| An interlude: Instead of poetry ... | 10/23/2001 |
Am only theorectically involved in politics - never really seen myself as ever genuinely involved. It is a dirty and ruthless game and I can't even survive staff-room politics - so how to even be involved in politics? With the General Election and all - surely there is some form of comment? Not when you're in sterile sanitised singapore.
When I was growing up, in the 1980s, I was into politics. From when JBJ won the Anson by-election in 1984 (I was in Pri 4) I was enchanted by eloquence and the kinds of verbal battles that took place in Parliament. Of course in those days I was all for the governing party - I would laugh at the put-downs and the rebuffs by the then PM and marvel at JBJ's sideburns. I was quite into these things in the 1991 elections also, after school I would go listen to the rallies. Remember some very good opposition speakers. Anyway - never doubted that the government was in good hands. It still is - but surely there's an alternative.
I think the alternative is in voices. We live under the illusion that there is only one way to do something and that only one person/party has the right answer. It's a fallacy of history, a constructed fallacy. We have made so many mistakes as a nation but have continued to sweep the mistakes under the carpet. so - even a homogenous ruling party with all the best and the brightest can make mistakes. In the meantime, we've developed a myth that IF we have an opposition, the prosperity of the nation will self-destruct. Wrong. We may take more time to make certain decisions but at least there will be a heightened interest in the decision and in the process. We will think more and evaluation positions more independantly.
I suppose my disenchantment with the system came when I was in NS and found myself marginalised by a system of rules that were mindlessly followed so-that-we-don't-get-into-trouble. I was a model soldier for 8 months - going through BMT and OCS without a squeak. Until an incident that involved a loss of a signal flare (costing $3.90) - which to cut a long story short had been stolen. Anyway - the long and short of it - everyone agreed that the flare had been stolen but someone had to take the punishment - that was me. I was actually quite prepared for it because I had been silly enough to allow the flare to be stolen (yes you must always be suspicious of you own platoon mates ... and mustsn't leave things in their care ...) but on the long RPL ride back out of Temburong (6hrs in the sun) I realised that it wasn't my fault, my choice or even my crime. It was the system that HAD to blame someone. As a result I went AWOL and was diagnosed as "clinically depressed". This was another circus as psychiatrists consistently asked me irritating questions. Angered by this, I guess I've come to realise that even the best and most stringent of systems, in the quest for effficency, cannot accomodate.
So I guess I'm in this strange position. With a PSC bond to finish out - I'm supposed to be part of the ESTABLISHMENT - yet having seen the Woodbridge from the inside, I am highly aware of how a system that seems to be so oiled and perfect has its flaws. Flaws because of a culture of non-dissent, of self-censorship, of a rigid insistence that authority is right always.
The good flip-side of this realisation? 1. I turned to and have become very dependant on God. 2. I suppose I do try to OPEN the eyes of people who I come into contact with by providing alternative viewpoints.
Read the papers - and try to think alternatively. If you are accused of being a radical and of trying to brain-wash others - don't worry - it is precisely because we are already so controlled in the ways we think - that we need a violent mental opposition to regain some sense of balance and perspective. People have commented that I am extreme in some of the opinions I hold about things - I guess personal experience and the lives of friends (who have compromised on their beliefs...)has led me to be vocal - and not always constructive. I recognise this - though I hasten to add that unlike the ruling party I believe that not all criticism has to be constructive ... in fact ... non-constructive, plain critiques have an important role in broadening ideas and options. We live under a myth that everything has to be rationalised and "constructive" (which is usually another word for can be contained within the status quo).
I have often sought refuge in language and literature - but I guess at moments like these - the need to critique spills over.
Pertinent Motivations:
Just started "A Comet in the Sky" - a historical re-assessment of Lim Chin Siong - offers many marginalised perspectives about this founding member of the ruling party - whose dedication and vision for singapore was brutally (spent many years in prison and then in exile as a political enemy) cut short by the ambitions of others ...
Also had a quick read of the newspapers and was appalled by the extreme bias of layout and presentation:
1. Opposition Candidates are NOT placed in colour - vs. the ruling party - this is true of even the header of the page
2. Articles on the Opposition are sandwiched between a.the new faces of the ruling party and b. some important minister refuting what has just been reported about the opposition's policies.
3. The daily here are the new faces of the ruling party is very consistent and provides bulletted summaries and nice quotable quotes
4. The articles on the opposition all occuy one page, without any Adverts (impt) and without clear distinction (in layout) of the various parties. the point on Adverts is important as Adverts create space on a page by providing an alternative kind of genre for eyes to linger on ... also Adverts denote the value of what's on a page ... since it's space that's paid for - ie no one wants to advertise on a page that reports opposition ...
And this is merely stylistic - have not mentioned the journalistic bias ...
I guess politics is a dirty game played by ruthless people - sadly they are also men who have distinguished themselves in society, men who genuinely believe what they are doing is right.
That's why I teach.
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