irony.

Isn't it ironic that for such a long time now, people have been going on and on about what an apathetic and apolitical lot the younger generation of Singapore is?
Then what happens when we finally do speak up? The forums are overloaded for days after, calling us "shallow and ungrateful".
What exactly do they want from us?

Thing is, we're probably not as apolitical as you think we are. The only difference is we keep our mouths shut because of the backlash that we have come to expect.

Sure, I can see where the authors of these remarks are coming from. I'll be the first to say that the PAP has done an amazing job in making Singapore what she is today, and that back in 1965, MM Lee was probably the best thing that could happen to Singapore.

But that was 1965.

The people of today are a far cry from those of the sixties. We've been exposed to cultures and environments from all over the world, from the Communist North Korea to the liberal Americans, from monarchial rule to referendums.
The literacy rate of Singapore today far surpasses that of the sixties. We've been told to think out of the box, to push the limits a little to see where it takes us. We are encouraged to look at things from different perspectives, and to assess what we attend to with a higher level of processing.

In an environment that encourages to think differently, is it any wonder that we want to speak up?

We still have to focus our concerns on our personal survival; that's the nature of mankind. I won't deny the importance of bread-and-butter issues.
But what about freedom of speech? Shouldn't we have a right to voice our opinions?
You might tell me we do have avenues we can take, and you'd probably quote the dialogue with the MM as a fine example.

Then tell me this: when was the last time we had a dialogue that was as no-holds-barred as this one? That pushed aside the OB markers and allowed people to speak their minds?

And, really, can you tell me the upcoming elections have absolutely nothing to do with this?

I will admit that perhaps shooting back at the MM wasn't particularly wise, since in our Asian culture, we still are expected to show respect to our elders. But when you get caught up in the heat of the moment, such things just pop up.

But the members of the dialogue who spoke up for us were merely speaking that minds, something that very few of us ever do in our society. Kudos to them for voicing out what some of us have long wanted to say.
In the light of the recent requirement of registration of political podcasts and blogs for the election period, is it really baseless for us to wonder where our freedom of speech is? We're not even safe on the World Wide Web, a medium that has been providing problems with regulations since it's beginnings.

Just makes you wonder doesn't it?

And makes me wonder if my blog will disappear mysteriously after this.