Random Musings

(NB: This post is going to be too long. I’ll have to serialise it into parts.)

Tipping Point

You can just smell the scent of battle brewing in the air these few days.

It seems as if this upcoming GE might be one of the most keenly contested GEs we’ve ever had.

So keenly contested, that I may even get to vote for the first time in my life.

Y’know, I think that in many ways, this might just be the tipping point.

I’m not sure about you, but one does seem to get the faint suspicion that change is in the air, however insignificant that may be.

Will this be the year that the dominant party starts to see its power slowly slip away?

Time will tell.

I always love to go back to the lyrics of one of my favourite Pulp songs called “The Day After The Revolution”:

“If you’re quiet you can watch if you like.
They say the future’s beginning tonight.
Whole empires will crumble,
Civilisations will fall.
Lie on the bed, hear the sound of it all.
No anger, no guilt and no sorrow;
It sounds unlikely, I know, but tomorrow
You will wake up to find that your whole life has changed.
Although nothing looks different,
A revolution took place.”

…

Social Media

Many events have transpired in the last five years, and this is probably the first GE in our history whereby social media has played and will play a truly major role in its outcome.

I’m not sure if the incumbent government has foreseen the way politics and public opinion has played out through the various social media outlets.

And even if it did, I’m not sure if it could have done much about it.

Social media allows for true and unadulterated expression of opinion, and for once we are starting to see what the opinion of the average Singaporean is.

One thing I’ll say though, is that I’m rather impressed at the coverage the opposition parties are receiving in the Straits Times these few weeks.

Say what you want about the Straits Times, but I believe you have to give credit where it is due – they have taken effort to give ample coverage to the opposition parties as well.

Sure, the you-know-whos still get the lion’s share of the media coverage, but at least the opposition is getting a fair (albeit thin) slice too.

…

Rationality

Let me just say this: I don’t believe that there is such a thing as a perfect government, in the same way that I don’t believe that there is such a thing as a perfect teacher, a perfect parent, or a perfect employer.

There will never be a perfect leader – not from the PAP, and not from anywhere else.

Every government will have its strengths and flaws.

I think the PAP has done certain things well, but has been found deeply wanting in others.

The question is whether you feel that they have done enough in the last five years to warrant your vote of confidence.

I simply cannot take seriously any comments that outright comdemn the entire PAP as “incompetent fools” (or anything along those lines), and neither can I take seriously any comments that view them as the “world’s greatest government”.

They aren’t all villains, and neither are they all saints.

And in all honesty, I’m sure every opposition candidate will have their own strengths and flaws as well.

What I’m trying to get at here is that we should remain mature and rational in our evaluation.

I get the feeling that 90% of the comments and discussions I read online are emotional, irrational, and knee-jerk.

There seems to be a great deal of resentment against the PAP, and I can’t say that I am unable to empathise with these strong feelings.

Sometimes it seems like anything that comes from the opposition will always be praised, and anything that comes from the PAP will forever be condemned.

People seem to have lost all sense of reason and rationality.

Yes, I know…emotions run high at a time like this, especially since some may have many more grievances than others, but I still feel it’s always wise to think rationally.

I’m not saying you must definitely vote for or against one particular party.

I’m just saying think rationally, and weigh all circumstances, before you vote.

I’ll give you a small example of double-standards:

Tin Pei Ling came out and announced her candidacy, and someone dug out a photo of her posing with a Kate Spade box and stuff, and suddenly half the social media world is jumping on her and hurling vicious personal attacks and what-nots on her.

Then there was another young female candidate from an opposition party, and someone dug out a Twitter post of hers in which she used a well-known abbreviation of a Hokkien vulgarity, and most of the comments went along the lines of “Hey, at least she’s keeping it real!” or “I respect her for expressing herself so honestly!” or “Wow, she is someone I can totally relate with!”.

If it were TPL who was found to be using those abbreviations, I shudder to think what might have been done to her.

(to be continued in the next part)