Sunday, August 9, 2009.

it's 44 years to the date that our mm cried.

indeed, as electrico suggests, what do you see?

i have absolutely no idea how i got myself so patriotic once again. some years, i turn stale and go OH IT'S THE SAME OLD THING AGAIN. but strangely, this year led to me spamming songs for a few days.

indeed, it's something fascinating how singaporeans are loyal to this country. some of them are die-hard loyal fans, some merely pay lip-service, while the minority would wish to get a green card or something else (of which these people can really go get their green cards. i don't really care.). of course, it's strange how the country's ne (some people claim it as brainwashing, i'm not so sure.) works.

this year's ndp song is very different. for years you got a mass sing-along song with the word Singapore in different permutations, peppered with tons of aptly-placed adjectives/nouns ('democratic', 'race', 'religion' etc, which all somehow appear in the pledge). then since 'home' it moved to a softer touch - nice melody, with much less hardcore 'brainwashing' and a 'softer' approach.

then this year, they invited rock bands to do the national day songs.

which actually show how much our society has matured! we don't need songs that spell out in capital letters "WE LOVE SINGAPORE", and we don't need any reminders of how our hearts lie somewhere no matter where we go (where is that somewhere o.0). if the organisers believe in such a song, it shows clearly that we are prepared, matured enough to accept such a form of patriotism (very subtle indeed - the few references i could pick out had to do with stars, crescents and millions)

but either way, it works.

what do i see? a matured singapore, with people patriotic enough to know that singapore is their home.

indeed! i am proud of being a singaporean. as i stood up for the pledge (which may sound like a way to get people to affirm their loyalty, but in actual fact should be viewed as a way for mass participation to occur), i was pretty sure i stood up, loyal and happy to say those few words.

it's hard to define patriotism, but it doesn't just entail NS and 2 years of 'slavery'.

it's more of a sense of knowing that this land, the land you stand on, is the land you feel for, you belong to. dying for it isn't really necessary.

anyway, what do you see?

Labels: Life, Singapore

{ 8:36 PM }

Thursday, October 2, 2008.

this is quite late,
but jbj passed away.

which effectively means,

whatever we have left of our opposition is nearly 0.

he was a good fighter to the end. if only singapore had more of these people (actually we do, but they're not in politics).

rip.

anyway someone lend me RA personal statement to copy! im lazy to do.

Labels: Singapore

{ 8:38 PM }

Saturday, October 20, 2007.

i couldn't be bothered at all about 377a.

for those hermits living in computer-game land, penal code 377a is with regards to the issue on homosexuality: whether gay sex should be banned. During the next Parliament sitting, they are going to discuss about this issue, and i frankly don't really care.

To me, 377a should be kept, seeing as "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", and it doesnt matter to me anyway (as if i am gay liddat. -.-). No harm right? And I don't exactly approve of homosexuality either.

But the issue is of what happens if it is kept/repealed. Reading through http://keep377a.com/Signatures.aspx and http://www.repeal377a.com/letter/signatories/
we see 2 different sides of Singapore. (anyway just go read, it provides you with the other dimension that you may miss out upon)

Depending on the result, it may seek to affirm our roots, or change our status. Do we want to stick to traditional ideals, or do we want to become a liberal democracy? Singapore is a unique mix of both-we are perhaps the only MEDC with a sizeable Chinese population, and in fact the only other country with a Chinese majority (sorry Taiwan and Hong Kong).

Confucianism is still entrenched in our society, giving us the ideals that we still hold dear today. One of these ideals is of the family, and that's where 377a comes in. The basic unit of a family does not consist of 2 males or 2 females, so why even call that a family?

Yet we seek to make ourselves on par with the liberal democracies of other continents, and those increasingly liberal countries accept and embrace the notion of homosexuality, believing in equal rights and no discrimination. Singapore is still not a liberal democracy, and Singaporeans are not going to receive that kind of freedoms given to liberal democracies like U.S.A. or Japan.

But must we be caught in a tug-of-war, where we have to either give up our roots and ideals, or do we have to sacrifice liberalism and the basic freedoms? It all boils down to the main difference between the Oriental and the West: which ideal is the most important.

But sadly, I foresee that 377a will be repealed, maybe not next Monday, not this year, but in the years to come. Pressure is piled on us by the liberal democracies, and as the liberal democracies dominate the world media, we will be ultimately forced to conform to the fact that homosexuality is acceptable (maybe not our generation, and not the current one, but those after us), and we will change.

But is it for the better, or for the worse? I guess only time will tell.

edit: looks like dumbledore would support the repeal of 377a eh.

Labels: Singapore