be potenlially diststrous to thc natiol in the long run- Ilence, the qucstion lics in just how nluch help is considerecl enollgh. The irnmediate or evenlual aims of providinll assistancc to the poor should be firstly. to elcvate rhcir living cooditions and secondly, to cnabie thc pooi ro cven(ually gain access fo tools or opponuilities fbr self improvclnent so that they cart be productivc citizens and contribute Io the eco{omy_
In rendering help to dre poor, the governnent should balance its needs and the general needs and welfarc of the public with tlre needs of the poor in society. Hencc, the extcnt of hclp thc governmenl should give to thc poor shoukl bc a limite; one and not prolonged assistance, but rather just the sufficient imounr of hclp needecl ro .,push,, the poor out of the track of povcrty. The govemment should withdraw or scale down whcu thc help it givcs is bordering on the urureccssary aod lavish. An iniamous and widclv cited crrmple is that ol thc $eltrrc \rar,.sysrent rn tlr,. U,,ir..t t<,,,gAo,,,. ui,.,. rt," govefiLmenl gave too much oronetary hclp to the needy and as a result, was burdened by fiscal woes duc to an acule shortage n[ tund. llris has lcd !., thc [Jk govcmmenr co prom(sng on thc intcrests of the society at large, by cutting down on ils educalion aod military expe|diture in lieu of the wclllrre staft systcrn. Heirce, a rational yardsfick rcgiuding thc. exlenr of help $at should be given. ;hould be thar help which is nor exccssive and docs llot cornpromisc or unnccessarily burden thc gov;nnncnf and tlte
interests of greater society should be rendered. As such, the government lleeds to exerci5c lrudencc and judAc for ilself the ..nght. arnounr .r f,"fp ;irf,"rfa gi"". it"-. ii exemplified.in [re case of Singapore, where stringenr guidelinei are in plaie fbr people claiming to be poor and wanting to receive help from vaiious social welfare organzation.
Providilg help to the poor thus means creating or allowing them access to
opporlunities to upgrade and uplift themselves from poverty. A practic"al example is seen in_how [on-govemrnent organizations like World Vision, teach poor farme$ ln sub Sahan Africa new arld improved methods of famiug in order to alleviate povcrty, rather than giving them free loads of crops and buildin; high_rech farms for them. This exarnple summarises the approach govemments should t:tke. Tho main reason why Co-u-:m-"lt: should adopt the suggestecl approach of prudence and giving linited but sufficient help is that it is not beneficial fbr govemment; to rcnder too riruch-assistance as the danger thal they will eventually dreate a welfare stafe is always present. Following the creation of a welfare slare comes the problems of citizens becoming over dependani on the government for a livelihood and hence losing thejr economic resilience and jeopardiing the economic growth of the country in the long run. Furthemore, it is not beoelicial to fhe poor themselves if too much help is rende-red as the poor will then be forever tappcd in the quagmire of poveny anJ not acquire a means of supponing ther.selves' should the govemmeot in the future, choose to withdraw its assista[ce. The essence of rhe extent of help thar should be given lies iD thc phrase, ..teach them lo fish but do oot fistl lor them." Ctich6d it may be,iut it nevcrthelesis ollers worcls of wisdonr required fbr successftrl govcmance and alleviating poverty_
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Daoiel Yap
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To what extent is the common man able to affect the country? Societal change has always been thought of to be brought about by rhe work of a few extraordinary people, who are usually the leades of the masses. It is believed that these people rallied the masses together and pushed them forward with their ideals in mind to create cultural, economic and political changes. However, maoy have failed to take into account the power the commoners possess when they work together to bring about refoms. Furthermore, with the proliferation of democracy as the 'ideal' way to govem, the common man is now equipped with greater power to eftbct changes. Hence, in my opinion, the conrmon man is able to effect changcs in a society to i large extent, especially in today's world.
Let us look at how the risc of democracy has enabled people to be able to effect econornic changes in a society. Take the recent rejection of the European Union (EU) constitnlion by the French and l)utch for example. The cumulative effect of the majority voting against the constitution has prevented thc EU from being able to push for economic reform and budget changc in France and the Nctherlands. A rcsounding 'No' has even stopped the French Plime Minister form having his way wirh going ahead with implementing the constitution. The pdme ministers of france and Holland cannot do much abott economic refonns now that their people havc objecled. Thus, we can see that the common man is able to cause big changes in the decisions of the govcmnlent as well as intenational organisatio(rs. Even without democmcy, the commot an is still able to effcct political changes in a society. For instancc. the proletariat managed to ovcltluow the Tsar in the Novcmber l9l7 revolution i Russia. tsack thcn, there rvas no democracy; itnperi:rlist rule donitlated. Howcvcr. that did not stop thc dissatislieal masses tiom coming bgethea to rcvolt againsl the ruling party- The work of the pcople was so power{ul that it could cnd a 'fsarist regirne and replacc it wift a conlmuDist onc. and this is consiclered a tremendous change in society. Therefore, the masses do have the ability to ettect changes in .r soetery, and they can bc more capable than the govcmmen! in doing so, bccause thcy know what kind of life they want to lead.
Bven the day to day actioos alld habits of the commonels are able to cffect changes in e society. What thc contmoDers clo in their daily life can cause cultural changes- Ihc widesprcad use of handphooes by thc pcople in teclnologically advanccd count.ies has changed the way peoplc comtlunicate and relale fo one another_ A black, bulky, walkie talkie look alike has bccn irnproved on bccause o[ demand by consumers and today we havc the small and sleek htndfhone that many use. A major cuLtLrral chaoge thit has bec brought about is the changc fiom calling pcoplc on rhe phooc ro u\ing texr messaSes to communicate. [r1 facl, the extcnt that the common man uses tcxl llessages looks sct to take over thc use of phone calls- Flcnce, wlj can scc Ihat cultural cLanges in a society can be effected by thc nasses themselves.
Howevcr. somc al€ue tlut cvcn if democracy is adolled in a country, the goverrunent still has thc final say over irajor refonns. fhc CST hikc in Singapore is un
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mple ofhow the govemment can take th(3 iinal stand. Although thc public wrcle to the rms of various newspapers such as the Straits Times and Lian He Zao Bao to protcst inst the increase in GST from 3 to 5 percent, the governrnelt nonetheless went ahead their decision. In the end, the people had no choice but to pay for the increased tax. what is the use of giving the common man a voice when he cannot effect changes in a iety? I do acknowledge the fact that sometimes the govenment has the hnai say in
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reforms. However, if the protesfs of the people were strong enough, the would not be able to continue to implement what the people clidnot want. If ..::irotestors of the GST hike wore to do what other people in other countries did, for examplc, standing outside a govemment building to demonstrate peacefully, tlle govemment might change its decision, and once again, the common man would have brought about a change in goven nent decisions. There are people who also point out that not every country adopts democracy, and some counLries are still ruled by a hard-liDe regime. Nodh Korea for instancc, is still ruled by the infarnous dictator, Kim Joing Il. In this country, no one can rise up rgainsr the govemmelt, or try to effect any changcs. In fact, the pcople from countries ruled by dictatorship may be so brainwashed by propaganda that they may rot wanr to effect changesl Thc governrnents of such coontries have ful aggressive propaganda progra to instill into the milds of the peoplc that they are living a good lifi ind that they arc satisfied with what they have. Howevcr, I believe that no matter how hard the dictators try to oppress and brainwash thc people, it is the pcople themselves who decide whethcr thcy wanl to listen to the government_ For exanplc, despite the propaganda spread in Nodh Korea, there are people who are dissatisfiecl with the govemment and wish to cscape to Soulh Korea- Nevcrtheless, wc do have to acknowlcdge that in coun{ries ruled by hard'line rcgimes. the common lnnn has little or absolutely no power to effect changes in their socielics.
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'Io conclude, lhe comnon man has the ability to cftect societal chenges to a largc extcnl, bccause they have "Ihe power of the masscs,'. 'lhe common ntan, .iusI like any politicai lcader, mulls over what kind of life he wa ts, and comes up with his set of ideals, ancl Just like any other political leadea. his desire lo livc i0 a better world dnves him to want Io effect changes in his society. Although the common man cloes not have high poLitical standing, he, toSethcr with many othcrs just likc him can cause rnajor refoms rvilh their combined powcr. Kudos to the people who choose to contribute thc lilllc p,'v
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Politics is invarinbly a dirty bttsiness. Discuss.
Politics involves the campaigning tbr. and holding of government positions, which is carried out by politicians- Politics has often been considercd a difiy business, ard I believe that that is irvariably tlue. This is because humans, engaging in politics, find it difticult to leave out their natural human tendercy towards greed, the hunger for success and making mistakes- Still, there arr: still some instances where politics has not been sullied b1 human nature.
Onc important aspect of politics is the election process, where nominees campaign for thc votes of thc public to gain the right to a post in the govemment hierarchy. In this political arena, reius the ugly head of man's hunger for success, which makes politics a dirty business. Just last November, the world watched with bated breath as the Ame.ican public trmed up to vote for their President and Vice-President. As the Bush Cheney team prcpared b squarc off against that of Kerry-Edwards, in the months preceding November 200.1, the American public was subjccted to a drawn out caLnpaign by each side to mar the image of the other. The mucl slinging was harsh, with military sefficc callcd inlo question, and changcs io policy stands highlighted. Each tcam wanlcd desperalely lo win, and woulcl do anything b do so. It was this mud slinSing durinU the clcction. caused by the tear$' wish to succeed, that made politics dilly. Ar)olher example of the dirty politics resulting fiom the human wish to succeed in thc clection process was the Watergalc scandal, when then US President Richard Nixo bugged the ofTiccs of his opposition so that hc woLlld kno$, their deepest sccrets and be able Io tlse lhem in fulure eleclions. 'l his lvas a strict violxlion ol tlle law. and was nlet with disgusl aod outrage (Nixol is still considererl 'that crook' by ma y). Another example would bc how. in 1930s Gcrnany. Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party stifled the oplositiorl through threat of vioLence and hencc was able to wiD thc clcction that broughl a Nazi majorily. Hence, il is the rnucl-slinging. underhand mclhods and violence caused by the human wish or hunger to slcceed, that makes politics difty.
Polilics can also becomc invariably dirty duc to the fact that politicians and thejr familics, living uncler public scrutiny, somelimes do rnake mistakes, as humafls are wont to do. Sonre examples would be the Clinton scanclal- IJS Prcsident, Bill Clinton, lrad indccent rclalions wilh i[tem Mo[ica Lewinsky. Other scandals inclucle the numerous sexual scitndxls that dogged US President John fi Kennedy, and the charges oI underage driniing against cur.cnt US Prcsident Georse W. Bush's daughter. Ihese poLiticians, and in sorle cases thcir families, rrradc all Ioo human mistakes that lrlally membc$ ol the iay people would be guilty of as wcll- Howevcr, even tmall indiscretions appear huge when viewed under Ihe microscopc of public opiniorr. and it is in this way that thc politician's human nature of making mistakes makes 1)olitics look dilty. Another way in rvhich poLitics can be consiclercd diny is Lrecruse ol the ruling ly's inabilly to oa[ly our rtre policies it proorisecl. lhis coulcl be (llrc to n variety of facloas- One q,ould bc the lacl that thc politicians sintply olxdc cmpty pro iscs to lhe pubLic. bcing guilty ol another hunran tcndcncics Iyi g. Olien, politir\ fcqLrLrc\ pi
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may not be tnte and politics
C)ne m Jor reison why politics corxprion. rn many places ,."J:o.-T:'t..::1, o:Il" ,:^u::,ll human s,ced, which proces.ed b) orficiars ,j rj,e r"p"*".k;..;;;.,.;:;r;,1;;#:li"iJ;, :: i" oftrcjals Corruftion clso nccurs on r l1'ei oflicril\ 'roo( rh. urhe, ;;yi ,;..;;' rnirrr'rr. 'itl", f,rc(erirrs ro 'nrrh ;''t-' i cnu\c\ oollic\ ri! tr,ri,,,, ,.,,,. ^,^ -,1ill""u Inthrsu:r1.humanr.na"n,v',.t-^s,."Ji causes
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In.conclusion, although there arc sone iastances where wrlcr( polilios rerrr.rrn,lcan unsullic'l b) lturndn nrture. rnvrrieblr lrrrrrrcs rernain clean x rn.lJ r. n"t,,,u.:lsp(cts ot hurnan nJrur. polrtr\ir,.\\ j,n,l lcr,t p(,llU(r:' ru rJrnr ,.. polirrc, ,- r- .br,l, ,. 1'" rnd nr pl.ric ^^ri,.^ in lighr. Valitl poittts discussctlh)ith dpt
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JoAnn Mclina Lopez
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Can palriolism be taught?
Living as we do in the modem world, characterized by increasing gLobalization and naterialism, images such as fighting and dying for one's country seem to belong to a distant, more romantic age. Indeed, patriotism, conmonly understood to mean love and a sense of pdde in one's country, as well as a sense of belonging to the country, seems to be under thJeat frorn modem forces, as people no longer draw lines of identification along national lines but increasingly see the world as one miscible entiry. Even our greatest wars are not so much fought between counfties as against things like zm opposing ideology or terrorism. In this context, many countries have intensified efforts to'1each" patriotism, but societies have lately developed skeptical attitudes as to whether somedling as emotional as patriotism can be transmitted ill a fonnal, organized manner.
To arNwer this question, we need to consider realistic contexts in which the teaching of patriotisrn has been attempted- Typically, countries have incorporated into tfieir nalional syllabus, subjects that aim to acquaint students with the history of their nation and inculcate in thcm a keen appreciation of their roots and culture. Examples of this are Singaporc's implementalion of National Education and lhe USA'S teaching of nalional history. However, Singaporc's example seems to defy the supposed cffectiveness of tcaching patriotisn. Despite repealed altempts to drum into Singaporean students thc message that we sho[ld fcel proud of our racial harmony, out economic prosperity allcl our sociel stability, recent polls have rcflected trends such as a large majority of young Singaporeans who confessed that they would leave if Singapore faced a war ancl an evcr glowing nunrber of Singaporeals who want to leave for what they perceive to be greener pastu.cs. So why has Sinltapore's attcmpt to leach palriotisn apparently failcd? I believe that rt is precisely the rcpetitive message - drumming that is the paoblem- Palriotism, I feel. is essoDtially an intcnsely emoiional phcnomenon. Ctsting out minds back to iristory, we scc that the ceiebrated iconic images of patriotisrn arc sornewhat fornlnti( William Wallace of Scotland facing rhe English punislunent of drawi g and quallering fbr his fight against EugLish impe|ialisrn; the nlLmerous Chinese generals such as Zheng Cheng Gong glorilied fbr facing loreign invadcrs fcarlcssly; lhe British resilience during the BliIzend most rccently, lhe Germa cuphoria at the teariflg down ofthe Berlin Wall. The arousal ol pahiotism, I would argue, alrvays involves a ccnain degree of romance, and rvhether we like it or not, a cefiain degree of inationality. and thus it would seem incftective to try to communicatc something so charactedzed by intense cmotion and spontaneity {hrough the Logical, rcgimenled medium of the classroomHowever, the olportunities that arise tbr nations Io piu-allel thc great hislorical icons io the narne of palriotism are grcatly reduced in the modem age due to, as exPlored eurLiet, t|cnds of globalizatidl and the dillrtiofl of the nation as a [nit of identification. Docs this mcan then that patriotism is irrclevant today? How exactly can palriotism bc tAughl in a civilian envirorulent devoid of wars or other llrreals thal tend to lhruw citizens fi|rnly behind their connlry? Exa inc the example of USA, we see {hat therc wcre timcs when its cilizens opposcd rathcr than supponed lheir colrntry's involvemcnt in walfare, such as du.irg thc Vietnam war afld more recently the lraq War- Iherefole their patriotisn cirnnol have [reen dedved lrorn thcir nced lo flght a common enenly
tlu.eatening their natiol. However, evcn jn those iimes, alrd in tilnes of peaces, Americans have consistently been known to di:plal a grear sense of pride in their country. some even arlriburing re beginnings or ir in rireir iaucaijo"*E;";i;";;;;, story of teaching palriotism vis A_vis Siogapore,s example, a contr-ast emJrles that might perhaps explain why an ostensiblv similai r,' ,*" ' countries. While Singapore's national educarion .on.ru",fy- i""y"i". messages ttrat predicate love for rhe counrrv on crioical, ,".giur" ."oro^," prosperiry, America's education "'r onJ"'i?,i"I.trre ,o b" ,rro?" stuaents a pride and immense sense of rheh counrr]." ,,.ii".J'0.**."., n stands for. Regardless of whcther these norional idlrritics are rn,gfr, conrcnd rhar rhe LrSA ,hametesst\ abuse\ rhe *,n.,,_",, pelhaps. lhe deplh ol paniotisrn can uorne down to sonlclhing as irrarronrl as thts _ i. a lot more romantic to stand for clemocracy and freedom tLria faa ;. prospenty. Thererorq woutd argue """rr" rtro, .what o" mcutcared. but rhe crirical lacror r. uhar '"" is tauf l)t i.nd how il i. i.p;.1.
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Funhermore, thc tegrhinF oF oatriotism _-,,.,' cannot expect to succeed in a vacuum. Wlat ls taughr i" , cl".rroo-ia".,uy o,,,i i"'ir," ;;il.i1l.l_,T$il]';.1i.."::l*:ll.i::i jJ.': 111,,,;:l countrv nor he(au\c lhcy lra\c becr..rrdoctnna,.j t." g.";, Sr. ur"linn.r ,,,,,,t" classroom, but rather because the oror "u"r, a,iry ri"e,,rro** ri. ,;;;;,,,;,,i'il"";1,:l.tj':i]_::Til:lilJJfi,"f::,;:.:,il.jii: simitarly, srudics have shown rhe Danrih ,. p..f"r" o.arrl.a ," ,n",
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I believe, musftake rhe firsr srcp of sowing rhe seeds ll:j:jin::* e.l-l""orism, , ri./.n hr acqu, in ing h,,; *;;i;;;,;;,;,;:.";i s hrsrory and ideills. [t :1::':":l-l"l:'l way rhnt ackriowtedg"e,,h. i";;:;; cruuLr(,Ilar ano romantlc naturc :Tj:,"-:1:*j:o.i' or patltottsm. Ifdonc"
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er cessi tcaching patdotism can, in fact. be counrer
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Insighfut, v)ell supported with ex(rmples. Chua Shirin
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Can patriotism b€ ttught?
It is increasingly common to hear people complaining about how lifc has k&en a wrong tum for them, and how the best solution would be a welcome change in serdng, otherwise known as migration to greener pastures. patriotism is no longei much of a factor for such decisions in this increasingly modem world, where peopie pursue their own dreams and desires in order to succeed as individuals. Many countries reiy on lonnal education and nationwide initiatives a.s extemal influences to ..teach" patdotism to its citizens. This pride and sense of belonging to one's country, however, can only be instilled in individuals ind not forced into them. Only through the cirizen's personal development and experiences will they be willing to saciihce and contribute to the well being of their country. The integration of patriotism in formal education has been increasingly popular in many countries today. Howcver, this association of an ideal with the education ouuiculun would creale a rigid and inflexible envjtonment in leaming about holv (o bc patriotic. Patriotism is unique to cach individual. While someone miy love his or her country for its rich history, another mxy be morc aware ond proud of iris or her- role in defending thc counrry. This poFrlar method of creating a subjcct aiming ro instill
patriotism is thus largely ineffective, because too mechanical a systcm would lead to a grudging acceptancc of knowledge and facts inste d of application thtough personal rellection over what has been taught.
Iu Singaporc, National Education has not takcn its true effect on many of the students who are forccd to undcrgo this compulsory module. Most of the students are more intercsted in getting their lacIs right and scoring well for their examina{ions instead
of rclatinlt the infbmlation to their Iives in Singapore. They liken Social
Stuclics to
I{istory, not rcalizing that National EduL3tion r\ Jitiercnt as lr srre\ses thc role ol the individual to the country_ Hencc, tire integmtion of idcals of patriotism into formal
education does not achievc its aims. to a largc extent.
Eflofts to instill pat.iotisft arc largely taken for graoted. As we live ir an increasingly affluent society, we Iend to fbrlJet about the imponant values in life which are essential to cope with the ma.ly problems our lolefathers had to deal with. Hencc. prac(iccs suclr as (he singi[g of the Nalional Anthen] and pledge laking have grown monololrous- It is nol oftcn that you hea. a rousitrg, inspiring chorus of voices whenever people are rcquired to do so- bu( rather, a lacklustcr whimper of words anrl rnumbli[g. Ma[y people hence do not vaLue thcir countay in a way thai is lasting, as patfiotisn has not yel becollle a part oI thcol. but ralher, shown wlren required. Hencc, the nronotony of effbrls to instill patriotism mostly oauses people to take their countr.y for granted, instead ol cultivating a sense of belongtng and rcsponsibility io peoplc_ Palriotisln is largely based on circurnstance alld pcrsonal experience, ilstead of a sel melhod o{ irrs(illing parriotic values in peoplc. Only when pcople realizc rhat rheir country is vulnerabte, woulci Ihey would fecl inclincd to livc up io thcir role as a cilizen_ In rccent vcers. alter the Septctlber I I terrorisl attacks. a nlsh of patriotism infecled thc
64
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United States, until there was alr overwhelming show of patriotism to the exteot where homes and sfteets were adomed wirh rhe country,s flag. Similarly, during the wa_r againsr SARS in Singapore, Singaporeans exercised dreir role as responsibte, vi;ilant citiz;s by :- Iooking out for one another and havilg the belief that the counhy would emerge victorious with the combined efforrs of the citizens_ Hence, it does not iake ajoumey of education and practice imposed on people to instill patiotism. Rather, patriotism is an ideal which has to grow within individuals through experience, where they can relate to as wellas reflect upon themselver even more elleclively.
On tho other hand, pat.iotism can be taught through knowledge of a country,s history and achievements. The integration of knowledge about the pasi into the present cuitivatcs a sense of belonging and identity in individuals. Swiss citizens look back on their policy of neutrality during World War II, and are proud about how their small coufltry managed to defend itself despite all the chaos around it. The knowledge of a country's history hence serves as a source of inspiration for people now, and thc only way such knowledgc is available is through education. Hence, to be proud of a country and be ready to defend rhose thi[gs thar you love, you must first have Lrowledgc oI whar there is to be proud ol Ilowever, knowledge without the ability to rellect and relate to the infonnalion gained, is kiowledge wasted. 'Ihc aimr o[ p3i11e11. educrtion are nul tultrlled through just teaching inclividuals how ard why they have to be parriotic, as this knowlcdge $,ould not directly resonatc in theil day to day activitics and lheir own inlerests_ The kriowteclge of patriotism will no doubt be instilled in them. but theia o$,n ycerninll to bc a patriot cxnlrol be taught. The nrcthocls of fonnat education arc hcDce largcLv ineffective. as sludcnts do nol trcat srch cduciltion as all opfortunity to dcvelop lhetnse]ves. bul relher as an opportunilyto gain krowledge and succced. OogoinEt etlbns to insrill pride and a scnse of belonging in citizens are also firtile, as the cntjre process seems nlototonousl causiDg people to take rheir bvc fbr rhe country lightly. patriotisn car only bc inslillc.l through cxperience, and hellce "teaching is not effertrlc Thus, patrrorisitr cannot bc instiiled pu.ely through education, bur musr be left to develop in individuals in ordcr [o|
suclr ideals to be deeply roorcd.
An itsightful assq - interesting obse^'dtitrls noted. Diana bte (lthman
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Democracy is far from perfect. Why then, does it appeal to the m4iority?
The emergence of capitalism as the eventual winner of the Cold War has l(rd many people to associate democracyj usually the goveming style to accompany the ideology, as being the model of govemance to follow. It helps as well that the idea of.,for the people, by the people" has been adopted by a number of the most mljuential economic and political powers of today. Democracy is not flawless and has its inlerent wea-knesses, but nonetheless, it is still the prefer.ed choice of goveming style for a majo ty oI pcople duc to a host of reasons_
The democracy practised today
is not a homogeneous polirical model of ltovcnlarce, but insread is also influenced by other styles. The flaw in this is that it may Iead to a blured line between rhe diffcrent idcologies, hence confusing the people as to which sct of ideas thcy are the followcrs of. Despite thar, democraiy appeals to the masses bccause it provides them with opporturitics to forge a sense of b;lo;iing towards the country. It is, undeniably, hurnal nature to walrt to belong and dcmocr.-acy allows a sense of belonging to be fostered through measures like voting and ftee speech. Switzerland practises direct democracy whei.e every person above the age of cighte;n cao excacise hca voting rights and pafticipate in the decision ntaking process al all ievels of govertunent. Through this system, the Swiss dcvelop a strong ser$e of belonging to the commulity because thcy gel aclively involved in the workilgs of thei countay. If one doc-s not have any role lo play in the country, a sensc of oppression might set in and a loss of idcntity and self will result. Hence, people are attracted to cleriocracv because il pr.\i.1..rherl$rthupl\nflujlitrr'.t. lccl lrk, llle) b"lu glotjr(fi coLrnlr). Secondly, democracy does not boast
of a polenlially strong ccnlral authority
bccause the power is not fbcused on a cenbJl trgrk bur ln\terd drviilc.l rntong sevcral groups of pcople. Despite thet, democLacy still appcals to the Dasses because capilllism
I
is thc only viable oplion as compared to other ideologics like comnlunism, fescism, Iolalitarianism aid autocracy. Fascism and totalitarianism had fallel in thc later-ycars of thc Second World War, discredircd alongside thc fascisr Mussolini and the dictalor Hrrler. Whiist it night have becn popular in the 1930s and I940s, rllc idea of unqlrestioning loyalty does not sit very wcll with the fiercely vocal people of the twenty firsr century. This.at sanle reason explains why autocracy has lost its favor with the majority of thc people today, with the last autocratic govcnrnent having been overthr;wn several decades beforc. Comrnunism, however, is a trickier issue. II ivill not suftice lo say that it dicd ouf atier the Sovicr Union collapscd in 1991 because rjll today, Cuba, Nonh Korea and China arc commulisl rcgirDes_ Evell so. one should realiz.e that the moclel ol conlrnunism adopted in the countries above is a deviaot version of lhe rlodel Karl Marx envisioned. China. for example, is paladoxically comrnunisr in ideology but capitalist ir nalu.e. The explanation for the abscnce ol. lrue , comntullisrn rr simpli rt rs essentially irnpractic{l and hence unsuitable for today,s society. Its loss of favour in nrary once comnlunist countries leaves democracy as lhe doninant moclel of govemance. Thlrs clemocracy appeills to the masses becausc it secnr likc the only viablc option oi
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j:.apirarism, whicrr is in tum rerared to direct, """""i::::::: al ecooomic i:j:f:no])j.^,Ty benefits. The very pracrice.of pe^"r"t t-1.I""*lttj:*:: the economic divide berween".._.i.'i."";H;ilffIii ,rr. ilr".. n"""_*iJ'*,,, :n with rime. This will create a sulf in economic "rJiJc#;i"il: stanaing rvtttrin wirhin rhe corruDudry r,u.a to u"rri,i". i.iir","J, i* ru* :o]I able i*5,::E:"" '"ifa-g :being to.rerain rhe weahh they hav€ own"a *ut". O".o.r.f *,a"f
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;,#'T:;,*1:-:::ff"j:'L^^11.1"i Falling under rhe democrar ic .ptrere of i#,rence alaries. _.'""","n" ,i'"';;:"".i';tJl jr,:^:lT:11 rhe.united states, trre rarge numu". democracy appealing because then they would "i:i"n p"opr" be ati" olel yrtets as they always havr. peopl. worlJ pcrsonrl bcnefir. ir woutJ brini H""." a.."..-1'., ppeet. ro rrre masrs. cspecrall) tl thcy are mdde uf ul the rnorrel .pirurcrs hecarr,e ol rhe direct economic benefits that democracy brings.
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On the othel hand. democrrcv docs Dot always appeal to the masscs, particularly due to its flaws. One major flaw oldemocracy is rhar it rJixremely susceprible to a week go\ cnrr-nenr and a $eik ;.ovcrnnrrnl do,.s.nnr ncre.srrily
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;, ,i;,"", these people in power ivil reave rhe decision.oting tn tf," ,""..r"""i", ,n* *.y characteristic of dernocracy might undennitre ,h. giu"r.,ru,.nt:. postion. .t.his is especially so if the have n-ot had p"o. *'i,rr'i.,rr*.i."u'r.o n""* *" 'rasses "*p.a.ni-up,,n lesponsibrriry suctaenry-tr,.ust 1r,"rrr. e i" po"u i, ,r," i,::,,j:1 'S-1:,1:--::antl or cermrn). r denrocrrrr( eo\.rnmFnr rhdr !{i,"l's,e r.riLrcd by rh. ":l:"'i: ;:::'l|^11 alr(r c.l.\^ yerr. in p.wcr. [r.ause rher rtrcrrrs"tr.s drLt r!,r \e.l'r ,._:ill,l::ll" lL) Dcrevc Ln.th€ rdex of Llentoelltcy Thc .ejection of rhc Wiinrar Republic lncl democr.acy $usnL'r Jtt,duF ro rhc tl.er'\ fl.Lrr.. bur rtso brcrr,.c in rtrc l,;;;,:;;;:,;",, *r",, ,,,, rrrralXy rnd P(oplc dr,l not knuw $h:I to.tlt.rkc ollt ot tl. A{ rll|c i. ,t.,nu.,r.1 still atperts ro rhc nresses becerrsc ir Drovides r5em ",n,,,r involved in wirh ;" ;;p;;;;;;;:; lhc u nr krng5 61 11," .nun,., ,,,.1.
jr.t.lik" uth". ,yrt.rn. of governmenr, does have its own wcaknesses?"To..u.{, -^--.Howevcr, it appeals to the masscs more thun in" ottr". ryrt.." ,ril.*-,ro.i 0""u"." ir, weaknesses do nor pur democracy in such a bad hght.'Hence ii i"iir-"orri*.- ,o b.,r," preferred system of govemance for a majo.ity of tne"peuple lit in" i,ri"r."i,.,"ru .,,""r,*, dictatcs orherwise, jusr tike ir has diciarect rt oi ti," i*,.. io;'';;;;;;,,.,, " "ua piece,oJ writing. lttt\ tnt tht I ltaws rrhita i",.1,:.:i!:::: ,::i bu1.,),,ut r\t,tat1, .you had some ttificulties presettting i^r ttt,. d, :tratutitt n1 rt,, .t.tt,n.rari, t,,rrt, [.,] ,'::"::i.f I and b t a t ly c o rtv iit. i rt g. Lart g uttg e t:p ^ use is the most sophisticatcd I,\.t reen.v) "_r"t 1l: I Nur Ilaihana 04s22
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In Singapore, meritocracy is a fngade for elitism- To what extent is this true?
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anciert China, many men spelt countless days studying poerns and texts about various aspects of the country, hoping to take the imperial examiratioD and fighting tbr the coveted top posilions to achieve rccognition from the Emperor. Cefltudes after, most of the world has adopted this practice, known as meritocracy. For fhe purpose of this essay, meritocracy is dctined as the rewarding of people who have achieved a certain level of success in theil particular field or study. Elitism is then defined as the belief and practice of creating a group of people deemed to be supe or to others. Throughout thc duration of the essay, we will be looking at meritocracy as a faQade and also at the other uses of it. No doubt it is true lfiat neritocracy leads to elitism, lbr the basjs of merirocracy is
to separate the so called "better ones" from the "weaker ones", that is, the more successful fiom the not so successtul. If there wcre no fame attrched to being successf[], meritocracy would not exist, for it would prove toa diflicr t to reward those who achicvc success. And with this farne, comes thc creation of elitists and elitism. tbr
it is the human being's innate characteristic of p de which leads us lo believe that we arc bcttcr tha[ everyone clse. The Chinesc did lrot implement the impcrial etaminatidt systern pureiy to bring joy to thc lirnperor in reading thc candidates' essays. They also waarted to cteate a group of people, who were seen as the "noblc class," lo aid in the running of thc country. lt is because of lhis inhcrcnt nalure of meritocracy. that it can be used as a faqade fbr elitism.
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Dcspite lhe cr.:ntion ol a 'noblc class" being an elitist praclice, lneritoctacy has its be efits, and hcnce not shoulcl not bc regarded as mcrcly a feEade for elitism. lfl Singtpore, meritocracy is a pragmatic tool fbr finding leaders for thc country. Due to the basic fact that our poplllalioo does not exceed tive milLion, the tequircntcnt of a highly talentcd workforce and govcrnnle[t is esscntial to the survival of our counlry, econonically or otherwise. As such, the govennnenl employs the technique ol nlcritocracy to sieve oul these talentcd people and train them lor frLture leadership positions. For instance, the Nalional Universily of Singaporc and thc Nanyang Technological Univcrsity ofler opportunities fb. studerts at th(r Junior Collcgc level to take pafi in Science rcscarch programmes at thcir irNlitutions, and most of thc timc. arr exenplary gtade in the scicnce subjects is a prcrcquisile. In this way. the govemolcot is making use of meritocracy to find telent lor the purpose of growth ol'the counhy- This shows thal medlocmcv is not merely a taqade for clitisnl.
Apart from helping the country grow as a wholc, the govenx[ent also helps to improve thc lives of the people, individueliy, or as a whoic. This, il does in various wirys, including thc use of meritocracy. 'l he hcading organization tbr Singapore's education, the Ministry of Educatiol, awauds butsitr-ics and scholarships Io studet{s who are ra[ked in the top 5 to L0 percent of the cohort for acadcmic results, but also fbr thosc from lowe.incorne families- This shows their strong bclicf that educalion can hclp irnprove ono's social sta[ding. Aparl fftrm thet, thc educa{i(m systcn aLLolrs for st ents with cxcclLcnl rcsulls for their fi$t year in Junior Colleges to takc "spccial papers', which coteils
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mentocracy to help better the people,s lives.
An atlect of encouragiug rhe population to work hard is that sociery does become hz). In lhis wa) . met itocrecy act. as an imperu. to economic growth becau)e is u5ed to provide incenrives tor oo.a,,ro,f ,"a f,""J" p,.,
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anv *.i"ir' ""i ofien read\ io un*irringni.i rl " ,""i "fr."*tud govemment did not continuousiv .eward good **L, p""pf.- *r""iAl"""r,o pu.por" in working, and rhere would be no competirio, o.ong.i',ir" p';;pi;. lead ro rhe *"*ry u"""-"tg ,",rrlppv .u.h u, in dre case of rhe former where. everyone was provided wittr iood, shetrer ,,,u"h o. ""; ";;;l worked. The peopte evenrually decided ihar ,f* ia-"r.i'.." !:.,"-til1. not a good one und.o-munism fe,. Anor[er Britain, where people wc.e provided wirh certain bjsic ,"* rcason to worl. They ev(nrusllv bcc
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they did not contribute ro the economy actively. Due to rhe very counrry, Singaporc has little choics ,o
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IIr conclusioo, rnerilocracy in itself is a faQade [o. elitislrl, be it in Sin!]apore or otherwisc. Howcver, thc Sirrgaptr.e government has used mcritocracy to -rrio*n country's advantage. n r,"r--r,-"i." rhar whire merirocracy faEade. it is actually an imporranr rool "ooit in the gruwrh oi fie
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Whatcver thc cause, terrorism can never be acceptable. Do you agree?
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a ccrtain tension within our global society
today-an aum ol uncefiainty and even fear drat pervades every corner of modem civilization. This may be attributed to the fact that tenorism has reached a theshold where it is increasingly allencompassing and lethal in nature, making it a sedous threat to the stability of our society. Terlorism ilvolves acts of violence or attempts fo instigate chaos in ordet to achieve a cefiain aim, be it religious or political, or monetarily motivated. Sometimes, these aims embody religious or political ideals that may seem noble, but I believe that attempting to realizc these goals via such socially debilitating and unde unded means undennines whatever nobility there is in these aims and serves only to aggrandize tenorism.
There exists
The impact ol terrorism on a society is profbundly adverse and far-reachirg. As its name suggests, terrorism strikes fear into the heatts of people. It leaves an indelible mark on both the society and the individual - the society has ro grapplc wirh rhe perpetual fear of another act of telrorism, while the individual is emotionally scaned. The cffcct of the 9-l I bombing of thc World T.ade Towers tt-anscended the loss of lives and propefiy. Thousands of people who witnessed the honific scenc had to [ndcrgo leflgthy counsellinli. Families [Iad to conterd with thc grief of losing a lovecl one- lhc physical dcstruction and chaos associated with lerrorism is uodeniable. bLll il is essential to unde$tand that the social ramifications reach beyond econo ic irstability, the deslruction oi property alld the loss of livcs. It is far more deep reaching that tllat- What causc, no malter how rightcous it ntcy appear to be, is worth such a sacrifice? There is a vast m6lange of terrorist faclioas which appear to have a just causc Ihlt is driving them to pcrfbrm thesc acts of violencc. There are eco lerrorists whu stu\'u llr save thc environment through bonbing pollutive factories or sabotage lree-lolJgil1!: operations- There are temorists who scek to altain indefcndcncc fbr thcir state ol to separate from a cou try, such as the IRA and Tanril'ligers, by bombing landnrarks or assassinatil8 ofticials- There are tenorists rvhosc goels are to make religious statcnlcnts lfuoogh bonlbhgs of what dlcy perceive to run contrary to their beliefs, such as the Al Qaeda and Jemaah tslamiyah who claim to be waging a religious wfi known as a jihad. Thcir airn is to make a statement to the authorities or pcople in power thal cannol be igDoled. It is a threat to commit morc acts of terrorism shonld their goals not be attai[ed. What divides terorism from aD open rcbcllion or even war is that terroaisnt is far mc;re insidious in naturc. While both are similar in the sense Ihat thcy arc pcaccivcd as violenl means of achieving an objective, lerrorism appcars to be a morc undcrhandcd rnethod, i$ it strikes the vulncaable and defenceless patls of a society without warning. II is thjs aspect of terrorism that makes it inherelltly unecceplable.
Terrorisnr is an cxlrcrnc inethod of itchicving e goal. lhele will inevitably lrc altemate means of fulfilling thesc goals which are pcaccful and do noI conle at the expcnse of others- Diplomacy should prcccdc such ac{s oi violcnce. Howevcr. should diplomacy or all othcr rnethods fail. ten-orism should not be a last resorl. Certarlr rrsucs may bc solved by appcaling to lhe lntemati(ntal Cotn of Justice or the flniled NatioDs.
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Te(odsm is by far not the most efficacious means of achieving a goal- Thoughout the annals of history, few te.rorists have actually had their way with a g;vornment or people. Despite terrorists in Iraq capturing and beheading several Ame cans, America has itill rot given in to the demands of the terrorists. Although the terrodsts have managed to get countries like Spaio and China to withdraw, it marks an empty victory as their ultimate goal to free Iraq from its invaders is still untrrlfilled. As such, even if there is a worthv cause, terorism should not be a means to achieve thrs cause, even if aU alternatives arl
exhausted.
However, there is a certain degree of subjectivity involved in our perccption of tenorisln- Dr Mahathir infamously labelted America as the ..greatest tenorist,, in reference to America's invasion of kaq and controve$ial foreign policy. To overthrow an evil dictator is undoubtedly a noble goal, but the sacrifice involved in accomplishing this is extremely high. America's precision bombing of Iraq could be perceived as being a more grandiose and acceptable form of terrorism_ Hence, terrodsm may sometimes be a stimulus in a society tbr a change for lhe better. lt carr instigate a change in power, take down dictators, or achieve indepcndence from a country. But to commit illsidious acts of violencc in a society to achieve this is still rnorally unacceptable. Terrorism is something that society has nevea and will never accept. The impact of an act of tetyo.ism shakes the foundations of our society, leavilg a mirk even in its wake that the people in the society still have to live with. Even if the cause is woflhy, it is suaely not wordl such wanton destruction and chaos.'Iherc are always altematives ro terrnfl m. Att., dll Crnillri nc\cr neeJeLl vt^lpncc lo a, hierc hrs gurlr. Etsay is fot:u,^etl ri,ith pettincnt points and illustratiotl Dis(Ltssi(n llnugh Jdit-U comprehen.tiv( (like the inclu.tiotl o.f eco tu-t.orists) is nonetheless not as tleep. Do you not tlifferentiate ttrrorist d d cco-terrorist for exttmple? Whut iJ dOlomacy lalts? Subvcrsion has ahta,rs bet:n uscd in war, e.g the Frcn(h ResistLtn(:( itt\lllll. Do wt: co dcmn them as wtll'? Ldnguuge isfine. DanielChang 04s63
Is terrorism acceptable as a necessrry evil? Terrorism has plagued the world since time immemorial if Prince John had the use of modem idcas, he would probably have branded Robin Hood a terrorist. But it is only in modem times that the term "terrorism" gaincd a specihc meaniog unique to itself. A terrorist is defined as a person or a group that resofis to violence on the civilian populace to achieve a political end. Modem exanples of tenorist groups would include Al-Qaeda, and the lrish Republjcan Army. With the passing of the September eleven tragedy, global opinion has turned against teirorism- The Bush Doctrine, eannarked by the phrase, "You are either with us or with the terorist", seems to be the plevailing mindsct today. To examine just how acceptable terrorism is, we have to examine it based on two crilerions whethcr it is morally ftcccptable and if it is pragmatically acccptable-
Tc.rorism by its nalure is, intrinsically. morally objectionable. By definition, its vcry objective is the inflicting of maximum casualties on the civilian populatioi in order to ensure that their actions resonate as loudly as possible, so as to fbace thc government to rnake concessions. Tefodsts utilize fear and horror as a weapon in order to coerce lhe govcrrlrncnt to come 1() the negotiatirg table. The elhical problem lies in lhe tact that they kill innocent civilians, insteed of the people who opprcss Ihcnr. Civilians are inostly not culpablc lbr Ihe plighl o[ the lenorists, and punishin!] them to get back ar lhe govemment is unacceptablc- Thc thrce thousand who dicd in the collapse of the TwiD To\r'crs q'cre not respolNible for the evils brought by thc Arnerican (lovcnrnrent on thc Arab world, and to make them bear the blaDre with their lives is rnorally reprehensible, whatever (he
llowcvcr. T believe solDctinlcs the issue o[ lelrorism is nol lhal cleir cul. 'Ielrorisrn is usually co currcnt with govcrnrnc lal opprelsion usulLlly ir tcrrrrfl\t grou| has no legal neans to put its interest or grievanccs I'orth and thus had Io rcsort to rnorc slLbversive mea[s to !]ain a voice. Usually, (he despot in qucstion would tlrst lvrouBht injusticc on a specilic grolrp jll society. and leller them lo lhe yoke of oppression, by de[ying them x voicc. Tcrrorist groups uslraliy spring up as a reaclion to tliis rc|rcssrnn. because they o. their pcople have been trcated !vi1h mindlcss cruelty and iiluslicc- Thc Basquc Nationalist group E1'A, carne about trecause thc Fascist Spa ish Governrncnt under F-rancisco Franc deliberirtely clamped doun on the Basquc hn.quage and denied thcnl sevcral civii liberties. As suclL terrorism, lhough morally wrong as an act in itself, somctimes can be exoneraled by exte uating circumstances. 'l hus thc ceuse miry al rimc\ justify drem. I.urthemrorc, drc dcfinition of tcrrorism is stitL mllinly Debulous. As lhe clich6 goes, "One man's terrorist is another's frecdom fighter." Yasscr Arafal rnay havc beet a
bloodthirsty tcrrorist to thc lsfaelis, but to thc Pal.stinian people, he was a bcacon of hoPe fbr thcir ernnacipation, atrd the lsracli army, with thcir rcpcatcd incursrors utro Palestinian civilian ierri(ories, were the real terrorists. lhe only differcnce betwecn the lwo was lhcir mcthods ol warfare Arxtat bed to losoi to len()rism becaLrsc lre could not atlbrd lo wage a conventional war. Thc conundrunr is thlrs this: should Ierrorism be consiclered any more unacceptablc vis ir vis othcr mcthods of warlerc. dcspitc simihr
ramifications? I believe lrot. If rheil: cause can be justified by a lack of any viable iha^els, dren it may stilr be ao acceprable evil- N;lson Ma.,i"ta'" arrican l,tario'ut Congress previously resorted to violence against its apartheid regime, n rj trre apartt eia govemment branded fhem as terrorists. I believe, that, with tfre i'enetit oi tundsight, we know befter than to de[ouncg terrorisrn without first considering the backgrouna and the causes.
On a more practical level, terrodsm has been castigated as a tutile political tool ^ two reasons. Firstly, for tenorism mercly exacerbates tfr""connici anJ'ao"s nothing to resolve it. By killing iturocent civilians, they incur the wrath ol tfre peopte ana govcrnment,_oftentimes leadilg to more rccriminations and a vicious cycle of violence. This.can probably explain why Russia has ody escalated its oper",ion* i.-ifr..toy" _ i, was in response to Chechnyan terorist attacks. Secondly, terrorists tend to ,,overstay theit welcome" and be too extremist to eu.ry..uch o co-prorrise with thcir govemments, as their very roots arc raid in radicalism. The Good nriaay Accoras in Noirt .m rrer"na r., gradualiy being discrcdited because tringc g.oup" *ithin sinn r.in'-an,r tne rrtn Republican Army are persistilg with the uie o-f terrorism even oti"i u f"*" has been nlade between the IRA an.i_ the Northem lrish Govemment, tf,ercly "g.""_.nt rettccting how terorism may be detrimental ro the search for a resolution ,. ifr"
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Whilst the above c.ificisms are at times justified, I still believe thal under sone circumstances, terror-isrn may plove to be efficacious in ...otulnf conni"ts, when wr: compare more successfill temofist organizarions likc the ANC and thc East Timorese Liberation Front undcr Xanana Gusnras, with less successfulgroups like Hanras, we see a clcarly disccmable diflerence tllc lon er .Lrc mor. wrlliniro corrrpr.urnrrc. For them, lerrorisnr is Dreant solely to gain attcntion for thei. cause oia ptigfrt, alrd lo bnng their oppressors lo the ncgoriation table. Afier thal is accomprished, i"riori.- *r. abandoned as a political tool. ln the case of the latter, foa example, gr.oups likc Hamas, oitcn thele is a reluctance to even rnovc an inch for prace, thereby futlier enrrenchilg the conflict. Thus, iI is only if terorisn is kept as ju\r on. ou, .f ."ny putrrlcot rnot.. uia tts *i"laer. are willi[g to compromise and abandon it at thc right timc. that terrorisln crn be secn as an acceptable evil on a practical level.
On lhl: whole. while
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rlo acknowledge thc intrinsic dilficulty wc have in accepting rerrorism u.'der a'y circumstanccs, wharever the causc, I sti| b;lievc lt can at times be nio.ally justified by irs very cause- It can also, if rightly used. be a tegitimate
political tool to ema cipate oppresseti peoples. In a world t.ri.,, lust, tcrrorism might at timcs be a neccssary cvil.
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We!t arguetl Apart ft'on the slight digre)-sio on th. inelI.(titjaness of terrori.rmas (t bol, essay presented a (ogcnt drgume l .tttoitLlltinttcttt)t.isnasa.,n€ :ess./j,t)..vi.,,
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Is the lcgalization of gambling a necessary evil?
Gambling, long considered a vice. has always been discouraged. Lotteies, sports betting and games at casinos all do not require much skill or ability; they p.imarily rely on the sheer caprice of chance- The humrur desire to gain wealth and get dch quickly without an equal amount of work put in, tempts men into gambling. Rather than allow widespread propagation of moral vice advocated by illegal gambling syndicates, the govemment needs to intervene via a regulatory and controlled body to curb the unclesimble effects of gambling. It is evident that although the legislation of gambling may not sit well with many, it is essentially a decision made out of necessity.
ln many countries, the revenue fiom legalized gambling is a major source of state revenue- Il constitutes the Cross Domestic Product (GDP) ofa country and these eemings go towards the govenrmcnt budget. This is used to improvc thc infiasfucture of the country, reconstnrct wom out amenities, and providc thc public with benefits. [n Macau, gambiing ancl casino operations account fbr 40olo of thc country's GDP. Also, revenue is commo y dircc(ed to charities or to the needy in the community. Singapore Pools was set up in 1968 to curb illegal gambling aDd is the only legel lottcry operator in Singapore. Sury)lus earnings are devoled lo communily causcs whose outcomes inprove the wellbein!! of lhe conmlunity. Bcncficieries inclucle the National Kidney Founddtion and thc Assisi I{omc and Hospice. Without legnlised gambling, profit takingi; tiom illegal gaming activities would go into the pockcts of gambling syndicates, which would ir tunl finance the developnlcnt of other vice activities. 't'hus, il can be scen that gambling should bc lcgalizcd in order lor lhe govenr0le t to cxerl coollol over ganbling rcvcnues. Consequently, lhis valuable sourcc of rcvenuc could 8rl towards bencflting the public inslead of sLrpporting other vice activi{ies-
ln today's last-paceri society, drc world is conslantly cha[giog end we have to accommoclale change lo slay rclcvant wi$ the timcs. Our economy laccs slagnatiun i[ \ c
do oot keep abreast of cw dcvelopmenls in lhe reg-Lon. lhe legalization of ganbling. in particular, thc ofening ol a casino, would be ideal ilr diveIsitying our economy. IIr rcccnt yeius, tourists havc tlocked lo Malaysia end Australia. indulging in shopping and garnbling within the casinos, thlls gcnerating thc much needed lourisnt dollars to iroosl the ccono(ly- To slay compctitivc as a tourisrlr hub, Singapore has to rcinveot herself. The opcning of a casino within an inteSrxted resort rvould give thc cconomy a vital iniection. Toluist speuding on iiod. lodllin8, shopping ancl gambling would contribule much to thc tour'srll sccto. io a country. It is un|ealislic lo rely solely otl olLr pasl atlftctiols to drew thc crowds back. Hence, a resorl cum casino would add to dlc vibrancy of our citysc{pe, subsequenlly etticing tourists to spend a longer slol'ovcr timLin Srngaporc. thus cffcclively boosting the economy
'lhe lelialization of glorbling would irlso sucgcst regulation so lhrt the inherent problcms slemning fro l gxrrbling can bL: tackled thoroughly. Esselltially, the siturliun of gambling can be closcly nronitored and controllcd, curbi[g lhe sphcrc of influelce of illcgal syndicales. Given an allernitive. llamblers would most likely palronisc lcgel oLlIlcts as well. An er)rcrdnent lo llle Betring xnd Swccpstake Duties Acl halved betling
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duty to allow Singapore Turf Club ro offer berrer odds and lower prices tor their customers, so as to compete more elfectively \rith illegal gambling opererors. Having the govemrnent play a role in legalizing gambling also implies ihai resources can be allocated
to solve problems at hand. For example, compulsive gamblers could be sent for counselling or to undergo keatments. Responsible gaming woul
bodies
However, there aae concems that whell gambling is legalized, the governmelt is sending out a strong social message that gambling is acceptable. Garniling tcnds to extract revenue fiom those least ablc to resist the temptation, in particulally, low,iricome families. Gambling is blamed tbr the illcreasc in broken homes, underrnining the rnoral fibre of the comrnunity and ultimately giving public sanction ro the attitude of gertirg rich without diligence. The main assumption underlying the dctrituertal effects of g:rmbling is that the individual lacks self-rest.aint and gumprion, easily giving in to the temptation of gambling. Ilowevcr, we know this to be unhe. Even with ihe legaiization of gambling, individuals who have the sheer willpower will not succumb to it, nor will they becomc "victims" of gambling. Victimizarion is Dot an issLre whcn rhe individral hrs a sensc of conviction aod a codc of moral principles which he lives by.
ln ttre most praclical sensc, ganbling _ whclher opcratecl
can nevcr be totally e\lirpatcd. If exists, by illegal syndicates or run by thc govenrmellt. However, the assurance legalized Sambling gives is that social problems can bc carefully monitored by the relevant checks and bala[ces inplemelted by the govemmenl, so these problems can bc kcpt to a minirnum. Furthermore. eanings from legalized gambli g could bc used to the advantage of thc community thus extenurttng thc dcletcrious cnnstquences of garnbling. Hcnce, I would agree to a large extent that legalization ol gambling is a necessary cvil.
E)icellent pie(e oJ work. sense af purpose.
Ilse of thc language has improved while you meintain d
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Eugenia Ong
04s22
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Thcre is no place for corporal punishment in schools. To what extent do you agree $ ith this rie$?
In many schools across the world today, school authorities, when dealing with
students who have committed an offence, often choose to deal out caning, spaflkilg and such fonns of physical punishment to discipline the student_ The ..offence" committed is
of a heaviea nature, for example, smokng or vandalisrn, but in sorlc cases. teachers actually deal out punislment for minor issues such as sleeping in class or not handing up work. In over twenty states in America, schools are tie only insriLutions where such physical punishment is still legally sanctioned even milirary camps alrd prisons do not condone using violence to deal with unacceptable bchaviour. personally, I agree very much that there is no place for corporal punishment in schools, and only in the mosI extreme cascs, and as a last resoft, should violence be uscd to discipline. usually
My first reason for disagreeing with co.poral punishment is rhe physical and psychological scars it inflicts on the student. Definitely, caning, spanking;r hitting the student with a foreigr object would leave the student injurcd, bruisetl and in pain. Furthennore, if the student is punished in front of a class. or even the entire school (which is often the casc), tlis public display of thc studenr's problem will have drasric psychological eft'ccts on him. 'lhe stlldent bccomes very self-conscious, thinking that
everyone probably laughs at him and looks at hiln in a diflerent lighr now, and hc teels ashamed of himself- F'ootballer Stcven Gerrard once comrnctted on how one incident of caning in front of rhe wholc sludent population in school left him feeling likc ..a loser,' and caused hinr to pass the bulk of his schooldays as an introvert. Thus. I do nor support intlicting injuries on a studcnt as a way to disct)line the studcol and ensurc Ihat the same nristeke is not repcated, as violence o ly seryes Io endanger thc physical and c otional well bciog of the studcnr.
Secondly. corporal pulishmcnt in schools shoulcl not be suppollcd because it pe.pctuales a cyclc of child abuse. When violence is used to dcal with younger students who have comnitted an offence, it teaches {hc stuclent that it is okav to hit. and the studcnt grows up and continues to hit other llri,plir, cspecrrlly tlrose yourrger than hrnl, as hc lries 11] instill discipline. In Kenya, over the 1970s and l9g0s, many stJries ofstudents gettinS hit, slapped, and thcir heads slamnled against the table arose, and many of Ihc teachcrs inJlictiog such punishments lver.e found to have bccn be hit whcn they wcrc students The brcekillg of this cycle of chilcl abuse is often rhe biggesr -themsclves. probLem faccd by schoot authorities, and many a line, stlrdents lcave school thinking tat it is okay for lhose who care for-them to hil thcm. {nd they perpcluate this vicious cycle. 'l'hus I disagrce with thc usc of coaporal ptLrlishntcol_
Thirdly, with thc use of corporal punishoenl, the teacher loses an important oppodunity.for tcaching a Dlore appropliatc behaviour. More often than oot, hitting the student lor doing somclhing wro[g docs Dol bring about thc dcsired effect ol the student lca(rilg where he has gone wrong and thercby becoming a bclter person. llrslead, thc sltLrlent may stccl himself aea,nst the pain infliccd. shut oll his emoiio,rs, go aboul wirh his pilsl $,ays and rcfuse to cha,gc. ln Antcrica, statistics hevc shown that-with vrole^cc
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used as the way to discipliDe problem students, repercussions have arisen, with there being "more vandalism, truancy and pupil violence,, nr the schools. After getting physically punished by the teacher, the- student oller.efuses to regai
However. there is then the issue of..spare the rod and spoil the child,,. Many educato$ choose violence to maintain discipliDe, especially in the classroom, as they find that this is the easiesl way of getting thei messag; acros; to the students. .I.hev believe that once they go soft, and become too lenient, students get the impression tfr.i tfr"f a]-" allowed their own way, and stafi displaying outrageous b-ehaviour. 'personallv. I teel rhar when with exceptionally egretsious conducr, corporrl punishmen; might just .dealing come in handy, but only as a last resort when talking and reasonilg have failed _ and the student's parents should be notified. At the end of the day, thcre is a time antl place lor ever)lhing. Jnd corpnr:tl punishrle t should only br dcrlr u lren cbsoluLcl, co.po.ur pr','ish."",'t r.r,l"ir,.i"-"i.iuiJiffiil,ii'1Ji,i'1'Jii,iHii",iil?; 'r,*ro'r" allowed a regular place in schools.
In conclusion. therc is Iiftlc
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schools. caning ancl spnnring rn.g"ry i,,il.::::.J:,-.',1[l:,"t,:l^:il!i'#JTi.',1ff.1 they grow up and may tbrce soDte to become immune to pain and hold Iittle rcgard fbl school authorities anynrorc. Very often. using violence on a itudent shuts his ears to thc genuine advicc of thc teacher ind the student may not beconte bettcr disciplilred at the end of it all. Evcry studenr is al i.dividual, ancl sho.kr be lrcatccl .s such, a.cr there arc always altemativcs -- cornrnunity service, talking to corporal pulishmcl]I to make a student leain.
y,cl[,orljanized, well argued dnd suffiti?ntb, [.sstty .wasexrmples. Language use was saphisti(Ltted and .epr()prial(_ Jalrice Jcganalhan
04s22
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Capital punishment versN tlre lile s€ntence. Discuss. Human civilisation has always seen life as sacred. rhe beauty ol life being extolled by various major religions. In addiLion, heavy punishmeits are meted to those who would willfully rob it from oLhers. Capital punishment has been, and still is, a method of punishment used in scveral countries for binging retributive justice on those who would cornmit heinous acts such as murder_ The ongoing controversy of capital punishment and its use io a supposedly more humane world of today is a hotly debatcd topic. However, if given a choice, I support the notion thaf those who comrnit heinous acts against humanity should be "scntenced to life" rather than be executed_
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The forrnation of a law efforcement agency and the setting up of ajuclicial systern j stice to the people_ Laws, in essence, were created to protect the rights of all humans alike, and in breaching the ',right to life" by depriving another fellow human beirg to continue living, the murderer has effectively sur-rendered that sacred "right to life" and. hence, places htmscll or hersell at the mercy of society at large. Thc rest of society has now the choice of putting thc in[rderer to death, and stooping to the level of cr.irninality o[ the murderer. or imprisoning the c.iminal and allow rehabi litive justicc to take its coursc_ Ia all aspects, by sentencing the criminal to li[e, socicty can also achievc the goal of prcvcatillg lhe cr-iminal from cornmitting further heinous acts and in addition, allow the criminal time to seek recolrrse- ln the famous casc of "Hurrica[e" Cafter, the lack ofcepital punishment in the state of Louisiana allowed him to appeal contilually until a Supteme Courr ruli[g redrcssed his wrongfui conviction by overtuming it due to a lack of evidence againsl him_ ll .nprl;-l lu ish rc t ha,i beerr rrnposed. lrii trglrr rUuld lrJve abruprly. d.d rninn.r.enr
within each country is for dre purpose of providing
man lvould have been killed, and thc whole sociely would have becn guiily miscar.iage of juslice-
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ln addition, scnlencing a cri inal to life shows the naturity of a society through its willingncss to subjcct the criminal to rehabilitation. lf one pursues the notion of vengca{ce, then sulely an cyc tbr an eye will leave the whole world bliDd. A life scntcnce does noI just reprcsenl an act ol ntercy, but also rcprcsents the belicf of an elltire so,Jrcr) lhat the course of.iustice does not necessarily have lo bc retributivc. cspccially since thc cooccpt of justice was created by humans, and should ithercntly bc more hunane ll) nature- Why would society lower itsclf to 1he animalistic act of homicidc? One cannot justify capital punishnrc r. or legal killitgs pe. sc, if one wishes for morc civility in thc Advocates of capilal pudishmcnt ha4) on the fact that capital punishmc|r rr u ntosl effcctivc detcrrent for would-be murderers. Flowever, what srch advocates fail to see is lhat detc[encc only exists in the ntind with logical thought. When most murders llairpcn. it is usually in a fit of rage or hatrcd, when rational thoughr is i valid. In fact, stalistics suggest tlllll cxecutidls ntay even increase viotc t crime rates. From 1952 to 1967, Calitbmia avcraged abou( six cxccutions annually, buI withh the samc period. thc m[rder rate doubled as comparecl ftr thc period of 1968 to l99l when therc were no eKeculions. For a person rvho harbours such deep hatre(l thal he or she has to kill to
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mav madvcflenrt) inrrucnce 't''' rurure generalrons undermining '"rur( humane sociery.
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cost of supponrnS Lhe murderer lifelime. which L irr"ii"'"i for ar enrirc .,il.ir,iJar lhe mulderel i\ a socieral can nrenace. measure ,r,. rurr" Howsver, rerm\ ol doller\ and cenrs? consiJerarions Economrc ."r1, o"ni"i'rrr,i"lncn .i": *') i1 concems a li[e. arrd r human litr is ar srale. whar ,r'".. *" i,"'r.'r*"^'l,i:1: ,o''JrX."'u' uunare\ Jusr becar.rse rhet ,." ;^",j^^'llqo'" il" wr 'ysternaticalll e\ecure all dcarh ro$ m'chr Morrt arsu,nenr\ rs,dc. il.n.""no- ,1,"-ui ,;:i'::i,,il,'.:::'"1 .'."" "r may co\l Jnylhing lronr herncen one ',l"ll1' ':*' seven miltion n"rr", ro rmpn\onmenr c;ses' which j";;::,';: thou'and E, o'.rrnic .,;",'!.rn "rr"i ;:'i around )00 'o'r lrd ro acruali) p"' ,.i." l. ,"""-:-Da\elrne is that hLrman life i' helond arrl c.sr. s trte aDd c\ecure rhc murttc;er " economic considerari;;;;;;;;:,".r because of t wrong messages about the value ofhuman lif.e. When onc lools at cxp(tal DLr promrs.Lt ctlc(riveness -: Inry bc ca.rly {qa\cd be,jl,r.r,,t ir. in,lereninp,.lj:']t"i' riminrl' an(l rl)c r.re'cy ur ir $hF,i L,\.Lr deat wirtr rnurdnrcrs rj;;,:;. ";:";: ' ro -"" lile.irnIris.,ruierr. .er prorecr \o!rcrv ue rtrer ir ro,, ran ,r.gi. r,,i r,i"'i"linP.,at lhc relribtrli!" rs .,ell a' lh. "r ol ju\ricc. ln r, lrabrlirrrrre rrms ,",0r'L'uxils tt' nnt br r'cn'rl) \(, nr' rL) bc."ou',i.,,ili'" a\ ur lcs. d.renen trJI jl enrr. J rnn\c ,,.r*rr,, ,1"' i'uI1n 1'|l irr lrcl of, at,ir.,l \rct f'1,\'uvc rn\tJrd. r,"it,t;,,r,, ,nor" i]1.lTpt Purri.trrrrerrr rs ,r ' ro* dre'(hcd corr i,, ,",",,, "' "nt.,.en'.'.r 'lie,t. irs ,,tuo.l
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Ex-criminals ought to be given a second chancc. Discuss. Even in today's sociefy, where people are generally mole open, ex criminals are still being discriminated against. Very often in television shows, criminals arc ponrayed as big burly rnen, with tattoos all over their bodies. It is no doubt that people eventually develop a negative image of theDr and are less reccptive towards them. However, these people have already paid for their wrongdoings and a_re fully capable of turning over a new leaf. Thus, it is fa that criminals, people who have broken the law in the past, should be given another oppoftunity to live a nomal life again without being discriminatcd against. They should bc teated as part of society, and should be given the right to take olrjobs and to integrate into society once again.
Hurnal beings are not perfect creatures. Every one of us is bound to make mistakes in life. It is then up to the iDdividual to leam and Drove on. At times. some ex criminals could have committed an offe[ce at the spur of the nomel1t, or they wcre under pressure to do it. Take for examplc, a thlteen yca. old girl trying very hard to blr part of the 'cool' crowd. In ordcr to prove hersclf, she could have shopliftcd [nder ILc prcssurc tiom her'fricnds'. Very oftc , soole ofthe crirnes commifted ai.e minor and the oflenders would have aleady learnt their lesson atd are willing to turn over a new leal_ Ihus. it is ollly fair that society givcs them a chancc to do so, illstead o[ condcmning thetn forever. Fu.lhermore, nany prisons arouud lhe world now providc services to hlrlp prisoners i prove thcmselves while scrving their jail tern. For cxarnple, Singapore Changi Prison has a comprchcnsive progrannDe hilored Io each individual to hcb him or hel rchabilale. Young inmates can choose to conlinue thci. stLdies while othcrs are p.ovided wrth vocational traiting.'lhe innrates lio through religious counselline as wcll as attcnd moral lcssons to hclp theni get back on the righl tlack. With the hcll) of these proSrarnines, criminals havc Lhe potcr(ial (o lcad ir normal litc agirin. ltrercfbrc. socicrl, shoulcl bc tbrgiving ancl open and givc thern another chance. Economic clevelopntcnl is very importalt in cvery counttJ. espccielly in today's society. In order to achieve this. a strong labour tbrcc is nccdecl. If crinrinals are nor givelr a cttance to work. there would bc fewer pcople to contribute to the ecortolny. As mentioned l.eviously, some plisoncrs have gone iluough h.aining cluring thei. slay in lhe prison to cquiP them with skills. Thus, if ernployers are unwillingly b cmploy ex cdminals, sociely will lose out ultimaicly as therc would bc fcwer skiLlerl workcrs io lhe workforcc- ln the Unired Kingdom (UK), one rhird of the mcn under lin.ry have { cri inal reco.d xnd in thc LIS, 1600 ofl'cnders ate being released cacll day lor lhis ycar. Thercforc. therc is a leed to operr up job vacancies to ex criminals or there would bc a serious shortage of labour in future. Somc peoplc thinl that criminals will repeat thcir offence lLqain and it is nof wise to give thcn anothca chance- This is rr(le, jt rhesc u lr. llrtls f"il i,, ,lr",j' t,, ",t",,rpt lead a nonnal life again. Being trappcd in a vicious cycle. cr.iminals will co rinuc lu commit crimcs if they feel aiscouragea hcciuss lhell xr;nlpt ut tntctsrJriDg lnlo society l,.r.trrlcll .r9.,I, ( fr r( ntly tJrcll bc llrieaii,.rwe\ i,ul l,,tlteDl. Sr.,r,,ii, . gii.r, r,y , .t ,r.
80
in US showed that nearly half end up back in jail because they carnot lind jobs. According to the Depaftment of Justice Bureau of Statistics rlr tiX, Z-ln 3 released iimafes- were_reaffgsted within 3 years. By giving ex_criminals another chance, not only do we help them to change for lhe better but society also benefits ua f"a", ,-o"".rt people are behg victimized by these repeat offende$. Perhaps it is wise to think twice about giving criminals a second chance as there is possibility fhat they might revert to their old wayJ an
Since these crimioals have already paid a price for their crime, in tems ofcaning and,rheir..jail temr, they should be ltiven another opportunity to live a normal life agair. Each,and every one of them is t'ully caprble of cbingrng for rhe burrer, csfeciatty since they have received counselling and trntnrnB. N..,nc i, -perle.r lnd cvery,inc should be given a .second chance to makeup for his mistakcs. Furthennore, Iabour is'feeded for the economic development of the country. By clepriving ex caiminals of a chancc to work and contrib[te, both paaties Iose ollt eventually. The tountq, r\ unrble r,, fLospel as nLrch as it could, alrd there would bl3 a strain on rhe laxpayers as money is leedcd 10 rull the prisons. By giving them a second chance, not only do they bc'efit. socicty arso benefits fronr the decrcased crime lale. Valid poitts nwd( it1 Ltnswer lo the questiott_ (iood conchnion. but you nead tu make tet tuin links clear lia greatet eldhoratk)n.
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Dapfule Ho 04s26
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Sport is taking fun seriously. Do you agree?
Mourirho, the current manager o.f Chelsea Football club made this infamous statement on the eve of a Chdtupions Leagtte clash with his former soccer club, pato, "Give me a choice between spottstrdnship and h)inning, I would definitel! choo.te winninq, at all costs, bt hook or by crook." He sure was dead. serious dbout v,inning although the sdne cannot be said of his interest itr his plalers haying fun. .lose
It is pertinent to definc lun as enjoying oneself thoroughly, which would defititely ditler to some extent bctween individuals. Sport can then be defined as any form of physical exercisc consisting of certain objectives, which people pafircip:rre iD, such as soccer, golfor even thc Fomula One Grand Prix_ That spoft is taking fun seriously, I would only agree to a certain extent. What I leel is that whcn these spo.ts are recreatioral, nol-competitive and do not involvc any high stakes lo the individual, the statement would apply_ I{owever if this wis rn a competitive sporting arcna, such as thc English Premier League or cvcn the Olympics, the statement wo ld tlot hold. Take for exarnple, Singapore shuttler, I{onald Susilo. As a natiooal reprcsentative for badminton, he could ill afford to havc fun at lhe rccent Athcns Olympics where lhe entire coultry was pillning its mcdal hopes on him. To hirn, he was definitely takilg the competitioa seriously. However, as hc once said, .,When I atn on the (badnrinton) couft, there is no nrore fun, ancl it is all focus. fbc[s and locus i.om then on." With srLcll Eounting prelsure hcapcd on alhletcs. they can barcly affoad 11] have fun and crrjoy thems€lves during their rnatches.
This would be duc to the fact that atliletes dcsiae lo win, cspccially dLLe to the garqantual amoullt of money oflered at compcfitioN. 'Ihcy tlain continuously fbr ycars just to take part in e competition where a singlc defea{ usuelly rDeiins tha{ thc athlctc is knocked out of the competition and has to pack his bags and go hone. 'Ihus, the desirc to wir alld the pressurc hcapcd on the:rthlctc by himsclf, his coach, his fans and probably his counlry incvitably takc out the fun elcmcnt in the sport fol the ath]etc who. insteaci, has to teke the spoft seriously.
ln rccent yearsi there have bcen cases of alhletes involved in doping. ilrcluding prorninent cases such as Marion Joncs, an ex,Olympic gold mcdallist in six ttack cvcnts and her ex husband C.J- llunter, also an cx-Olympic discus and short plttt gold medallist. All of thcse athleles takc performancc cnhtncilg drugs such as tcstosterone iust to Bo that cxlra second frster. or extra centimctcr higher_ Can it be said thtt they are taking spofts for furr and yct seriously? Such Machiavellian ways of slepping onlo the winner,s roslrum ce aioLy do not demonstrnte lhis possibility. Apart fuorn thcse. politics may be intcr-min!{1ed with spon. Events such as the 191J0 Moscow Olynrpics. which thc llnited Srarcs boyco(ted. and rhe 1984 Los Angcles Olympics. when the Russians .etumed the illsult, suggesl that thc ()]ympics was tccking of politics. This occuffcd during the Cold War era, whc America and thc USSR wcre staging a face oiT due 1() the clash of borh idcological and polirical diflerenccs. Anothcr
82
event would be the 1936 Munich Olympics lvhich was politicised by the then notorious dictator, Adolf Hitler, who used it as a platform to showcase Nazi power and his fists of steel. These events serve to show drat sports especial-ly at a highly competitive level constitutes more than just fun. ln fast, some unscrupulous politicians all over the world have hamessed this as a form of power play, and have defeated the purpose of fun in sports by placing their vested intercsfs upfront.
However, for non-competitive or recreational sports, the stakes of parlicipants are not as high as that within the competitive sporting arena. For example, a frieldly soccer match between neighbou.s is a fun-filled one- Even with a few scuffles and arguments that take place which show thal playeN are taking the match seriously, the match seldom tums ugly. At the end of the day, everyone enjoys himself or herself and looks forward to the next match.
All of these can take
place because winning or losing the game is not as impo(anr who have litile to play for anyway. A victory or defeat does not to these sportsmen change the life of these amateur sportsmen as it is not their livelihood; thus they can aflord to have fun. Sport is one of the fbrms of enjoyment they engage in, away from the hustle and buslle of their workplaces. However, those athletes in the cotnpetilive slofting arena have much to gain and lose in every loumameDt they participate in. As sport is the athleics' livelihood, it is clubious if any of thcm is goiog to make a joke out of it or have fun, while fretting whelher they can makc cnds mect or whether they are able to maintain their present world ranKng or status.
Various events such as chilrity toumarncnts also cnable participating spottsmen to luve fun wilh a[ element of scaiousncss, due {o lhe fact lhat it is a competition arttca all. However, the nrain objcctivcs of such eveDls are not to win, but rather to raise funds for the needy- Again, rt can blr secn lhal thcse sportsmen have nothing b gain or lose except their own pride. Hcnce they are able to erjoy themselves thoroughly and yct take lliis spon scriously and try to win the racc.
Appreciate jour attempt lo balance \oLtr argument with or oidmPle oJ sPorts incorporating both Jun anal scriou.enes.t. you c.)uld look at how Jun is at the basis of the prafessional sportsperson's tradc, etc. Jeffrey Ng 04S
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pr'v"i.', """" ,0,.,, ;::J:-:.'!ili'1i':i::*:1r:;..,n-",','* is eriderrr in feni t"o ln r' \'crrr \cj,,r. ', ldr( lrecn ;'",,, ;,'.,;.;;,'J;"1.',',li'"u"'' rl,crc pori.",n",,n"u.iioi.;:ll;:;r:l,,i,,jji',;:;f;",i:"ll:, two I cc,rs Unrred supporters were.stabbed ,n,a""iir
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rec'nr 2u04 Arhcn\ sinsrrrorc i; '" '"*"a ' ,:';"iln:,llu:ii;;;J;ii;:,:tT:tJljilt.:;i;,;;.l,tj:i,"ll.l,itTil;t,i:,i: A,ncricrrr .uinrrilinr: _.I\Jri,,,, $r,,, u.,. irr.L, i""",,., Liii,j,l .,"]i;,], ",r,ij" "li. ,"'r,,u.r,il"'i;;ir"li.,;:I;,;;;i."t: l,l"l,',::J; ::,1.1"1,':,",,rnrrerirlrrccJ.r.nrJir'\quc\ri,,nal,lc . , i. !\u u ;l; :i;lll pIrdFIrstcadol
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medalist, might be stipped qf liis bronze medal because he was found to have consumed i' on" otrt'" o'" in:'pon. i, is
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orher band, sport has truly done its part in bonding people together. It againJ? Jo-_._"r, oppon"nr. Jusr lasl week. people gathered rogerher in _ff.J ,,f,op. 1"A' .iublou."*, ,o *,.n Srngaporc.rn rabre rennis player. Li Jia w"i. i, ,r,"-."_ilri"i,.i'*""'6,"rn0,"r. ,n,_ untied rhe people a. one counr^/ ro rend rheir supporr on. Despire Li Jiu Wei lrirure ro qucriti. mu1 peopre cril srood by her and ofrered word5 or ercouragenent. Thus, the unity of people through sport is stiil eviA.ni in toauy,. ,o"i"q,.
_9. people Dnngs .9" togerher wirh a common interest, uniting them
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Sport and its ideals have evolved much over the years, along with economic and so(iat dcveloprnenr. sporrsnranshi' and fair play rr*J J..ii""J'"".rr.i ilrough time. Furlhcrmore, the ability of governments tuid.organizatiors to provide economic gains has ire ri,is..spon stirr lalconrftui.aL'.,r," ,t i::f,.T:,:': uur(lurg a "l::":Desf sen\e ot belonging Bu!, much has to be done " ')r to rcinlro;uce the fruc",0 itlcals !,1 .lon. and to l.cp rh. slrrit ut .p,,n buming.
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Daphne Ho 04s26
uorE s: SURE. wtNNINc tsr.r'.r EvElvrttuo. IT's rHE oHLv ILLUsTRATED. lgSS) SP@&T Q
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HAs N@THING To Do wtrH sAtR pLA.r. lT Is BouND up \vITH HATRED, IEAL@U5Y. B(DASTFULNESS, DISREGARD (DF ALL RULES AND saDlsrtc PLEASURE IN wtrNEsstNG vt@L€NcE. I l.t ergea v/@RDs, IT Is waR MINUS THE SHO@TING. -GEoRGE OR.vELL
Is it true that competitive sport is
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about fame and money?
Competilive spoft has been closely examined under a mic;oscope in the recent years. The who's who in competitive spofl are frequently appearing in tabloids and even on our own regular broadsheet. It is apt to discuss if competitive sport is all about fame and money, and I have to say that I agree with this stateinent to a latge extent. Competitive sport is defined as sporting activities that have amateur or professional competitors in national, regional or intemational toumaments. Examples iflclude the Olympics, South East Asian Games and the Champions Leagu(j of Europe. Fame is the celebity status accordcd to these competiron. Money is defincd as firstly the cash punped into the competitivc spofis to ircrEasc the staldard of these sports. Secondly, it is defined as monetary i[celtives, in thc fbrm of wagcs, bonuses and endorsement deals, for the sporting individual. Wc have to face the fact that Ihe coufitrics or clubs with morc digits in thcir baDi( account statcmenfs, geDerally win rnore t-rophies and medals, lhan their poorer counterparts. The pleying fteld is deinitely not level. Counrries rhar channel funds into compctitive spons help to ircrease the spons associations' and coachcs' ability to purchase more cfficient iurd bettcr qualily equipment_ IIence, the pldyers have a bctter standard of training then others who havc to makc do with cheaper equipntcnt. Oftentimcs, countries likc drc United St?tcs and Canada dominatc intenletional conpeLitions bacause oI the sheer fact that they havc the spending power to do so. ln the case of Singaporc, the Foolball Association does not hxvc the nloney to give sky high paychecks fbr a world class. rcno(rrecl coach [nlike in Enltland whcrc thc Football Association pays thc nutional coach Svc0 I}ikkson fbur irillion pounds a year. As such therc is a grcat dispaiity i fbotball in both coultr ies as lhc t\.vo diflcrenl coeches inparl differcnt Ievels oi skills and taclics to thc already vastly dif_fcrcnt national teal1ls_ Ilsse[tially, n]onev (irlks in compctilivc spor(s.
noncy ligure lalgely in thc competitivc sport individual's life. I he key impoftance o[ natural abilities, id terms of spccd, slrength end skills are oow a distant sccond place Io fdrne and rloncy. Ilorv else can rvc expLilin why fbotball playeas with astrooomically high wages still prccn and pose for advisements to earn moncyl [:laving alrcady :ltlaincd a certalin prestigc for thcir natural abilities and astute rcadirg o1 competitive gamcs, tttese pLayers hungcr fbr more by sig ing endorsement deals. Maoy fbotball playe$ prorlote products that i]Irc cn{irely unrclaled to their alea ol exprr'rrsc. Somc cven appear to pro role unheal(hy prodocls such as beer, fnst iood ancl junk fbod_ For exanrple, English lbotballer, Alan Shcarer, appearcd ir :l MacDooald's lelcvision advertisemcnl. They 1uc uscd unrealistically in such etldo.sc tenl coolracts because they have to follow stlict litncss end diel regimcs, and lhus cannot tcast on srrch unhealthy fbodl Again, we see that nlany spo(ing intlivicluals havc lro qrralns about nlisrcprcscnling Iheir sport and not gi!ing fieir uhosl to thcir sporI, so as Io fu(her lheir celebrity sIa{us and to gct morc supflcneuts to thcir incolncs. lhe classic cxarnple is tsngland football captain Dlvicl Bcckharn uho now h:N quesrionable skills as fcllow countrJfiren lalnpoon hinl for his lack of focus in compctiliods. Fame and
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Many a times, spots associations in countries have dangled mooetary carrots before the eyes of spofis men and women. In Russia, it is the nonn for these associarions to promise bonuses of a few million roubles to individuals or tearns who wln medals. Money, coupled with the potential increase in fame for trophy-beadng winners, has taken over dre traditional ethos of sports. This ethos which includes values like fair play is ignored irs sports personalities abuse drugs and participate in match-fixing. Jojo Sinciair, a Singaporean bodybuilder, was so athacted to the bonuses offered to he;, that she used illegal drugs to boost her ability to win a medal in the SEA Games_ The rugby players of New Zealand, the world-renowned All Blacks, played to lose in the Rugby Worid Cup Final of 1999, in protest against the Rugby Association withdrawing thei. boruses of $500,000. They were not sedously condemned. Instead, they were lauded as sporting herces as their fame increased with thejr appearances in adveflisements. The fact that th; advertisers were still willing to use these match fixers show that indeed, in competitive sports, fame and money is everything. However, some people may argue that passiol is a greater motivator than fame and money. Without passion, spofis men and womel would not have the mentality and will powet to push remselves to their very best. For example, we sec this in thc Silgapore gymnastics team. Cymnastics is not exactly a lucrative spofi, unlike badminton and table tennis. Yet the gymnasts havc the drive to perform well in the SEA Games 2003. It is heaftening to see sponing talenrs who t.uly love their sport but the status quo is such that nany playe$ arc more i[terested ilr thc n]oley and fame than anything clse. I havc pointed out clearly that their motivatioll lies in these two arcas as thcy are more than willing to overwrite the ethos of sporls and to ignore the imporlalce ol intense conceotration on their sport. [n addition, sporting powerhouses and the dirccting boards of clubs have shown lhat with cash, they can easily improve their own players, while othets fall far behind- Therefore, I have to conclude that compelitilc sport is all about fanre and money. Clean, organized piece of writing alld choicc of question reflects your knowlecige of thc topicElaine Chan 04A51
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With technology, sport is no longer the same. Do you agree?
:-\ The Olympics is the bjggest sporting event, attracting thousands oI athletes from
all over the world, involving countless background crew and requiing an immense amount of planning and preparation. In the lead up to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, sportsmen are training intensively, in a bid to shave off those 0.5 seconds from dreir timiflg to meet the qualifying standards. Off thc tiack, coachcs are testing out various
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machines that can hclp improvc their chluges' strokes. Spofting brands like Nikc and Speedo a.e coming out with their latest aerodynarnic, hydrotech range of apparcl, which they claim cnn maximize the wearers' strength. Nulritionists, too, are lookinlJ to see how they can concoct thc ultimate drink to boost athletes' perfbrmance. Technology, is indeed gennale in the sporlinS arena, and renders sport ot only a test of physical abilitics, but also a battle of sport's conplemenls.
Equipment is undeniably an epochal factor in an athlete's performance. A look eI oul sporting heroes Lhoroughiy demonstrates this-'Ihey wear customized shocs. shirts and swinrsuits. xnd usc {he ldtesl rackets which boast of greater speed and plecision- h seilinS. morass amounts of rDoncy arc pumped into buying ncwer, faster boals and sails which are shaped blNed on QuanluDr ['hysics. No one is willillg to lakc chanccs and slingc on cquipnrcrrl. Il a rlomeirr lvhcrc cvcn 0.01 seconds counts, nothing bul the best nrust be used-
Othcr Ihar) thcsc I)lrysicll clcmcnts IhaI can rdd that !itt]c cdgc to the cumlclilur\ and boo\l lheir level of conlidcnce, lecluologi/ has citused traditionll rncthods of coachi g to be phrscd ou1 Conc:re thc drys where praclicc ancl repetition wcr.: drc rule ol the thunlb. ln placc (l1'Ihosc hours swinlming laps. elhlclcs havc beell introdlrced 10 machines rvhich can track do!vn, lo lhe Drinutest of details, thcir perfonnlnce levels. Evcn hcart ratc scnsors rrr coLrsidercd p$s6. q/hxt *,ith Global I'ositiouilg Radar Systcm ((iPRS), which c:r[ trlce r sailor's vclocity, sailing angle and boal eLlgle throughout thc entirc duration ol a racc. Runncrs and iumpcrs irlso nlake rsc ol indoor sifirulalors 10 achieve tlritl perlccl, streamlineci posture. Swiirlrncrs:uc no exception. Sl(lies liave bee madc to try 1() irnitrte lhe molions ol-fast-moving $,a{er animals. Tcchnology has pro pled an cvolulion C}l the win[ing filrnula. An alhlele call no Longer clinch thc gold lrcdJl l,) l rr\, Ilr'tlrn,l. ot r r. c fr.|rrlrron.
linrings and iudgmcnts havc always bee e conundrum for \prriing orga izers, all ol-whom airn at hosting a flawlcss cvcnt u|intcrruptcd by discreprncies ol' rcsults. l-ollunately- lechnology has enabled such prot)lcrns Io be rore or less solvcd. Scnsitivc digital scnsors can aulonlaticalll/ recorcl athlclcs'tintinlts, dislances aud speed. In a fieid rvhcre the dittcr.nce lrtweel goLrl and silver nlcdals can be hlitlinc thio, this is cssential. llowcvcr, tcchnology has created competili(xt in lhe spofli0g arLrna. by rrcans ofachieving thc bcst infrastmcturc. Co[ Iries like I)alis. Mad]id :r d Lon&)n boast oftbc latest slalc ol--thc an sladiums. conlplclc $itll srnooth lracks and electronic deviccs, hoping to clinch lhc bi.l to holl lhe 2012 Olympic (;lrncs. lhe crilerion lbr tire hosl country is rlo lonllcr nrcrcly secrrrity lnd rbilily, bur no.,v includcs thc standrrrd of AccLL.ate
fa(:ilities
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On the other hand, competitive spoft still essertially boils down to an afhlete,s talent, hard work and passion, which is the true nature ot sport. One cannot cveD dream of crossing thc finishing line frst, even equipped with the most advanced aids, if one does not put in one hundred arld one petcent of cotxnitment. It can be argued that technology can be portayed as an insidious virus that feeds on the spirit of sport and robs it of its es$ence. However, we must first take a look at the definition of sport _ a domail which challenges physical abilitics. Even with the inexorable dse of teclnology, the element of physical ability remains rhe most influential factor that makes a spoflsman. While tcchnology has ifldeed made spo.t "no longer the satne,', it is clcar that the heart of sport remains unchanged. Technology is merely there to enable atltletes to go swifter, higher and stronger- Technology has brought attention to other arcas conLributiug to sport, such as thc preparation and the cquipment, and made use o[ thesc to rnaximizc the potential of athlcfes. The world of sport is not impervious to the advancements iu teclxrology, and should therefore embrace it and make the tullest use of it, lor technology is here to stay and will cortinue making charges to sport. At least 3 stntng points- Overlooks [ssues like commercialism and cheating. Fawn Soon 05,{51
SP@RT O u@TE s:
THr mgoars
o@NrT nEAN ANYTHING aND THE GL@RY DoESti'T LAST. IT's AtL AB@UT Y@UR HAPPINESS. TTiE NEWIN.PS ARF GOINC T(D COME, BUT MY
IS IUST L@VING TH€ SPORT AND HAVING FUN PERFORI]IING. 'JACKI€ J@yNER-KERsEE eu@TEs (Amerrcar ATHLETE, oNE of TH€ BgsT FEIIIAI.E ATHLfTES IN THE V/ORLD, D.I962) HAPPINESS
VIcrer.v IsN'T DEFIN€D By vtNs
LossEs. IT Is DeFIN€D B.r EFF@RT. IF y@u cAN TRUTflFULLY sAy, 'l DrD THE BEsr I couLD, I cAV€ EVERYTHINc I gao,' 'IueH Y@U'R€ A .\T/INN€R.
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'tHcal the world! make it a better place.', Can we?
It
has been said, that as the first ge2fs of the industrial revolution cranked into motion, an invisible clock powered by those gears began a countdown towards the total destruction of nafute. As nations aspired to ever-greater industries we hastened the hands of thc invisible clock. Humanity is consuming the very earfh, in a reckless and dangerous matu1er. The earth is ill and the symptoms are hardly invisible.
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environmental problem that has captured our attertion is the thinning of the _Ore ozone layer caused by the emission of chlorofluoroc.ubons (CFCS) tiom factories. and ce ain chemicals cornbine with ozone to form va ous other substanccs. The destuction of the ozone layer left a hole in our shield against harmful ultra violet rays from the sun, Ietling thesc ca'cer-causiag rays to rerch rhe surlace ot the (anh. The;ir ls t red with gases rcleased by cngines and factories which trap the sun's heaf contributing to the grcenhouse effect. The resultant risc in global tenperature has wreaked havoc with the climate of various regions making hot places waamer and cold places cooler. In some ilstances, even the reverse has been observed. Cefiair y, the recent recorcl high rainfall aod temleratures in Singapore have been attibuted by scientists and mcteorologist to thc .lrarrge in uerrlrcr pitll,.m\ Laused by rhe incrcased greenllou\e e ir.t.
An average of one football tield-sizcd tract of foresl is bcing clearcd every minute and cveryday- The loss of each and cvery tree is causing incvirsible damage to the cnvironnent. Trees act as natural air- conclitiooers, prodicing oxygen ancl absorbing crrbon dioxide - a strong greenhouse gas. This is o[ top of thc loss -of b;ocliuersity anA \\.ilcllift caused by such destxclion. Judgitg fiorn rnan,s dcstruction of thc fbrests which .cncws the air, much can be told of our unbridlcd grecd and ir$atiablc needs. lt is clear lhat il we c()ntinlre to carry out deforestation al such an aL4rming rate, our edvironmeltal wocs will ol)ly bc exaccrbated.
We arc not only killing innocent _ hunranity as wcll-
wildlife, wc are slowly siratgling the rest of Thc sea and other bodics of water has become conieniint dumping sites leading to tragcdies such as the Minanrata Bay incident ir Japan whete newboms suftc.ed ftonl mcrcLrry poisoning clue to contaninatcd fish. The trails of nran,s grecd are visible everywherc - the poisoted air anLl water and massive dcfbrestatio[ Ir many daces of the world. peoplc literally wallow in dirt. Thcse sha ly towos located in garbage dunps are an affronl to human dignity_ It is not right that people shoulcl Iive amongsr squatter and plague when we can build entire mega conur-bations with glearning skyscrapers- Nor roo Long ago, dis:lster srruck a shanr; town in thc philippines whcn tonential rains caused the local mountain of debris and junk to coll:rpse on the people. what. is wrong with world is thar wc are dcstroying and consumirg ,.--_ _,:^l".lnt, lncrcrslng amounts of its finite resorrrces k) o)eet our necds and yct there rcmain lcgion;
of sterving. povefty stricken peopre in areas rikc rhe centmr rcgions .f Afiica and North Korca In facI, thc nurnbcr of people below tlre poveny line is giowing.
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It is possible, that we could heal rhe world: Is ir possrble rhar we could minirnize ervircnmerral degradarior and human suffe""g
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The damage done asdnst earth. has not gone unnoticed.
Stricter laws against illegal toggjng and polturion have. been n"ri-"-.itA"'i"t ui.t, totfry govemmenrs "rj"a.Brt th" in tursuit of their causes. ia,iert -inrensety ;;;;ti;l e. rhis is enough. The K\olo prolocol was an agreemcnt to cut do\ n oI harmtul Fas em_rssions by industrialised nations. yet, the worti,s gr*"r, _ the Unir.d states, has yer to commir itself ro the r,y.," n","".ir.. iir" .i,1ro*"i"ll" rr", u nllrn, hinder economic growth testimony to humun g.""a una ."H.h;.."..
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Brazil recently created the world,s largest rainforest reserve, an area mary times bisser than siosaporc itsen However, illegai,toget;; ;ili ;;;;.;; ]i'tiJi.ine" or tr," reserve. The govemmelt has been accusedof ,*ii.ri tecu'use tn"y hav. vested interest in such acriviries. .l.he pany " iJ'.y",po*"iiur in po*". iJofrfrg"i"a-;o which. lund the political party - creatrng a loop ot self scrving purpose_"o.poni", h olher ,h. sovemmenr_is siruply powirless ,.' ,ro;;;i,-;;;;;,ti'..". ? ,n. ,un*" -.^":i::i"_rl regloD, govemments not onlv have to lulfill the basic needs of the p"upl" .*i o. agricultural land btrt they arso have to struggle "."oting to provide basic ame.itics of crea. water -" -and power. The prorccd;n ofthe environmeit is siinply not a pri.;t. People, nations alld govemnlents have clearly recognized that we are incxorab]y heading towads a roral environmenral catastrophei .u"n tn" come irrro,bcrng ro sroq rhe di\ e,r i,,," ,,, ". ,o ip". v., a,. 1;:::rnrcresr\. uellj.:: sEr rre clearlr holdrrp Lrecl rt nur .rllcrnpr\ r., n,in,,niz.."5 irr ,l.,ne rer,.rse tire enr' ironmentJl dtnlir'e
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Have we done our bcst to ease human suffer.ilg? Statistics have shown that thc gap bc''veen the Jich and rhe poor is wideni,rg una nli.,'.] ,rr"r"
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.*irr, many Iayers of social strara of grcar disparity. "u;ln Even uhcn J.," l,"'"lj pr.g.^,r. r". rnarrv l\o\ed) !tncLe attons. tltete ita lanlls rnd paotaatio,,,,t. _*lua.r rfr,nr, exports keeping them shackled. It is crear that we are abrc to do more, so much .'iorc to hear this carth ard make life for its inhabitants rhar much rnore plcasanr. To ..f,""f ifr" *",ii-"J'."t i, Uo", place" is a high noble aim, an ideal h;ld back by ,h" .Mi;,, ;i';i;;rr.',"'.r. *" " r,"u" willingly bound ourselves with.
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"Scicncc enslaves, the arts liberates." Discuss.
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Science, the methodological study of the world around us and the application of knowledge for the bettennent of Man, has always been compared to the arts, the study and approciation of beauty, whether found in a painting or a theatrical performance. The former, due to its stricl guidelines and, well, methodological approach at vicwing things arcund us, has always been perceived to enslave, limiting our space and freedom to think and act creatively. The latter, on the other hand, is viewed by many as a me:ms to free the mind and soul by invoking layers upot layers of thought and self-reflection.
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Many people would agree that the arts do indeed liberate an individual in terms of thought. The arls introduce a spectrum of angles and perspectives to viewing cenain objects and issues, giviDg dre individual ample room to think and explore freely. Take, for instance, the famous picture ofMona Lisa. Though centuries, this pictu.e continucs to engage the nasses, binding countless people to it because of the beauty and nlystcr ious elements it possesses. Science, however, is not given as much regard in the hearts of these people. They see science as opprcssivc and enslaving. The study ol Scicnce has proven lo be very rnuch the case. For instance, in schools, students art taught to follow certain steps closely whcn pedonning science expcriments during paactical lessons. Failure to do so would resuit in dre loss of marks. Under such circumstances. thc studcnts are taught lhat science is a very monotolous and boring subject because they aLe grven very limited opportu ties to exprcss their creativity in the subject. In this light, indeed, the arts liberatc while science enslaves in some waysHowcver, it is the ftrst pan of thc thesis statement that I find faulr wirh. Science in fact gives humans immense opportunity to let their imagilation run freely. Fbr rnstrutcc. il'a pcrson were to talk about laoding on the moon a f-ew ltundred yeals ago, he no doubt woulci bc brandecl an absolute lunatic. However, our gcneration bears witoess to the spectacular achievements of space exploration. This is possible only bccause science gives us the capability to do whatever we so dream- [n this perspective, I think scicncc not only does nol enslavc the human luind, but it facilitates us in our accomplishment of whal we used to think was impossible and allows us to dreaftt even bigger dreanN thall betbre. Science also liberates hum{ns fronr thc woes of physical coostraints and tiees us, diseascs. Major cor?orations like IBM are already nuking imprcssive headway in improving thc livcs oi miliions world widc through their inteNive rescarch on nanotechnology. tn 1999, IBM successfully rnanipulatcd xenon atorN to lol1n thc ietters "I,B M". lf anytlitg, the futurc looks rosy lbr coltpanies and cvco the proverbial man on the street. With technology a billionlh of a nletrc in size, companjes will run on small computers with the capacily and efficietcy of rno.e Ihan a million computers used at prcsent. The econoory and society cvc|tually. lvill be brought to wholc ncw fiontiers. Also, thc use of scicncc has enabled agricultural production to increase many fold due 1() advanced methods likc hydroponics and aerophonics. as well as the use of lnor.e resiiient caops and more efficienl pesticides. Added 1() this is the relculless improveolents made ill thc tield of medical science, which
or lrost ol us, fiom pressing problems likc poverty, starvatior and
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of previously life_rluearenins diseases like smal_pox . has grented r,,*u"r"r.ng."iy.'-i'i;;'fitiie, .etiminaring,more
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3:^J:::ib,'lg.',:f machines smarr en"o"di.;;i;;#;;; l*"j":,1i:t:^tl ilqll possibte "l:1,:"*1" :' t Science .:".*e blockages.""j"je has given us a *fr,ii" rr"* i""."-.f"fii", ll.^"1,"-.1":us from physical Iiberating corNtraints, poverty, st;ation ana aiseas" itl,ough not entirely) which shackled and enslaved us humans in the past. Hence, ,fi"rri" ao". not enslave us as is mentioned in the thesis statemenf
Science has also broken down barriers, be it physical or not, in our modem world to b.ing about globalisation. The Intemet and alr forms of mass meriia, has allowed us to create a 'gl.bal village'. we are now able ro communicate with others alr around the world instantaneously through the Intemet. Through our $atellite broadcasting, we can fiod out what is happenilg at, say, the other side oi the world at the moment rt happens. Science has given us immense freedom in terms of interaction with people fiom other p,uas of the globe. In Singapore, secondary school students are given opportunities to bminstorm ideas for projects with other studeDts from other nations through the intemational competition, Thinkquest. Not only do thcy develop an intcllectual . camaraderie' but they arso learn from each other's culture and broadcn their ho zons_ In this sensc, science should be applaucled for liberatitg us from cultural, physical, and religious barriers_
In conclusion, I am of the firm belief that science does not cnslave us. [n all honesty, science has tieed us i[ nrore aspects tl.nn one and, iD my opinion; it will only contilue to do so irstcad of limiting our-thouShts and actions. p"rsono y. I think thut bo[h thc arls and scielcc are cmcial if the human race is to prosper. With science comes tangible satisfaction and fulfillmcnt. As science co'tillucs to flourish, so too wr our natural propensity to fulfil and achieve non tangible appetencics made ail the [lore distinct with scientilic progress. Hence, science and the aris actually do conlplement cnch other in bringing about our libcration in all respects, whcther physical or mental. Fluent.and engaging s4'Le of writing. Hov,ever, thcre i.t not enough tliscussion on the ttntl whcther it liberatis. you must givt the lliscussion on the art.t adequate foc6_ a,r.ts. There is too much emphasis on science
Zhen Junjie 04s6.4
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Any change in society begins in the school. Comment. Oftcn, when a countrv wrnrs 10 change dhection, the first area the govemment the education sysrem. rr is *ry i,"rrJ-i"r'tti. .nua*tr represenf the future of societv and it 1s lmportant to use education to ensure that the fufure as rhe govemmenr sees it. However, white it is ce.rain that school *r;.:i:"-:-t^:"::f l ,J d ^cy prd(e ror cnange tn socjetv. I have my doubts over the claims that any change in sociery begins in schoolonly.
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Many beliefs are builr inro us through schooling. Irl China, for example, the cornmunisr ideotogy is hughr ro srudents j.*ln.iy i"our,rr"., y;;;;';e.. .i*"a schoolirg prcvenrs peulle of diftcrenr " ,."ln'uI""arr"i.#,", .;r"""i, o* *.,, other. As pcopte grolr otder. rhev rend to \ricl ", f"., ,"",. i" ir," u"fi.i, *,.r,',n"r"d",. n",o to since rhey were young, and iiis har,r nrluril wa) ro cltangc socictl wollld bc to e ect the changc irr sclrooll
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However, even bcfore a chilj enbrs school, his educatiol has, in a way, startcd already. A chitd generallv ontv enters scho"l il;:su,.,", p."_ school seven yexrs of toial dependcnce or ", ".;,,;J;;;;;;;;;": his or her parenti worird n,ake a chird trust his parents more tha' anyonc else. As a rr,ult, not ,,ri1 do ,f," p"r""rr'"i rir" .f.ld aflect his \rlue .)\tern tnJ b.licf\ bclurc lhc.hrl,lcn,",. *frl"f . fr,,, .1"" r;;" l;': chitd is unlikcly ro fiod fautr in much ";i:;;;":.illor, of what .i,,ili],,1t, u* 0","r" and orindsct of (he child is esscorial.rbr ;;;1;;r."o,f,1'i*1i',, ,n" ..," schools in nloulding thc vouth ol., natrul ""v is un.lcurablc. tf," ,nte ,ri. rt," p,r.!ni. ;n str"pi,rg the devctopmcnr of rheiichirdrcn atso e rn,,", ;1,".. ,iriiiili..ii 3n) rhrngc rn sorrery bcgrns onry fio'r school, coinc rhe i:)mtlrr'
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re' the child rhar r,u.ring accept their reachilgs aod mav insrejr,r q,r.sri;
i"-*,ong, ,r," .nu.i' ,,*r'lr11i'l,l ..o*o,, rh.,rr-if?li-;;",,"j'*i" rr"il ,he .rr(er t,reri'g. ror'.r cjrrrree 'l'lll,:" ''=: 0",,u"orr ,^ *.;,,1, .. ;'j:^:]l:': ety, a portion _ of the general adult populatlon "",,,^".;
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it rh ntc Ln the xtllllr noDulttion, govertmcnts have var.ious lnethods to r.hoo.' frr,rn Srrrgrp,,1,, 1.,,n ul,",. ro,,uu, Jpprod.llr\ hr," b..,, ,"1";.ii;J; "."-pi. thc Sirrg;p1i gr,q.n'.rcrt dcerdpd i^ ,,,11,q 51ag;rp,,1.. x (lcancr rrry. ,,", ,,r.u l;"';;:il mcthods the rnass media anct srricr taws. R"p;.;,;;,;il.: ,,,i ,.i"'rl,..il ."0. _o poslers in the srreeh. have drilled inro p."pr", irr" ,.p"n"-^* u*0,", FL,r
Singaporc clean. For those who lemaine6l xniJon,,1n16d, there are"l',i,.r]iil,"J'," harsh punrshntenrs
littc.ing. The campaign has been largety
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in.society not only help convince the adult ?opuration, but arso further shape re child,s. mindsets-
d changes in sociery thar have to beg1n lrom T:1":.-l::e-ver. most narural example would be a change in t-he ""'.^^, economic structure ()1 ::"9:' ior lo. wagcs to risc, or laboa socrety. standards to improve, schooling is necessary.
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However, in general, it cannot be said drat any ch:rDge _ in society begins in the school. If the change is to be successfully impt"..nr.O, cir.,rg-. tn*i __'" f-_ Ur p*. of socioty. Most of all, any chalge in society musr O"gil i-. it.-f"ra".ship of the country.
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Mth poinrs we supportett. l:Deen:,:r!,:-t:::,Jiscusl'iun PLtrt ol lht {nnt lu.riun. lt ir rurltcr weak st(tnding
The tast paragraph shoutd havt: on its owr.I gioa'1i,,r, ,,""u1 .
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CHANGE DoEs N@T NEcEssARrLy assuRE pR{EGREss, BUT PR@GRES5 ImpL.ACABLy ReeutREs cttatcr. EoucalloN ts essENTIAL T(E CIIANGE, EDUCATI@N cREATEs B{ETH Ne\x/ .wANTs AND THE 46ILI.IY T(E SATISFY TH ! ll]. . H ENRy STEELE CommAc€R
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History is dominated by wars. Discuss' does more History is the very essence of our being and existelce' Historical.study judgments in the rhan Drovide in insight into past events and erables us to make better f"*.J. H'"..v that ietails armed conflict' inrlustrial atlvancements' modem and ancient scrutiny and culhrral deveiopments help us to appreciate our plogress The detailed and unufy.l, of wai*e has made the most significant impact in shapirg our society contributes greatly to the other facets of historical study'
The study of warfare encompasses advancements in cultural- and industrial bordcrs and bc history. It is thro;gh battles that cultural influences can cross transnational rhe ancient ;;;; ;t.g -aiy. F.om the beginning of time, great civilizations such as religions and dle Holy Roman Empirc extend their beliefs, customs egyp,i"* acquitition of new lands. Islarn was brought to Europe and Asia Minor due to i#ligt Ltr""tia which was *" n_u*".oua conquests of the Ottomalr Turks Similarly, the Renaissance military conflicts UitttrcJ it, ftofy advanced rapidly throughout Europe due to the many between the Euopcar nations betweer 1494 and 1559
jndrlidual cultural The waging of battles is thus also used Js r rool to Proplgate day Hence' culturirl changes are ancl social oorris ;hich are still bcing enforced till this study can be discussed under warfare which feriptrerat tu histn.ical study as this aspcct of we know today is tlie main factor in influcncing the cultutal diversity in the world
tn addition. war has.also sparked off sotrlc of the grcatcst dcvelolrncnls in ;rnd industrial and technological history Trade was eslablished betwecn colonies diif*",rt c.runL.i". a rJsult of warfarc. For exarnpie, the Holy RorDan lmpire had one oiitr" ga"ot.at trade"s retworks in the lBrh centuly' Rome had a very powerluL arny and cent(rs in rvcr] ,h.uugti i,. continual coDquesls for neighboring laods' established trade
as city iiactluired. This was to elrsure thaf Rome herself had access to as many rcsourccs i() 11 vibrxnl possibte. Frorn therc, tlade took ofi in thc western states which gradually led economy fbr all who participated in it.
Warfare has the grealcst influence on oatiulal progress and is thc primxry cortributor to shiils in Poiitical systcms antl results in greater i tcmation{l cooperatio[ ln ancierlt China, the u;ificatiul of the various warring states was only made possible tkough wadare which saw the Qin ant1y consolidating China's lands and this led to a China in monaichy which ensured grcater uniforrnity. This brought great progress fhr r\ scen in later years. Wars also lecl io Sreatcr intcrnational corsensus and cooperation world War the settiog up of the United Nations Council in 1963 after the corclusion of rwo- rhe'Uit, an international body that is recognizcd' presides over numerous global This is thc issues ancl ensurcs Eireatcr accounlabilily and tolerance between natioos signif-rcaocc of war on iflternational and national Progress' Thirdly, histo|ical accounts of warfare still remain relevant to decision making the mxin today. Becau;e of past experielccs in war' diplomacy ancl delcrrence are now oational a countly's of focus of every country's delerse policy. A large pctcentage
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budget is devoted to defense and the analysis of strategies of war. Historical studies of war give us infonnation of the strcngth and specializatior of various countdes, military strategies. For example, America focuses on stealth weapons and Russia, submarinei. War crimes and abocities in the past are also noted and this has led to the formation of the International criminal court and the establishmeot of the International Humanitarian Law. The reminder of great suffering during wals has made us realize more than ever today, that peace and tolerance is of utmost importance. These aae the contributions of warfare to historical study that has made and led to the greatest and most important growth irl humanity that severely outweighs the other aspects of history.
Even then, some would still believe that cultural and industrial history captures the glory and failures of nankind better than the study of warfare, which focuses primarily on the bittemess of man. [n the study of wa.fare, the glory and beauty of culfural advancements are ofte[ undennined and;ndushial leaps and depressions ate also sidelined as war takes center stage. As such, the study of history will never be complete without the study of the nugniticent murals in lhe tombs of the pharaohs or the music and dance of the lndians. Howevcr, I disagree with tiis statemelt as in lookiog at wars in the past, we also study the way countaies finance their wars and note significant artistic strxctures alising from the creatio[ ofdelence structures.
ln conclusion. dle hislory of the world can
be summed up in general as thc study of warfare as this study has made the greatest contribution in shaping our nations and is also thc most rclevant to today's society. It helps us appreciate our roots and heritage es cultural and industrial developnteots can all be linkecl in coote rvay or anothe. to warfare.
An exempku! piece oJ writing. A beftef lret:rh.ni made tht.' une at rht h, \! pir, , \ t t tt, n.
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-) Comment on the state oftraditional arts in your country.
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Singapore is a multi racial society where rnzrny races liva h:rnloniously in onc country. For example, Matays, hldians and Chinesc can live togethcr in the sane block of flats- Therefore, there is a wide variety of lladitional arts made available to Singaporeans. Examples arc the wayang, thc traditional Chinese drama, and traditional Malay and Indian dances o| music- However, these forms of traditional afi are losi g thcir significance in present Singapore.
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Traditional arts io Singaporc are losing students who arc willing to leam these of aft. There arc less pcople who are willing to learn as compared to in the past. [n forms the past, probably every race would want to leam their respective forms of traditional itrt as it was passed down from ge eration to generation. Howcver, thcse days, what our graldmothers know might not bc what rve know. Evcn though professional institutiolts the tcaching tradilional arls arc still available, there ale very few takers, especially ^nrong youths. For exarllple, iNtitulions teaching traditional Itdian drnces rnd the mastery of musical instrumerts are in abundancc at Excclsior llotel. I-Iowcvcr. cach time I visit that placc, I realize that thcre is only a handful of sludents in each institution, d they arc pri[rlrrily aduits. It appears that traditional erts have lost lheir appca] to lcarners, espccially thc youngcr gcnelalionSingaporeans have been exposcd Io various fbnrN of ar1. both modern anci traditional but traditional arts sccnrcd to havc lost thcir appeal to local audiences. Eveu though lhe elderly still appreciale sLrch folms of arl. lhe|c are fe!\, l'rour thc voungcr geieration who would lollow their lbolstcps and nke to the traditio'rel arts. For exalrlple. in the annuai Chincsc ghost fcstival which occurs in thc scvcoth nlonth o[ lhe Chi ese lulral calendar, rneny perlbrmanccs rre pul up. hr lhe past, the nrost cornnloll lcri)rolancc lhat we see rvould be the wayaDg Holvcver. nowadrys, due to thc l.rck ol suppo( ffdn audienccs. the perlbrmallces havc swilchcd liom tr:rdilionri wuyurg to thc nrodclr'pop' and 'rock' pcrformanccs- Thcrcf_orc. traditional afts hevc lost thcir nrass appeal.
The rrass media loo has conlibuted lo the decline in inlcrc\t ill ahe triLditional arls.'Iraditionxl perfonnances that lve often sce broadcast oll lelevision i thc past havc somewhit decrcascd in numbcr- This is inclusivc of 'Art Centrirl'. thc tclcvision charuel specially set up in favor of ihc pcrtbrmio8 arts. ln rcccnt ycars. wc rarcly scc prograNres showing rvayangs, Melay da ccs or Indian music anynrorc. I rccall in nry chil(lhood days, Sunday rrror nings' lelevisi
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The traditional arts probably r'st , people. People used to view these forms
emerged as a form of entertainment rbr the of an.a; a form oI relaxari"n a.rJ f-.oUaUfy aaify entedainment. However, these afls have lost their enrenai"-"nt ,uto., ii'_y, *a mu. evolved to become more of a ritual in tradifioml f""lu" o""u.io.r* io, .**pt", traditional Malay and Ltdian dance: or music ate most u, *.Ja;ne*, N"l' "f,"n,""n or Racial Harmony day celebrations, bur no longer car be seen in the i?rm of aaity entertaioment. They are so rarely seen now that we can assume they have lost theit eltertainment value but have become a dtual for festive occasions.
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In my coulrtry, the traditional arts are losing their stnnd and have nearly completely lost their inJluence on the people. There are few takers and audiences who sfill appreciate and lose these forms of art. They are being rapidly displaced by the modem forms of a.t such as .pop' and .rock' muiic, ana .n"lp t op, iances. Traditional 2rrts are no longer as popular as they once were when there were fewer forms of other entertainment. Goh Xin Yang 0-5s3
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trcalments and screenings for diseases, which are so dangerous ro so rnan! 0.,)t .. ,.r . .,ic of dre pctcnt? Ofrcnlirnes. tlre lime limit on r.lre prtenrs Lsr r; i; that in the inrerim, nothing ca'be ttonero with heatdr problems or diseases which can be traced Uu"t to-g""iri"-ii*,.a"r. o, malfimctions. With calcer on the rise, we can ill afto.d the isolat.a of g"rr"ti" testing, which if it does not fmd an evenrual cure, could ""*.to.ilrltv l;;.; ;_;;;; ;uy to**d, providing a temporary 'crutch,. "r
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. understandably' bioethics are a difficurt balance between the vested intercsts of p.ivate companies, who are answerable to their stockholders -J -o,i'uJt"a lu,t";. wealth, and l}e benefit ot rhe public. who srand to gJin :iny Llegree ;i i.;;;;;.;; i; their standard of life arrd are interested in their heatth. gven ii we ieet that niedicine,s sole prrprrse is lo servc iociery. ue carutot ignore lhc l(glimrle inr.rerr, ofc.,,npa,,,".; tl,u, ,r rs drllrcult to say whrch side has any abrolutc priorily. and wc can only hope to matntJin inc Irnc oarrnce wtthoul comprum;
this controversy rages on.
It is the patent of genes which allow
them to prcvent otler treatmctts that could rival their reel monopobr_
from caping tq
with
Sonya l,iilay 04,451
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TragedJ and Our Response
I
Wifh regard to the controversy as to whether or not we sfill have discrimination in our wortd, I would say rhe srearesr e;iderce f".,hi";;l;;;;onr1ni"J,.uo;u*uuo" o, womcn or in lingering racism. but in the pt of *V.]rr""r", ,r"rp"nr.
U1 JJ
"no_""on
For mosr people, the Holocaust ur eashed by rhe Nazis is probably the ultimate symbol of man's sruesome cn,errv rowtu.cts hi" y"_, on, ,r," hideous evenr still srips our emotion", u ."r.."r.,i" ,"'uri rarely made without a somewhar morbidlv fascinated"na indutg",r." in ,lr" .iilln! i"*,i, N"r, ,"^"" methods. rhe sheer numbers who dier and ", u,,on to say this irl a peioaative maru1e.. or
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*" li:li:". tragedy F.;r;;,".',llliT';,1'i'ii1'"1,:illxx:;'i;"Tf?:'i,,?1,.'i"iill,T?; looking beyond the numbels ro try and feel fo., .lr"n for, tlr" tragedy on a very ildividual, human level. Whar "ay I nkl *,it i. ,fr",' ,iri."..Jpinr" o ,o."fy extended ro orher rrasedies. Is ir beceuse ""* ,h" H;i;."":;',;;; ;r, iiili"nr rn^ur, in thc whoie of human history? "., lf its ghasrriness is in the sr:€gering numbers of those k lecr, rher the twenty million kitled in Sralids sulaqs shoul,l.o_ri"nd the faci thar huma s can cooltv anij r:atcula,"dty "u"n,nor" n._*.,i)r, *iasur,"r. i, i" pi";,;;;;";"iu, ,ri"".X',,"..**ion or anolher group of humor,.. .u*,inn death camps ,, if'rfr"v *"r" *"iirlri^'i,nor.,o, ,r""
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was legal becausc thev rverc legillv ago that il was populir bctief in the wesrern world rhar whires ,,verc.u,r",.1:'-tno.lnn* (.r'cry scicnrihcariy rl,Freru'c,t.,,k^r .tirrrrcJ p,.,,1,t.. rnulr L,c..to,r,",n.irnr",,i ,_. i"liu,,liio,, ,n...,,r. thar thc whir(\ As.1 resulr ol rhis widespread *.;.;;;;;;,';; ouloo,,n, ,"* Zealand, AIlica, the Americas anrl almost cvcrywhere elsc whe.. coloniul-.iler. i.po.",t thcil' rule, deliberatc policies rvere rnclertaken at sollle point or othcr to externtrute the "suh-hun)an" c, rlnnr\ed
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The ,1.::,' tsurunni itrouscd powerful synrparhy and solrow across thc globe, ::::11,5':'l werirh or aid .,,,",i., destroclion onr iu.o,,,f."il;,;;;:i,.;,::il:.:;iil;1l';:1xil.ff]:i_i_y,ili..:x:
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our response to this one and our response to the chilling fact that every five minutes, a child dies of starvation in the developing world are vastly different. The sorrow and help stimulated by the horrific genocide and consequence refugee cdsis in the Sudan, or the camage of the Hutu-Tutsi massacres, come nowhere close to the emotions unleashed by the tsunami. Of course, there are heartening increases io the number of humanitarian groups responding to the tragedies of starvation, disease irnd genocide, but when I talk about the lack of rcsponse, I rnean the general public. It is immediately clear to anyone who botheN to look that the dispariry in responses to the tsunami disasfer and, say, the genocide in the Sudan, lies in the extent of mass participation. In the aftermath of the tsunami, alnost everyone I knew had responded to the tragedy in some way, no matter how small, such as by donating to the Red Cross, volunteering services to help pack supplies to fly to the affected are:r, organising their own small fund-raising activity, atfending a memorial seryice, or simply just participating in the observaDce of a few minutes of silence before moming assembly in school. By contrast, I doubt if any more than a minute minority of those unaffiliated to aoy humadtarian organisation have even sedously contemplated the tragedy of the Sudan-
In all the above examplcs, the disparity of response to the different tragedics can be expl:rined, I think, by the disparity in publicity, either bccause of what kind of history we have ir rerited aod how it has been told (for example, rnany survivors of the Holocaust have commulicate.d thcir experience to posterity through a range of mediums such as books, whereas the Native Americans and Maoris remain largely margilalized fiom the mainstream of historical literature), or by bias made inherent in media covemge by differenl vested intcrests. For example, whilc the co flict in thc Slrdan or in Rwanda, is fraught with political scnsitivities (even a natural disaster such as the 19821 lamine in Ethiopia can be politicised the Wesrcm public wN initially reluctant to give aid because the Ethiopian regime was Marxist), the tragedy o[ the lsunami is la.gely devoid of sinilar sensitivities to inhibit extensive media covctagc.
'Ihus, tragcdy, I arn increasirgly convinccd is in the prblicity. Thar, and in thc novelty. To put it crxdcly. we arl: more horrified and outraged whcn innocents are killed in teraorist bomlrings of a train ir Madrid than we are when innocelts at an [raqi wedding celebration are massacred by firing lionr an American helicopter, because, besides the disparity in publicity given to the two eveflts, we are somehow accustomed to peoplc being killcd in thal seemingly god-forsaken land of Saddam Husseifl than we are to Europcans being killed on dreir home soil. Similarly, having Africans die ar grcar rates from starvation and disease seetns to bc a desperately rclentless nom1, whc.eas having rnorc llrrn 20U.000 A.ians nrlcd nut by r rrunami r.. nr. Many would protest that tragedy is so dcpressingly commonplace in Ihc human condition that iI is impossible to respond to thenl all to the samc cxtcnt. Suff'eri[g in thc forrn of starvation. disease, wars and massacres seem to be morc thc nol]n than the e\ception in history, and rcrnains so in rnuch of thc world. Of course, this is perfectLy valid, but I am not sure it should sit well wilh our conscicnce fo jusl lie back and reserve our sympathetic facuhies for thc odd issue or event that cornes alolg and shoves itslrlf sufficiently info our apadretic faces for us to sit up and take note- I think this is especially so bccause in nuny trxgedies, blamc is intrinsically involved. In a disastcr such as the Dccembcr 2o rsunrnri,
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'fhis is an age in which we-$-o:5.,'s.i-::;':f,:H:iiil:**'::lti:: |ro)'r.s r\e.rlur ir i ar'o'rnrscjl::iJ.;:i;;: \r:rr( rr rw\\ii ;;il.,.n,,,0",.'..'ni.n'.r,dberwr(n rrrth.r: thn e bcllveen relrg'on ano .-.,' i..li, rn,.nl ol our lim'les\ inJirrnrcnl'' po*erlul "i;;,,;. t; I bclrcvc rlrPrc ts rro tnotc --'' n" out t"tponse Lo tr^gedy "u.lt "'"' ou"opu"ity tot Ji''ttintin"ilun' inun plcbeian myopia and
Sometinles,(loeslhisresponsehayetodowitllpo||u'fuealthas'nt.ut}tasrace?Man'tt ateds LxcePtionul ntlt'urd)).
,'i )itiil"i'"'"^ t" in povcrDt'strit:kcn Chue Shiin 04A51
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OTHER Qu@TEs: Education The classroom not the trench _ is the frontier of freedom now and forevermore. -Lyndon B. Johnson The responsibility for producing an educated citizenry is too important to be to educators. Educatjon i\ everybod] s business. -Thomas J. Brown
leit entirely
The most violent element in society is iglorance. Emma Goldman Education is lile a double edged sword. It may be turned to dangerous uses if it is not properly handled. -Wu TiDg-Farg Those who_have been requirccr to memorizc rhe worrd as it is as ir might be.
w l lever create fhe world
-Judith Groch Mass Media
"The owncrs ilnd nlanagcrs of the prcss detemrine which person, which facts, which ver\rL,not lhc t .rr. rnd $ hiclr rdca.5hrll rc:l(h the I,ublic.. -Report by the Commission olr Freedom of the press
In this century' the mess media have come to rival parents, school, and relieion as fhe mo5l inlluc ttal rn.titulio rn clt,ldrcns Ii\ei -Mcdia and Values Magazine OIL gaeat altar of passive entertaimnenl_._ Besto$, upon ntc thy discordanr lmages at such
sfee,lrr ro rc der lineal lhoutht impos\iblcl Calvin Arlrcl ol lhc Derrnged \4utanl Killer Mo .l.r Sno$ Coon( Censorship reflects a society,s lack of confidence authoitarian regime...
l)4r,_.1
ir itself. 11 is the landmark ol an
-Justic{r Potter Stewaft
There's so n uch conredy on television. Does thtt cause comcdv in lhe strcers, -Dick Cavett Govcnnnent and politics You camot simultaneously prcvent and prcpare fbr war. Aibert Einstein
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We malc rvat lhal we may live in pcace Adstotle
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wrong' no You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality Wrong is matter who does it ol says it.
Malcolm X
A society that puts eqr.rality...ahead of freedom will lrnd up with neither equality nor freedomMilton Friedman
Safety' deserye Those who would give up essential Liberty' to purchase a little lemporary neither Liberty nor Saf'ety. Benjanlin Franklin
Law. Cflme and Punishment. deviarce to I hear rnuch of people's callilg out to punish the guilty' but very few are concome'l clear the ifirocent. -Daniel Defoe
of the laiter' so Jails and prisons are the complement of schools; so many less as you have many more must you have of the tbrmel Horace Mann
will ncver disappea' So long as people, being ill govemed, suffer lronl hunger. clirninals to It is cn'renrcly u[kind to punisll those who' bcing suflcrs from hungcr' arc conPelled violate laws. -Kenkti Hoshi first give Whatever you think about thc cleath penalty, a system thet will tale life must justice. Jotm L Cuflin, lr., President of the Amedcan Bar Association' to a congressional commirtee in 1991. ls the statc so sir ess that it has the moral authority to kill? Bryan Stcvenso . Director of Equal Justice lnitiative of Alabama. Olof Palme Prize Winner 2000 Sciencc and'fecluoloqv
The fault lies nol with our technologies but with our systems' Roger Levian
Relilquishirg lcchnoiogical advancement woutd compa ics. and nations.
be er:onomic suicide
tbr individuals'
106
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-Ray Kuflweil, "The Law of Accelerating Retums.,, 2001
A man is truly_ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which lo assist. and stlrir*s from injuring anyLhing that lives. -Alberr Schweitzer
he
is
All attempts to gain infomation arc modulated parrly by rhe degree rhar rhar information may Iend -
lo desubilize one's current worldview Larry Hinds
the wortd reducing rhose vast oceans ro mere ponds and ,*:lT_"]::13:,y-:turized ,,:.,-:i1._"ia,smaural sp,nning
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contlnues :: to telescope time and space...,, -Vr'illiam S . Cohen [Secretary of befense]
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societv IJ[imacy is what makes .1maffiage, not Kithleen Norris
a ceremony, not a piece
ofpaper tiom the state.
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Unifomity, therefore, is an essential built-in element of utopian existence, less imporlalt lhrl fiis unilormity remaln permancnr.
and
if is no
Thomas Molnar
Weltare's purpose should bc to elimiinate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence. -Ronaid Reagan
Collective t'ear stiorulates herd insfinct, and rends to produce terocjty toward those who tue not r( tsarJed a\ ntembers ot the llerd. -Beftrand Russell Traditions are thc guideposts driven deep 1(l our subconsclous mlnds_ The most powerful ones are thosc we can,t even describe, aren,t even aware of. -Ellen Goodnran Human Values
If we were to waLe
up sonrc nroming and find that everyone was _" creed itnd ' ' same - tlle "_ '' race, color. wc would find some other cause for prciudice b) noon -George Aiken Ne_ver do
:urything against consciencc even if the state demands it. -AIbeft Einstein Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, bul not their owlr facts
l
-Daniel Pat ick Moynihan Plalo isdetu to me. bul deorer still is rrulh. -AIlstorle There is no sickness worse for me than \
'ords that lo
-Aeschylus
h\ be kind musl lie.
Envircmnent. ecoloev and natural resources D^onl blow it - good planet. are hard ro lrnJ-Quoted in Time
I thirlk the environment should be rrur l t1'"sov ol otrr nalional securllv. Delense orlr reso rces i5 of iust rs imporlanl o; o"il'h" -Roben Rcdrordl
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"We dill nor weave rhe ueb oI *! are me'ely a strand '' life: " we web, wedobou$elv"",i -Chicf Searte
'The Amerrcan peoplc hivc
fear.,,
ir it
whar
here ro dercndl
whatever we do to the
rirht - to;r_ir that they and thejr childre[
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is
can breathe without
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'As soils xre.lcpleted. hunrin health. v; l'rlil) and inrrllli'llc( bronrlrrll, I ouis 8o wilh
rhern.
World Economic Issues Po\
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' Population. u hen unchecl,ed.
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'Produ.lion is rhe only an.wer ro inflaLrorr.. UncsteJ tsowles Lluotes
"The
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"Inecluality. rather thafl want, -anctent Chincse saying
'
ler' tanous for his pithy and homesput humour,
is
te cause oftrouble.,,
Art. Literature and music Scielce and art belong to the whole world, and before them va[ish the barriers of nationality. -Goethe
Art does not solve problems but makes us aware of their existence. It opens our
eyes
to
see and our brain lo imagine.
-Magdalena Abakanowicz: Where they have bumed books, they will end in buming human beings. -Heinrich Heine, "Alnansor (1821)"
After silence, that which comes nearcst to expressing the inexpressible is music. - Aldous Huxley Paradoxically though it may seem, it is none the less true that life imitates art far more than art imitates life. - Oscar Wildc
-) VocaBULARY Llsr:
* $ri1
Haut monde z Fashionable or high society
Stratitication z Social stratification is a sociological term for the hierarcl cal arrangement ofsocial classes, castes, and strata within a society. Reverse discrimination rt Describes discriminatory policies or acts that benefit a historically socio-politically nondominant group (typically minorities), rather than fhe historically socio-politically dominant group.
Affirmativc action
,r a policy designed to redress pasL discrirninetion a!:aurst women xDd tnrnority groups through measures to imptove their economic and educatioral opportunities; ,'affirmative action has beer extremely cortroversial at1d was challenged in ]978 in the Bakke
decision"
Echelon 'r. A level of responsibility o. authority in a hierarchy.
Marrirge blanc n. A narriage without sexual aelations. Pecking order n. A hierarchy arnong
a group, as
ofpeople, classes, or natiods
Conventionalize t 1: nake conventional or adapt to cotventions; "convcntionalizcd behavior" 2: represeni according to a conventional style; "a stylized female head', Statism n.
It is thc practice or doctrinc ofgiving
a
ccntrelized govertunent contaol over ecouornic
planning and policy.
Xenophobia a Denotcs fear of strangers Class war a Class conflict is the friction that accompanies social relationships beiwccn mcrnbers or groups ofdiffercnt social classes and thc underlying tensions or antagonisms which exisl
in society.
Proclivity rt
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naLural propensity or
inclination; predisposition_
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Unalienable right ,l Inalienable righrs are fundamenlal rir' oI speech. duc process, and coual
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hduo.tg tlt". righl lo ptaclice religion.
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Probity z
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Integrity, honesty.
i
Inequity tt
be
freedorn
ian.rerred
Injustice; unfair:ness.
Fallacy 'l A talse notion. a sraremenr or an argulnent based on quality of being deceprivc. Non sequitur 4tl ltgumcrrt is'l erllrd a,r/.n
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.
false or invarid inference or fhe
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Macrocosnr tr. 'rhe whole of any sphere or depanmcnl of narure or k.,olvlccrgc to which man is rcraf..r ImpecuDiousness 4dJ. Lacking nloney
IDflati()lu
ro
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General infiation is a fall in the rnarket value or purchasing power of rnonev within ,n ecodomy, as cortpared to cuarency devalualion which is the fall of the market value of a c[rffency betwecd cconomies
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Unaligned Nations n. Nations not allied with any other nation or bloc: neutral
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Economic libcralism 'l Commonly knowl as ldiss(.2
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move lowards a free tnarkel ecoDortlic systenl, ar)d thc sllbscquent mercantilist systerr).
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Population control tr. Population control is the practice of curtailing population increase' usually by reducing the birth mte. The practice has sometimes been voluntaly, as a response to povery' or out of religious ideology, but in some times and places it has been govemment mandated' This is generally done to try to prevent a believed threat of Malthusian catasffophe, or overpopulation in general.
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Larceny n. Crime involving stealing. Untler common law, larceny is the 1) trespassory 2) tadd g and aspofiation 3) of the (tangible) personal property 4) of another 5) with the intent to deprive him or her of ir 6) permanently. Judicial mu.derur. Euthanasia ordered by couft.
Purgatory rr. A flacc or (.rnJilion ol sulfering. e\pialion. or rcmot \e
Victimize v. Made a victim of or punished uniustly
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Castigation v. To inflict severe punishment or to crilicize severely.
Mulct t.
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To peralize by flning or demanding fb.feiture, lo acquire by trickery or dcception or to defraud or swindle.
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f,ynch r.
To execule without a fair tdal, esPecially to hang, as by a mob. Victims of lynchi
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generally bccn members of groups marginalized by socieLy.
Nomin:rl punishment n. Punishmenl existing or being something in lrame or fomr but usually not in reality The same nomdal punishment is not, for difterent individuals, the same redl punishment Let thc punishmerlt in question be a fine: the sum that would not be felt by a rich man would be ruin to a poor one.
Falsilication ,,.
Falsificatioo is the act of producilg sornething that lacks authenticity and passing it off to other people as authentic.
Library science z-
Library and infonnation scicnce (LIS) is the sludy of issues rclatecl to lib|aries This includes academic studies (mosl often surveys) about how library rcsources arc usecl and how people interact with library systems.
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Tririum z. The trivium comprised the tlrce subjects taught first in medieval universities, before the quadrivium. In medieval educational theory, the trivium consisted of granrmar, rhetoric, and logic. These were considered preparatory fields for the quadrivium, which was made up of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. In nrm, tlle quadrivium was considered prepa.atory work for the serious study ofphilosophy and theology. This schema is sometimes referred to as classical education, but it is moa" u""*ut"ly o development of the l2th and l3th centuries mther than a direct descendant of the educalional systems of antiquity.
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RENCf FREIII:
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