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There is an old saying in a foreign language. Its direct translation is ‘humans are half character and half clothes’. This old saying emphasizes the importance of proper attire in life. Just last week, I had been to Orchard Road. Tons of people thronged the streets. I was waiting at the traffic light. Then I saw two people coming out from Paragon. One was laden in a singlet and a skanky pair of baggy shorts. Accompanying him was a young boy. He was wearing a jacket and his shorts could barely be seen. He was also wearing flip-flops. This in itself paints a picture of Singaporean’s dress sense. Furthermore, they were almost oblivious to the fact that they were wearing poor attire, coolly chatting with each other.
There’s no point in blaming them because poor dress sense has become a common facet of the Singaporean society. The sad truth is that these two people are not the only perpetrators who exercise a lack of civic-mindedness and sensibility. Singapore has always been in the frontier of economic and political development. However, Singapore is not advanced in this particular form of development. The main reason for this is the mindset of the average Singaporean. To the Singaporean, the whole world is their oyster. Singaporeans feel that there is no need for proper dress code. However, I feel that this is just reflective of their apathetic attitude. They simply do not care how others perceive of them. This is because they do not care about the other people’s perception of them. Armed with this ‘sloppy’ attire, they stomp into every occasion without repent. They even breach the gates of religion in this attire. They enter churches in these attires. This gives people the pretense that they are illiterate or blind to others.
People even go to the airport in this casual attire. Singapore is held in high regard by the tourists who visit Singapore. Each year, Singapore heralds tons of tourists through the gates of Changi Airport. Singaporeans expect to be entertained by world-class artistes and hope to enjoy the experiences that are provided by these artistes. However, I feel that the very least that Singaporeans could do is to dress appropriately. A proper dress code is an essential part of basic courtesy. I feel that it is reflective of the decency of the person. That’s the reason Singapore establishes Dress code during official events. This is to portray the good side of Singapore and reflect its decency as a country. However, it is inevitable that people who have poor dress sense would be spotted by tourists. Hence, this would only diminish the good image of Singapore. Singapore would end up losing the very thing it wanted to attain.
However, these people have an arsenal of excuses at their disposal. Furthermore, these people keep on using the same excuse each time to justify their actions.
Firstly, these perpetrators say that the weather is a deterrent for them to wear socially acceptable clothes. The hot and humid weather conditions create a certain degree of uncomfortability in the people. However, these people are making the assumption that proper dress code means that wearing heavy and tight clothes that make the person look sophisticated. Instead it is redundant to be actually heavily clad in armour or suffocating sweaters. Proper dress code means wearing clothes that are proper and fit to be worn for outside use. They do even need to be appealing to the eyes. They should just be pleasant to the eyes. A pleasant, polo shirt, coupled with jeans a pair of sneakers fit the bill. These people have more tricks up their sleeves. However, if we take a look at their excuses, we would easily realize that these excuses are actually invalid. These people are just trying to find excuses for the sake of finding excuses.
In general, I feel that the perpetrators can be summed into three categories. Firstly, there are few who have absolutely no idea what is appropriate attire. I feel that these people should be taught instead of being blatantly punished. Generally, I feel that these people are those who come from more traditional backgrounds. Henceforth, they are used to a particular style of wearing and they can be incorrigible. Secondly, there are people who are so lazy that they do not want to put in any effort to wearing the appropriate attire. These people are the most incorrigible people as they refuse to change their perspective. I feel that these people would be difficult to change as the problem is in the mindset. They are not illiterate or blind. They just have a stubborn attitude and are not willing to compromise. Lastly, there is the apathetic who do not care how they appear to others, let alone care what others think of them. I feel that the majority of people fall under this category. They do not care what others think of them. I feel that this is reflective of the Singaporean carefree attitude. It is something that is deeply entrenched in the Singaporean society. It lies in the mindset of the people. Hence, I feel that it would not be that easy to resolve this issue.
In conclusion, Singaporean’s sloppy dress is something that should definitely be changed as it degrades the decency and status of the Singaporean’s. Furthermore, it ruptures the good reputation of Singapore that Singapore has worked hard to attain. Hence, the poor standard of dress sense could eventually lead the collapsing of the ‘Singaporean Identity’. This is because the underlying reason for this apparent, the Singaporean attitude. Therefore, it is important to create a shift in mindset.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Does Democracy create stability in a society?
To begin with, first we need to define Democracy. Essentially, it is a government by the people for the people. It is a form of government where supreme power is vested in the people. There are mainly two types of democracy. One is pure democracy while the other is representative democracy. Pure democracy is exceedingly rare and is practiced only in Switzerland. Representative democracy is commonly practiced in countries like USA. Hence, I will be examining Representative Democracy. Personally, I feel that democracy does bring stability.
Firstly, I believe that in order to achieve stability consensus and agreement are important. Stability can only be concocted by adding these two important ingredients. Democracy is able to achieve stability by combining these two essentials. In fact, is one of the few or only ruling system that allows the people to express their views openly. Hence, this bridges the gap between the government and people. Everybody’s are taken into consideration under democracy. This serves an outlet for the people’s emotions and allows the people to voice out their opinions. In dictatorship and communism, there is limited freedom of speech. Furthermore, in democracy opposing views are argued until a consensus is reached. Hence, I feel that this would bring greater happiness to the people as they will feel valued and important. They are not subjected to restricted decision- making. If the people feel valued, there would be automatic stability in the social and political sectors.
Secondly, democracy can bring about political stability. In Democracy, the leaders are elected by the people of the state. So the power is vested by the people. Hence, they would have a greater sense of responsibility towards the people to serve them to the best of their abilities. I feel that this will serve as a motivating factor for the leaders. The pressure of being voted is wholeheartedly on the leaders. The people hope to achieve different things through the government. Hence, the people elect the government as they believe that they will be able achieve their goals. The leaders will actually want to prove their worth. Hence, I feel that this would pressure the leaders to think twice before making any decision. Hence, this could lead to stability as it would allow the leaders to strike a balance between the different aspects.
Finally, democracy can lead to social instability too. Personally, I see democracy as a representation of herd mentality. It is a known fact that democracy will result in positive changes. There is no doubt about the credibility of the statement. However, I feel that if it is possible for positive change, it is possible that negative change can occur. Negative principles could just spring up because of a misconception or misperception in the masses. Furthermore, due to echoing effect of democracy, I feel that this misconception or misperception could easily resonate. Finally, it could result in a flawed ruling ideology or principle that could result in instability.
In conclusion, democracy overall creates stability as there is no guarantee that the presence of misperceptions will actually lead to instability. In fact, the misperceptions in each society make it unique. (505 words)
Firstly, I believe that in order to achieve stability consensus and agreement are important. Stability can only be concocted by adding these two important ingredients. Democracy is able to achieve stability by combining these two essentials. In fact, is one of the few or only ruling system that allows the people to express their views openly. Hence, this bridges the gap between the government and people. Everybody’s are taken into consideration under democracy. This serves an outlet for the people’s emotions and allows the people to voice out their opinions. In dictatorship and communism, there is limited freedom of speech. Furthermore, in democracy opposing views are argued until a consensus is reached. Hence, I feel that this would bring greater happiness to the people as they will feel valued and important. They are not subjected to restricted decision- making. If the people feel valued, there would be automatic stability in the social and political sectors.
Secondly, democracy can bring about political stability. In Democracy, the leaders are elected by the people of the state. So the power is vested by the people. Hence, they would have a greater sense of responsibility towards the people to serve them to the best of their abilities. I feel that this will serve as a motivating factor for the leaders. The pressure of being voted is wholeheartedly on the leaders. The people hope to achieve different things through the government. Hence, the people elect the government as they believe that they will be able achieve their goals. The leaders will actually want to prove their worth. Hence, I feel that this would pressure the leaders to think twice before making any decision. Hence, this could lead to stability as it would allow the leaders to strike a balance between the different aspects.
Finally, democracy can lead to social instability too. Personally, I see democracy as a representation of herd mentality. It is a known fact that democracy will result in positive changes. There is no doubt about the credibility of the statement. However, I feel that if it is possible for positive change, it is possible that negative change can occur. Negative principles could just spring up because of a misconception or misperception in the masses. Furthermore, due to echoing effect of democracy, I feel that this misconception or misperception could easily resonate. Finally, it could result in a flawed ruling ideology or principle that could result in instability.
In conclusion, democracy overall creates stability as there is no guarantee that the presence of misperceptions will actually lead to instability. In fact, the misperceptions in each society make it unique. (505 words)
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Social/Teen Issues
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I got this article from newslink. This article gives a brief description of the AIDS Conference that 120 students had taken part in. It tells us how more and more youths want more openness towards aids and the importance of spreading the message about aids. Most youths believe that aids should be discussed more widely. I personally share the same view as them.
The word ‘Aids’ invokes a myriad of feelings in different people. Some associate it to death and the loss of life. They think of how one’s life can be extinguished in a matter of seconds. Others are reminded of the suffering and humiliation of contracting the disease. However, it is saddening or even disturbing to note that Aids has become a tabooed subject in some societies. In today’s world, youths are constantly bombarded by the message that aids should not be talked about. Both the media and parents, bar their children and youth from discussing or even mentioning the topic. This is extremely disturbing as it lays the groundwork for ignorance. The youth are not aware of the subject and end up indulging in the wrong things. Ironically, traditional parents believe that they are spinning a protective veil around the children by shielding them from the knowledge of Aids.
There have been many cases of occurrences of death due to the contraction of Aids. Most people acknowledge the fact that Aids is a serious disease and it comes down to the individual. However, they fail to realise that the seeds are sown in the home environment. As the parents shield the youth of the community too much, their inquisitiveness and curiosity slowly evolves to obsession. As a result, the parents and media should be held responsible for the occurrences. The boundary between curiosity and obsession is very thin. Curbing the youth’s curiosity can result in the breaching of the boundary.
However, lately both the media and some parents have changed their ways for the better. They have started to discuss with the youths about Aids and are becoming more ‘open’ towards the ‘tabooed topic’. This is rather pleasing to me as it helps to empower the youth of today. It helps to address the questions that stem from curiosity. This process is helped by the initiatives that the government deploys.
There is an interesting quote in English that depicts the importance of learning the finer things in life. "It is amazing how quickly the kids learn to drive a car, yet are unable to understand the lawnmower, snow blower or vacuum cleaner." This quote summarises the importance of empowering our youth. Often youth learn the more complex things in life than the finer things. These initiatives and encouragement of the parents and media paves the way for the youth to understand the complexities and finer details involving Aids. This shift in mindset is a welcome change. It has been heralded with much enthusiasm by youths. Even though it was only a slight change in mindset, it has yielded desirable consequences. "If you think something small can't make a difference, try going to sleep with a mosquito in the room."
I got this article from newslink. This article gives a brief description of the AIDS Conference that 120 students had taken part in. It tells us how more and more youths want more openness towards aids and the importance of spreading the message about aids. Most youths believe that aids should be discussed more widely. I personally share the same view as them.
The word ‘Aids’ invokes a myriad of feelings in different people. Some associate it to death and the loss of life. They think of how one’s life can be extinguished in a matter of seconds. Others are reminded of the suffering and humiliation of contracting the disease. However, it is saddening or even disturbing to note that Aids has become a tabooed subject in some societies. In today’s world, youths are constantly bombarded by the message that aids should not be talked about. Both the media and parents, bar their children and youth from discussing or even mentioning the topic. This is extremely disturbing as it lays the groundwork for ignorance. The youth are not aware of the subject and end up indulging in the wrong things. Ironically, traditional parents believe that they are spinning a protective veil around the children by shielding them from the knowledge of Aids.
There have been many cases of occurrences of death due to the contraction of Aids. Most people acknowledge the fact that Aids is a serious disease and it comes down to the individual. However, they fail to realise that the seeds are sown in the home environment. As the parents shield the youth of the community too much, their inquisitiveness and curiosity slowly evolves to obsession. As a result, the parents and media should be held responsible for the occurrences. The boundary between curiosity and obsession is very thin. Curbing the youth’s curiosity can result in the breaching of the boundary.
However, lately both the media and some parents have changed their ways for the better. They have started to discuss with the youths about Aids and are becoming more ‘open’ towards the ‘tabooed topic’. This is rather pleasing to me as it helps to empower the youth of today. It helps to address the questions that stem from curiosity. This process is helped by the initiatives that the government deploys.
There is an interesting quote in English that depicts the importance of learning the finer things in life. "It is amazing how quickly the kids learn to drive a car, yet are unable to understand the lawnmower, snow blower or vacuum cleaner." This quote summarises the importance of empowering our youth. Often youth learn the more complex things in life than the finer things. These initiatives and encouragement of the parents and media paves the way for the youth to understand the complexities and finer details involving Aids. This shift in mindset is a welcome change. It has been heralded with much enthusiasm by youths. Even though it was only a slight change in mindset, it has yielded desirable consequences. "If you think something small can't make a difference, try going to sleep with a mosquito in the room."
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