excuse me for being apathetic
when people have firsts, it almost always affects the way they percieve a particular thing for the rest of their lives. say for example, at your first driving lesson, you crash; inevitably you will have fears of crashing all the time for your subsequent lessons, or even when you've gotten your license. so i had a first today. and i tell you, it's not a good one.
the SDA political rally at Pasir Ris park was a total let down. maybe it's the way i look at politics, or whatever, but after this political rally, dont blame me for being apathetic.
(caution. politically strong views that may be biased are about to be expressed. in the words of MMLee, so sue me.)
i guess in some sense i do belong to that group of Singaporeans who are NATO. No Action, Talk Only. but well, that might change. for one thing, this whole general election is just totally bull shit. the whole problem with the political system is NOT that we have a one party majority, and will continue to have one for a long time. the problem is NOT that there is little political action. The problem is NOT that no one dares to speak out. The PROBLEM is that, politics in Singapore is on a trivial, petty level. the PROBLEM is that there is no serious politics taking place in Singapore. it's all about missing forms (by a certain Gomez), apparently false accusations (by a certain party, not that what they said is true, but why this petty way of fighting politics?), the NKF (it's over damn it. move on.) and other very trivial matters like how the HDB is trying to cover up it's mistake by not building lifts on every floor of every HDB block. ladies and gentlemen, may i welcome you to the land of lilliput politics. where the small things matter in elections, and the larger picture is never mentioned. in fact, these 'broader' horizons are kept down because of the debate over small things.
sure, some of the things that the opposition suggests have some weight, because they do affect my everyday life. but what i need from an opposition party is not that they will always be around to hear our grieviences, not that they will push for upgrading, but more of what their vision for singapore is. what is the big picture? what do you have planned for me in the future. how will you make it easier for me to improve my situation? i dont mean the little things like money i can save on upgrading. i mean the real things, like policies, like plans. something to TELL ME THAT I CAN TRUST YOU TO DO IF I VOTE FOR YOU.
my experience at that damned rally was just dismal. first of all, the candidates are hardly the best speakers around. i wasn't really engaged. and they couldn't really speak very well, so it worries me what they might say as my MP in parliarmentary debates. and well, ok. i did pick out one thing which was good. the fact that they want to introduce competition in the parliarment, so that the ruling party will be forced to perform better. that is one credible plan. however, that was it. i didnt catch a single impressive promise at all.
the pattern of speeches takes the following structure:
1. what the ruling party has done wrong. (then the speaker goes: VOTE SDA!)
2. elaboration in a highly charged manner that resembles angst. (then the speaker goes: VOTE SDA!)
3. promises that the party will do the opposite of the ruling party. (then the speaker goes VOTE SDA!)
4. and finally, it ends with VOTE SDA.
and you know what's funny? i have absolutely NO IDEA what the hell the SDA is planning to do. all i heard at the rally was (yes you guessed it) VOTE SDA. and all the issues he raised had a considerable range in terms of importance. upgrading, which i feel, should never be an election issue because it's something that is on going, and especially not in a constituency like pasir ris where most of the blocks here have been undergoing upgrading. the other important thing was of course being transparent about the financial reserves of singapore. but even then, it was really just to justify the need for a welfare state which i feel, while it might help some, will disassuade others from actually getting on their 2 feet to work.
what really gets to me is the whole way the rally speeches are structured, of which i feel the ruling party is not spared. first and foremost, most speeches are meant to discredit the opponent. while this is a good strategy (well, duh. coz then you'll seem the stronger of the 2) you sorta need to focus on what you can do better, than what the opponent cannot do right? so something is really not right if you can point out my opponent's flaw, but cant make clear to me that you can possibly do better. at the end of the day, you just want to defame your opponent (who in this case, unfortunately has a credible track record) and people walk away from the election uncertain of your capabilities. my point is, in summary, that i WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO. what's in store, which should already sound impressive enough to make the opponent look bad, without you having to point out that those who wear white shirts and pants haven't quite measured up. that is what i think, would impress people enough to vote for you. so dont tell me what the ruling party hasn't done, but tell me WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR ME.
and you know something, Singaporeans aren't so easily bought over. you can keep repeating VOTE OPPOSITION. do this, and i'll give you better shelters and lifts in every HDB flat. i need YOU to tell ME what i stand to gain from voting for you. WHAT CAN I EXPECT. ok i'm repeating myself a little, but my point is that singaporeans are intelligent. i think what's important is what the big picture plan is. the thing is, i think politics in Singapore lacks a certain substance. i dont freaking care what one party says about another, and all the freaking law suits, the cross fire etc, about the most trivial and insignificant things. dont distract me with these small things.
and the opposition, i hate to say, is a freaking joke. they really aren't at the top like the ruling party, yes, having a somewhat more down to earth feel and knowing more about the common people, and so, giving them a voice. but this voice, is just too immature and naive. the whole focus is wrong. what we need is a secure future, not new lifts. i havent been to a ruling party rally yet, but i think, the SDA just can't really measure up.
not that i'm entirely for the ruling party. i think i stand in between, unconvinced by either side.
i dunno if i made myself clear, but there's just no SERIOUS political action in singapore. so how do you expect singaporeans and young people to take politics seriously? dont charge youths with being apathetic. there's just nothing good enough to be passionate about.
(suddenly i have this feeling that the education system was designed with making singaporeans think that politics is just not serious enough in singapore for them to care)
so. i hope i've made myself clear. this is the end of a political rant. (hey, i tried.)
we've been betrayed.
when people have firsts, it almost always affects the way they percieve a particular thing for the rest of their lives. say for example, at your first driving lesson, you crash; inevitably you will have fears of crashing all the time for your subsequent lessons, or even when you've gotten your license. so i had a first today. and i tell you, it's not a good one.
the SDA political rally at Pasir Ris park was a total let down. maybe it's the way i look at politics, or whatever, but after this political rally, dont blame me for being apathetic.
(caution. politically strong views that may be biased are about to be expressed. in the words of MMLee, so sue me.)
i guess in some sense i do belong to that group of Singaporeans who are NATO. No Action, Talk Only. but well, that might change. for one thing, this whole general election is just totally bull shit. the whole problem with the political system is NOT that we have a one party majority, and will continue to have one for a long time. the problem is NOT that there is little political action. The problem is NOT that no one dares to speak out. The PROBLEM is that, politics in Singapore is on a trivial, petty level. the PROBLEM is that there is no serious politics taking place in Singapore. it's all about missing forms (by a certain Gomez), apparently false accusations (by a certain party, not that what they said is true, but why this petty way of fighting politics?), the NKF (it's over damn it. move on.) and other very trivial matters like how the HDB is trying to cover up it's mistake by not building lifts on every floor of every HDB block. ladies and gentlemen, may i welcome you to the land of lilliput politics. where the small things matter in elections, and the larger picture is never mentioned. in fact, these 'broader' horizons are kept down because of the debate over small things.
sure, some of the things that the opposition suggests have some weight, because they do affect my everyday life. but what i need from an opposition party is not that they will always be around to hear our grieviences, not that they will push for upgrading, but more of what their vision for singapore is. what is the big picture? what do you have planned for me in the future. how will you make it easier for me to improve my situation? i dont mean the little things like money i can save on upgrading. i mean the real things, like policies, like plans. something to TELL ME THAT I CAN TRUST YOU TO DO IF I VOTE FOR YOU.
my experience at that damned rally was just dismal. first of all, the candidates are hardly the best speakers around. i wasn't really engaged. and they couldn't really speak very well, so it worries me what they might say as my MP in parliarmentary debates. and well, ok. i did pick out one thing which was good. the fact that they want to introduce competition in the parliarment, so that the ruling party will be forced to perform better. that is one credible plan. however, that was it. i didnt catch a single impressive promise at all.
the pattern of speeches takes the following structure:
1. what the ruling party has done wrong. (then the speaker goes: VOTE SDA!)
2. elaboration in a highly charged manner that resembles angst. (then the speaker goes: VOTE SDA!)
3. promises that the party will do the opposite of the ruling party. (then the speaker goes VOTE SDA!)
4. and finally, it ends with VOTE SDA.
and you know what's funny? i have absolutely NO IDEA what the hell the SDA is planning to do. all i heard at the rally was (yes you guessed it) VOTE SDA. and all the issues he raised had a considerable range in terms of importance. upgrading, which i feel, should never be an election issue because it's something that is on going, and especially not in a constituency like pasir ris where most of the blocks here have been undergoing upgrading. the other important thing was of course being transparent about the financial reserves of singapore. but even then, it was really just to justify the need for a welfare state which i feel, while it might help some, will disassuade others from actually getting on their 2 feet to work.
what really gets to me is the whole way the rally speeches are structured, of which i feel the ruling party is not spared. first and foremost, most speeches are meant to discredit the opponent. while this is a good strategy (well, duh. coz then you'll seem the stronger of the 2) you sorta need to focus on what you can do better, than what the opponent cannot do right? so something is really not right if you can point out my opponent's flaw, but cant make clear to me that you can possibly do better. at the end of the day, you just want to defame your opponent (who in this case, unfortunately has a credible track record) and people walk away from the election uncertain of your capabilities. my point is, in summary, that i WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO. what's in store, which should already sound impressive enough to make the opponent look bad, without you having to point out that those who wear white shirts and pants haven't quite measured up. that is what i think, would impress people enough to vote for you. so dont tell me what the ruling party hasn't done, but tell me WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR ME.
and you know something, Singaporeans aren't so easily bought over. you can keep repeating VOTE OPPOSITION. do this, and i'll give you better shelters and lifts in every HDB flat. i need YOU to tell ME what i stand to gain from voting for you. WHAT CAN I EXPECT. ok i'm repeating myself a little, but my point is that singaporeans are intelligent. i think what's important is what the big picture plan is. the thing is, i think politics in Singapore lacks a certain substance. i dont freaking care what one party says about another, and all the freaking law suits, the cross fire etc, about the most trivial and insignificant things. dont distract me with these small things.
and the opposition, i hate to say, is a freaking joke. they really aren't at the top like the ruling party, yes, having a somewhat more down to earth feel and knowing more about the common people, and so, giving them a voice. but this voice, is just too immature and naive. the whole focus is wrong. what we need is a secure future, not new lifts. i havent been to a ruling party rally yet, but i think, the SDA just can't really measure up.
not that i'm entirely for the ruling party. i think i stand in between, unconvinced by either side.
i dunno if i made myself clear, but there's just no SERIOUS political action in singapore. so how do you expect singaporeans and young people to take politics seriously? dont charge youths with being apathetic. there's just nothing good enough to be passionate about.
(suddenly i have this feeling that the education system was designed with making singaporeans think that politics is just not serious enough in singapore for them to care)
so. i hope i've made myself clear. this is the end of a political rant. (hey, i tried.)
we've been betrayed.
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