Foreword In your hands is Eudaimonia, our inaugural publication from the pioneer cohort of Eunoians, one-and-a-half years in the making. Eudaimonia, an Aristotelian concept of human happiness and flourishing, aptly captures the journey our Eunoians are on - to seek happiness and to flourish in their learning and growth as young, beautiful thinkers and writers. The launch of Eudaimonia arises from a desire to chronicle our students’ growth, and capture the diverse voices of Eunoians expressed in classroom assignments, assessment pieces and out of their own will, motivation and passion. You will find the power of ideas and the beauty of communicating them, thoughtfully and creatively through art and the written word, in the chapters entitled Illumination and Insignia. Within Invisibility and Infinity, you will witness students exploring different worlds of ideas, responsibly seeking to understand and make meaning of them. Infusion, the closing chapter, shows our students navigating multiple cultural contexts, developing a deeper appreciation of diverse ideas in various genres of writing and intimately expressing their thoughts in their mother tongue. This publication is not a collection of perfect work, but a concert of compositions honouring our Eunoians’ journey of introspective and creative learning. It is our desire that through publication, our students will be led to seek arête - virtue and excellence - in their lives, and to live their lives as best as they can so that they exemplify beautiful thinking and extend goodwill to all. As you experience Eudaimonia, may you be brought into the charming world of youthful idealism, and the hopes and aspirations of our pioneer students.
Mrs Wong-Cheang Mei Heng Principal
1
ILLUMINATION No.
Class
Name
Title
6
17-A1
Ariel Tan Shi Jie
Unconsciously Oblivious
6
17-E1
Manasi Santosh Kumar Nair
Ouranos
6
17-O1
Su Min
Play
7
17-E1
Sarah Lam Shin Ru
Father
7
17-E1
Seck Li-Lyn
Windows
8
17-O5
Aye Aye Tha @ Esther Su Qing Zhu
Calendar
9
17-I3
Colette Chong Shi Min
In the Same Space and Time The Meadow
10
17-I3
Tan Xin Ying
Aesthetics Happy, Happy Things
11
17-O5
Wang Anyi
Artist Chef
11
17-A1
Huang Yuji
Finish “A” Levels
12
17-A1 17-E1 17-O1
Ariel Tan Shi Jie Seck Li-Lyn Su Min
You are Worth it
12
17-A1 17-A1 17-I3
Alexandra Chin Li Ping Huang Yuji Colette Chong Shi Min
Remember
13
17-A1
Damian Teo Jian Yi
Nostalgic Memories
18
17-A1 17-I3 17-I1
Joan Tan Jing Wen Grace Marie Yeh Faith Angeline Yeh
Odyssey
23
17-U2
Tan Jia Yu, Kelly
for now the question
25
17-I1
Mickel Ng
nine suns later Requiem for the Forgotten
INVISIBILITY No.
Class
Name
Title
28
17-E4 17-I4 17-O1 17-O1
Dody Senputra Petrus Kanisius Dani Kieron Ong Yu Chen Loh Wen Qi
Information Economics: Perfect is Undesirable
29
17-E4 17-E4 17-E4 17-E4
Chan Kai Jie, Darren Farell Toh Yicheng Jonathan Che Sze Khai Vincent Wong
Starbucks: The Longevity of Firms?
30
17-E3 17-E4 17-U1 17-U4 17-U5
Satini Sankeerthana Chan Kai Jie, Darren Chin Chen Kai, Jeff Zhang Simian Lin Jie-min, Chelsea
Incentives: They Do Not Always Work
31
17-A4 17-O5 17-U3
Hnin Azali Liang Yuyue Le Quang Anh
Choice Architecture: Making Options Work for You
2
INSIGNIA Literature No.
Class
Name
Title
34
17-I1
Kaelyn Neo Kai Ling
William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, Act 2 Scene 4: A Critical Commentary
36
17-O1
Audrey Choong Jia Yuan
Alan Ayckbourn, Woman in Mind: An Exploration of the Mind and Crisis
38
17-O1
Kieron Ong Yu Chen
Lee Tzu Pheng, ‘Grimm Story’: A Critical Commentary
40
17-O2
Angelique Chia Rui Yi
Dilip Chitre, ‘Father Returning Home’: A Critical Commentary
Knowledge & Inquiry No.
Class
Name
Title
42
17-O1
Hoe Jia En, Allison
Beyond traditional historical sources: To what extent do ‘historical films’ about Singapore provide viewers knowledge of Singapore’s past?
46
17-O1
Audrey Choong Jia Yuan
To what extent is Hempel’s General Laws Model useful in constructing historical knowledge about the explanation for events of the past?
50
17-O1
Tan Hui-Lin, Natasha
To what extent do the changing perceptions of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring reveal that our knowledge of Music is constructed rather than objective?
54
17-O2
Sandra Tan Jia Ying
What are the problems with knowledge of the past, derived from collective memory construction efforts in conjunction with the National Education Programme by the state?
General Paper No.
Class
Name
Title
58
17-A3
Jolyn Ho Jun Ning
Consider the claim that we need more honesty in today’s world
60
17-E3
Joelle Heng Wee En
Consider the claim that we need more honesty in today’s world
63
17-O1
Lai Shu Ying, Nicole
Consider the view that spoken language is more important than the written form.
66
17-A1
Joan Tan Jing Wen
Should countries prioritise the development of the arts?
68
17-E5
Wong Wei Jin Justin
‘Competition is always bad’. Do you agree?
70
17-O4
Kwan Yun Fong, Jason
‘Competition is always bad’. Do you agree?
73
17-E2
Weng Pei Yun
The solution to our environmental problems lies with the people, not with governments. Do you agree?
75
17-U1
Ow Qi Ting, Joei
The solution to our environmental problems lies with the people, not with governments. Do you agree?
78
17-O2
Ong Xin Yi, Ally
‘Life is meant to be enjoyed, not wasted on work.’ What is your view?
80
17-I3
Grace Marie Yeh
The Arts encourage elitism. How true is this?
82
17-U1
Tan Zi Hao
Can there ever be justice in capital punishment?
84
17-O1
Ho Yew Han
Can war ever become a thing of the past?
3
86
17-U1
Piaa Ong Pang Kun
Can war ever become a thing of the past?
88
17-O4
Liew Wei, Brian
How far should the State have the right to restrict individual freedom when it comes to matters of national security?
90
17-A1
Tan Shi Jie, Ariel
‘The world would be a better place if identity mattered less.’ What is your view?
92
17-O2
Stacy Fernandes
‘The world would be a better place if more political leaders were women.’ What is your view?
95
17-O1
Wong Zann Yee
Application Question On Sport [2015 GCE A-Level P2]
97
17-E2
Chloe Alexis Ong
Application Question On Leadership [2017 JC1 MYE P2]
98
17-O1
Andrea Yeong Xiu Hui
Application Question On Leadership [2017 JC1 MYE P2]
INFINITY No.
Class
Name
Title
102
17-U3 17-U3
Le Quang Anh Liu Muchen
Big Data and Mathematics – The Future of Proofs
INFUSION No.
Class
Name
106
17-A1
108
17-U5
杨吟菲
愤青，是进步还是阻碍？
110
17-U5
万沁颐
浅议中国网络审查制度及网络防火墙
112
17-A1
吴唯莹
知其不可而为之
114
17-A1
林柚伶
论新中关系
116
17-A1
蔡玮瑾
新加坡需做好准备应对区域恐怖主义的威胁
118
17-A1
佘峻恺
扭转新加坡年轻人不婚不育的趋势
120
17-O5
林洁欣
我对新加坡迈向“绿色出行”城市的看法
122
17-I3
戎家萱
谈新一代小贩中心的社会功能
124
17-A1
庄巧宜
我的秘密花园
128
17-A5
曲剑昊
在《药》和《一把青》中， 夏瑜和郭轸的死对小说的作用
130
17-A5
陈呈
132
17-A1
时光心底 Balamurugan Hariharan 17-I5 黄余基 生活本来就是不公平的，但它依然精彩
134
17-I5
Balamurugan Hariharan
倪雪珂
Title 怀念李光耀先生 ——新加坡52周年国庆有感
க�ைைகயி கிேவ கச��, க�றறபி அ�ேே இனி��
“ேக�ி ேய��ெசிே� கிேய ஒ�ே��� மாடில ம�ற யைவ’’ எி� அிேற ே��ே� உைர�தா�. றழ�கால�தயி ஆதயமனயதி றாமரரா� ேயல�ேகா� ேயல�காக� �ைககளய�� பாைற அ�களய�� ோ��� ே�தாி. இிேறா மயிசார�, ெதாழயி��ற� எி� நாகரீக� ெற�� நவீன ோ�ைே ோ�கயறாி. இத�� அ��றைட� காரண� கிேயதாி எி� தய�ணமாக� �றலா�. ெசிே��� ெசிே� மனயதி கிேயகறய� ெற�� ேயள��ேேத ஆ��. 4எனய��, கிேய க�றைத� த��தைடக�ற ஒ� பாைத எி� �றயனாி அ� ��� �சணய�காைக� ேசா�றயி மைற�றதா��. இி� இைளக�க� றல� கிேயைக ஒ� �ைமகாக� க�தய
CHAPTER
01
ART
MUSIC
ILLU MINA TION
PHOTOGRAPHY
FILM
Unconsciously Oblivious By Ariel Tan Shi Jie (17-A1) Oil on Canvas 122 cm x 91.5 cm I wanted to show the juxtaposition between Man's harmony and disharmony with nature. The surreal scene of the world's smallest eagle standing on the vertical wall of glass is rather disorienting. Although we constantly exploit and ignore the persistent needs of our natural world, it will always stare back at us in plain sight, haunting or endearing us.
Ouranos By Manasi Santosh Kumar Nair (17-E1) Oil on Canvas 101.6 cm x 76.2 cm Although this is a realistic painting of the sky, it is quite abstract for me as the process of painting involved looking closely at complex shapes and shades that make up the clouds.
Play By Su Min (17-O5) Oil on Canvas 84.1 cm x 59.4 cm Life is more than just studying and working. Like how cats are easily contented with a ball of yarn, I want everyone to appreciate the joys in their life no matter how trivial they seem.
6
Father By Sarah Lam Shin Ru (17-E1) Oil on Canvas 59.4 cm x 84.1 cm The painting is a portrait of my father. It is based off a candid picture taken when he was nagging at me. During times like that I get a closer look at his face and start to see signs of aging. Through this work, I try to express a face that is always familiar to me but at the same time withering with the passing of time.
Windows By Seck Li-Lyn (17-E1) Watercolour 100 cm x 65 cm
The painting centers on the dichotomy between the real identity and the one promoted by my country. The exterior portion is inspired from brochures of Singapore tourist sites, whereas the interior comes from the observations on real life. The piece allows viewers to come forth and flip the windows and determine for themselves what they truly identify with.
7
Calendar By Aye Aye Tha @ Esther Su Qing Zhu (17-O5) Series of 6 A series of calendar designs inspired by the routines and events on friends’ calendars. The hand gestures form the first few letters that spell out each month.
8
In the Same Space and Time By Colette Chong Shi Min (17-I3) Oil on Canvas 84.1 cm x 59.4 cm I was trying to express the feeling of dĂŠjĂ vu by portraying the idea of the same figures existing in the same space and time. As this feeling could occur anywhere, I used a fluid-like structure in the background to provide ambiguity.
The Meadow By Colette Chong Shi Min (17-I3) Digital Painting 60 cm by 42 cm
9
Aesthetics By Tan Xin Ying (17-I3) Oil on Canvas 122 cm x 91.5 cm I used bright colours for the fruits and flowers, in contrast with the duller, more realistic face rendered. This painting has a “collage-like� effect, which is created by different elements juxtaposed together.
Happy, Happy Things Series of 3 By Tan Xin Ying (17-I3) Digital Print
10
Artist Chef By Wang Anyi (17-O5) Stop-Motion Animation
Finish ‘A’ Levels By Huang Yuji (17-A1) Animation
Teacher’s comments: A stop-motion animation of a cooking demonstration inspired by food network, “Tasty”. Anyi’s work is highly amusing and inventive in her choice and manipulation of materials.
Teacher’s comments: A girl with superpowers finishes off the “A” level monster. Yuji has used classical animation techniques to create a seamless motion of the figure in fight. He has shown good effort to draw each frame of the work, at 12 frames per second.
11
You Are Worth It By Ariel Tan (17-A1) Seck Li-Lyn (17-E1) Su Min (17-O1)
Remember By Alexandra Chin Li Ping and Huang Yuji (17-A1), Colette Chong (17-I3)
Teacher’s comments: Ariel, Li-Lyn and Su Min have shown good effort to tell the story of a boy saved by a surgeon who then collapses in exhaustion. The white balance can be better managed. The use of props and camera angles to create naturalistic movement is highly inventive.
Teacher’s comments: Alexandra, Colette and Yuji have captured the sensation of memory and loss through good use of lighting, composition and colour grading in each frame. Very promising cinematography demonstrated!
12
Nostalgic Memories Damian Teo Jian Yi (17-A1)
Nostalgic Memories was my very first attempt at composing for an orchestrated score. Since I had previously only composed for choir and piano, I wanted to try utilizing more instruments and see how they fit together. Since I was not very adept at visualizing the sounds of the actual instruments, I had a hard time trying to see how they can complement each other. The musical material actually came from one of my piano improvisations, however this theme was particularly striking as I felt that it really captured the meaning of nostalgia to me, especially the chords that came along with it. Most of the time, nostalgia happens when one is recollecting past experiences or memories and if we were passionate about that memory, we may sometimes get lost in reminiscence. Thus, that was how Nostalgic Memories was named. Although to me it was just a one-off composition for my own personal purposes, I had the opportunity to showcase it during one of the Music Elective Programme (MEP) lunchtime concerts at EJC. For me, this lunchtime concert was a chance for me to see how this piece sounded live instead of just an electronic recording from the notational software on my computer, so I was quite eager to present my work to my fellow students. At the same time, I also felt uneasy and worried that the quality of my piece would not be able to meet the expectations of the crowd, especially since I was a new composer. One major obstacle that I had to overcome in presenting my piece was to reorchestrate it to fit the instruments that my classmates played. Since I did not originally intend for my classmates to play my own piece, not all the instruments that I composed for were played by my classmates. As such, I had to reorchestrate the piece so that most of my classmates had a part to play. However in doing so, I did not take the skill of the players in mind, so I received concerns that my writing was too easy or that the phrases were not idiomatic for their instruments. In the short time frame that I had, I tried to make the parts more interesting and comfortable to play. In the end, I was satisfied to see my piece performed live. Although much of the piece can still be improved, it was both an enjoyable and challenging experience for my first orchestral piece. As time passes, I may forget many things that happen in my school life, but when I look at this piece, it will forever be remembered as my Nostalgic Memories.
13
Nostalgic Memories Damian Teo = 72
Flute
Oboe
Bass Clarinet
Alto Saxophone
Violin
Trombone
Double Bass
Bass Guitar
7
Fl.
Ob.
B♭ Tpt. F Hn. Tbn. Vc. Db. T. Sax.
12
Fl.
Vc.
Db.
Violoncello
Tenor Saxophone con sordini. B♭ Trumpet Horn in F
pizz.
14
16
Fl.
Ob.
B. Cl.
B♭ Tpt.
A. Sax.
Vln.
Vc.
Db.
B. Guit.
Ob.
Vc.
Db.
B. Guit.
A. Sax. B♭ Tpt.
B. Cl.
Vln.
arco.
20
Fl.
3
15
25
Ob.
B. Cl.
A. Sax.
B♭ Tpt. F Hn. Tbn. T. Sax.
Vln. Vc.
Db.
B. Guit.
31
Fl.
Ob.
B. Cl.
A. Sax.
Vc.
Db.
T. Sax. B♭ Tpt. F Hn. Tbn. Vln.
16
5
36
Fl.
Ob.
B. Cl.
A. Sax.
B♭ Tpt. F Hn.
Vc.
B. Guit.
Db.
T. Sax.
Tbn. Vln.
pizz.
pizz.
7
17
Odyssey Joan Tan Jing Wen (17-A1), Piano Grace Marie Yeh (17-I3), Violin 1 Faith Angeline Yeh (17-I1), Violin 2
This piece, entitled Odyssey, aims to portray a journey, the footsteps of a wandering child, painted by the violin’s staccato beats and wistful melody. The piece also aims to encapsulate the idea of “If the dawn should rise...”, meandering through an unknown road in the darkness in hopes to see the light again. Overall, the piece serves as a metaphor for children facing the future without a clear path in mind, uncertain and fearful, but also full of anticipation, merely holding on to the hope and belief that things will work out in the end. With regard to the musical influences, this piece was influenced by the Passacaglia dance form from the Baroque Period, including Baroque elements such as a Basso Continuo line, while fusing it with elements of 20th century Impressionist music, such as metric modulations from duple to triple metre. The dissonances give this piece a darker undertone and adds to the uncertainty of this journey and the future. While this piece was first written 2 years ago, I’m really thankful for the chance to finally showcase this composition at EJC’s inaugural aesthetic showcase at library@ esplanade, A Beautiful Muse, 2017. In preparing for the performance, I had consultations with my MEP teacher, Mr Xie. Together with practices with the performers, Grace and Faith, this piece was reworked and edited, going through a couple of technical changes to help better express the meaning of the piece and improve on the clarity and accuracy of the score for the performers. Performers’ credit during Premiere at A Beautiful Muse: Joan Tan Jing Wen (17-A1), Piano Grace Marie Yeh (17-I3), Violin 1 Faith Angeline Yeh (17-I1), Violin 2 Odyssey was composed by Joan Tan Jing Wen, first completed in 2015.
18
Odyssey
If the dawn should rise...
Joan Tan Jing Wen Mysteriously 125
Violin
Violin Suspenseful
A tempo
rit.
rit.
Piano
3
Vln
Vln a tempo
Pno
2
5
Vln
Vln Forcefully; with emphasis
Pno
7
Vln
Vln
Hazy effect
Pno
19
rit.
Melody to be brought out. Passionately 9
3
97
Vln Detached; lightly Portrayal of footsteps Vln
Pno
Piano accompaniment fades into the background
12
Vln cresc.
Vln cresc.
Pno
Detached; lightly Portrayal of footsteps
15
Vln dim.
Vln dim.
Pno
18
Vln
Vln
Pno
20
4
5
21
Vln
Vln
Pno
Sadly; emotionally 24
Vln
Vln Emphasise. Piano to be brought out
Pno
Pace of music slows down
Melody to be brought out 29
Vln Pace of music speeds up Hurriedly; anxiously Vln
Piano should not overshadow violins
Pno
High notes to be played confidently and forcefully 34
Vln Running notes to be played smoothly Vln
Pno
21
6
7
37
Vln
Vln
Pno
125
40
Vln
Vln Piano to be brought out
Pno
8
42
Vln
Vln
Pno
44
Vln
Vln rit.
Pno
Hazy effect
22
for now Tan Jia Yu, Kelly (17-U2)
3ii. you didn’t press the brakes 5ii. to remind me to wait 2ii. but at some point i was the girl there *** 5i. my mother sends me prayers 1ii. though there’s not much else, 2iii. she’s probably still a better person. *** 2i. i left the photographs running 3iii. and you wouldn’t even cry. 4ii. it makes no difference *** 1i. (sorry i called you a parasite) 3i. nevermind reasons, 4iii. for i am still trapped here *** 5iii. for now 1iii. try promising me other things 4i. and going to sleep
23
the question Tan Jia Yu, Kelly (17-U2)
noble is the man who answers no and brave is the woman who lowers her eyes *** i will take their hand and find a warm space in my coat pockets to tuck coins and lost children into *** the day will come that i will forget this small corner of my kingdom, and empty my sleeves into the clouds the seeds of grass will float on the wind and all that was lost will be returned
24
nine suns later
a retelling of chang-e’ after e.e. cummings Mickel Ng (17-I1)
clan(destine)
the waxed
ly
m
i
she weeps
r
r
(softly)
O
r
for her mortal
s
l(over/
hat
,
t
her
ered
t by
e a
the cupid’s
r
------------arrow
s laced with
remains,
the
beau
blood
tiful
of
for a
im
blessed.
morta
eternity
lity. moon l i g h t; without the sun
25
Requiem for the Forgotten Mickel Ng (17-I1)
Where there should have been prayers there are empty pews for the forgotten chrysanthemum blooms alone. She died as she lived. As she lived, she died alone. Chrysanthemum blooms for the forgotten. There are empty pews where there should have been prayers.
26
I I I
CHAPTER
2
ECONOMICS
I
I
INFORMATION ECONOMICS: PERFECT IS UNDESIRABLE Dody Senputra (17-E4) Petrus Kanisius Dani (17-I4) Kieron Ong Yu Chen (17-O1) Loh Wen Qi (17-O1)
Singaporeans love their food more than anything else – we all know the experience of stepping into a hawker centre, only to be overwhelmed by the wealth of choices between so many delicious dishes. But have you ever thought of the health implications of consuming these dishes – how much oil and fat, or how many calories are in a single plate? Most likely, upon stepping into a hawker centre, you would have thought these things, yet quickly dismissed them and proceeded to buy the sumptuous dishes anyway. Have you ever wondered how you always arrive at the same conclusion – to buy that delicious but very oily plate of char kway teow? This can be explained with the economic concept of Information Avoidance. Although information is usually valuable in helping us make better decisions, oftentimes, we find ourselves avoiding information which is costly due to personal or emotional reasons. In our hawker food example, we find that avoiding health information can boost our ability to savour the cultural and culinary delights of our food, despite impairing our ability to make better-informed decisions for our health.
28
In these cases, we see that we are fully aware that the information is available and freely accessible to us, yet we choose to actively avoid it. There are many ways we use to avoid information, including physically avoiding sources of information, and not paying attention to these sources. In fact, mankind has proven to be particularly adept at selectively directing our attentions to what is in line with our preconceived beliefs or inherent preferences. This can be particularly useful if we think that the information may be painful to receive. Why is avoiding information harmful? Confirmation bias can lead one to completely shut out any opposition to our long-held beliefs. One may thus be deprived of information that does not cohere with one’s web of beliefs but is nonetheless useful in one’s decision-making process. For instance, people choose to derive their news from news outlets that align with their political ideologies. In fact, the people who could benefit most from feedback are often, paradoxically, those who are most likely to eschew it as they are averse to receiving criticism and wish to remain ignorant even if it exists and is readily available to them.
Starbucks: The Longevity of Firms?
Chan Kai Jie, Darren (17-E4) Farell Toh Yicheng (17-E4) Jonathan Che Sze Khai (17-E4) Vincent Wong (17-E4)
On 29th July 2008, Starbucks announced that it would be closing 61 of its 84 Australian stores (i.e. 73% of its stores) by August 2008. As of August 2017, they only have 30 stores that are operational in Australia. The sudden and unprecedented closure of a global brand in a relatively modern country left many stunned and shocked. However, many economists were hardly surprised. In fact, analysts predicted the fall was almost inevitable. What happened? What can we learn from this incident as economists? While there were many root causes to the closure of the disaster which was Starbucks Australia, we will be exploring three main reasons. The first would be the overestimation of their product. Starbucks could have better differentiated their product in a market already over-saturated with many coffee shops. In a sea of homogenous cafés, Starbucks was unable to stand out and stay competitive. The quality and ambience of Starbucks cafés were also comparable, and some were of poorer quality in comparison to other Australians cafes at that time. Secondly, service quality was less than consistent from store to store. Starbucks aimed to expand quickly and hired inexperienced students to cover the barista shortage. More staff thus resulted in an outcome that economists would term “diseconomies of scale”, where a firm expands far too much – to a point where it cannot handle its own scale, resulting in counter-productivity. In the case of Starbucks, new untrained staff also meant
29
lacklustre management and monitoring from supervisors, as well as added costs from training and development. In comparison, cafés in the vicinity offered better hospitality and environments for lower prices. The poor service also contributed to a loss in brand loyalty and thus, a loss in numbers of consumers for Starbucks. Lastly, instead of the rapid expansion across Australia, Starbucks could have considered doing a more thorough market research and find ways to adapt to the strong local coffee culture. This could have prevented the heavy losses. Without a doubt, there were other factors leading to the majestic flop of Starbucks in Australia. However, we will leave you with these three reasons as a taster of how economics can apply to even the most basic of things.
INCE NT IVE S : Th ey Do No t A l w a y s Wo r k For our contribution to Ecolumnist, our group researched why incentives sometimes do not work. To find out more, we read some academic papers on incentives and found out that for an incentive to succeed, other than considering the value of the incentive itself, the incentive must work in tandem with norms present in society. As such, we decided to see how the phenomenon of a “herd mentality”, which we perceived to be a norm in Singaporean society, related to incentives. Herd mentality is a phenomenon wherein individual members of a crowd subvert their will to the perceived unified will of the masses. This means that individuals will join a cause or make a purchase not because they inherently want to, but rather, because they do not want to be left out. To exemplify this, consider a NAPFA 2.4 km run. Should an individual be lagging behind in the run, upon seeing 20 contestants ahead of him, he or she will likely put in some, if not considerable additional effort to keep up with the crowd, as compared to the effort that might be put in by the leading runner to better his timing.
Satini Sankeerthana (17-E3) Chan Kai Jie, Darren (17-E4) Chin Chen Kai, Jeff (17-U1) Zhang Simian (17-U4) Lin Jie-min, Chelsea (17-U5)
The existence of a herd mentality is clearly observed in daily student life. For example, at the start of the year, the General Paper unit teachers proposed a noncompulsory, voluntary opinion piece project to the cohort. So long as students managed to publish an essay or opinion piece via a reputable media outlet or an in-house publication such as the school newsletter, they would be awarded an extra 0.5% to their overall year grade. This was meant to be an authentic writing task to credit students who wished to comment on issues and ideas. However, it was observed that there were only a few students who submitted writing. This could have been due to the fact that most students’ grades were fairly equal across the cohort. As such, there was little incentive for students to put in that extra effort to stand out from their peers. We could link the herd mentality with the Marginalist Principle – a concept very familiar to us. The Marginalist Principle states that an economic agent should pursue an activity up until the point where Marginal Benefit (MB) is equivalent to the Marginal Cost (MC). In situations where people have to make decisions, individuals usually weigh their marginal costs and marginal benefits and choose the option that they can benefit from the
most. However, if we assume that people make rational decisions, when the herd mentality sets in, the marginalist principle is no longer relevant as people would tend to choose the option that is chosen by the majority instead of what they actually want. In essence, the herd mentality could be described as peer pressure: the desire to blend in with the majority and the fear of standing out. Hence, to determine whether such an observation was correct, we decided to carry out some experiments. During the ‘Local Soul’ Deep Dive Day, our group started our presentation with a experiment. We set a task to our peers: to do 5 jumping jacks to win chocolates as the reward. Our 1st round was our control set-up, and in the 2nd round, we issued around 70% of our participants a chocolate whilst giving the other 30% nothing at the beginning. The catch was that no one knew who would get a chocolate and who would not. We had expected more people to take up the task in the second round due to herd mentality, however the results went against our hypothesis. This could have been due to the false assumption upon which we based our hypothesis, which was that people are social creatures and would follow the herd mentality.
In conclusion, we discovered that for an incentive to work, we must first identify the correct norms present in our society. Furthermore, incentives should operate from bases that are compatible with norms present in our society. These two tasks are no easy feats and this may thus explain why certain incentives do not work. 30
Whether you are an ardent fan of the Harry Potter series of books or an enthusiast who follows the X-men series, you must have once marvelled at the Imperius Curse or Charles Xavier’s ability to control minds: the amazing ability to compel others to do what one wants. In the real economic world, there are no magic wands, nor magic humans, yet, economic agents can still influence the decision-making processes of others. One such form of “magic” is called Relativity: not the kind described in physics textbooks that blows one’s mind away, but something far more simple, understandable, and yet, which holds the same power.
How Exactly? The secret of the magic lies in the way we perceive the quality of things around us. We perceive things as “long” or “short”, “big” or “small”, “good” or “bad”: not as things in themselves, but rather, in comparison with other similar objects. When someone who is 168 cm-tall stands in a crowd of 150 cm-tall friends, we might perceive that person to be taller. Take that person and place him with a group of 180 cm-tall people, and our perception would change. Subconscious comparisons affect our judgements, and businessmen cleverly leverage this in influencing our choices.
Real World Example Let’s look at the pricing plan of a subscription to The Economist:
Choice Architecture: Making Options Work for You
Hnin Azali (17-A4) Liang Yuyue (17-O5) Le Quang Anh (17-U3)
Source 1: www.economist.com
Using relativity, the company tries to influence customers’ choices by setting the price of both digital and print versions at $55. People tend to add these individual prices up, which makes it $110, and compare this total sum against the bundle price of $70. Most rational consumers would then realise that they could save $40 if they choose the middle option, and this would likely influence their purchase option.
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What if we were to remove the third option?
What Does Relativity Have To Do With Our Lives? It sounds hyperbolic but don’t be too quick to judge. Let’s do a quick check! Imagine yourself entering a perfume shop selling unfamiliar brands and you’re greeted by two amiable shop assistants. As you observe the prices, you hear your inner voice saying: • • •
“Not the most expensive one … too expensive!!!” “Not the cheapest one either … it would make me look bad!!!” “Let’s go with the middle of the range!!!”
Do these unspoken thought processes familiar? If so, you’ve been influenced by relativity. Your choice has little to do with the price of your chosen perfume itself, but, instead, by the price boundaries set by the shop. In this case, you might find yourself falling into the trap of paying $80 for a bottle even though you had initially set out to spend less than $50. Under normal circumstances, you might not even have considered buying the $80 perfume! However, with what we call the “decoy effect”, where other options are added in as decoys to “bait” you, a perfume costing $80 seems like quite a good deal.
Source 2: www.economist.com
If you are a potential subscriber, which option would you choose? You might consider only the printonly version, since the digital version would be unnecessary if one already has the print version. However, when the third option is made available, one tends to compare and calculate the cost one could save by choosing the bundle set. Hence, the company gets to sell people an option they might not have even considered before.
Similarly, relativity can also be a tool used to your advantage. If you’re trying to persuade your friend to go for a movie with you, you may want to consider using dummy choices in your question, such as going to the library or visiting a museum, which may be less appealing to some. Do not underestimate the power of this trick – it might even be used to help you look more attractive than you actually are! Curious? Read up about it! Now that you’re aware of this theory, will you still be influenced by relativity? Check it out for yourself! You are going to watch a movie at Golden Village, but you’d like to buy a cup of popcorn before you enter. Which one would you choose?
Watch a video on a similar experiment done in US titled,
“The Decoy Effect”: 32
Chapte r 3
I N S I G N I A Literature Knowledge & Inquiry Gen eral Paper
LITERATURE Write a critical commentary of a passage from Act 2 Scene 4 of William Shakespeare’s
Measure for Measure, relating it to the presentation of Angelo here and elsewhere in the play. Kaelyn Neo Kai Ling (17-I1) Measure for Measure is an exploration of the theory and practice of justice and judgement in the human context. Angelo is set up to be a capable protégé in the beginning of the play with “ample grace and honour”, but his interactions leading up to his downfall and plea for forgiveness present different perspectives on his character - as a strict judge, a fallible man, and in the intersection of both: a hypocritical character. In Act 2 Scene 4, Angelo is presented to be corrupted by mounting desires for Isabella - contrary to his initial presentation of moral stricture and rigidity in earlier parts of the play, Angelo appears to have been impassioned by lust and primordial desires for Isabella. His soliloquy reveals his own reflections on his newly-awakened passions: “Blood” has “muster[ed]” to “[his] heart”, “making both it unable for itself / And dispossessing all [his] other parts / of necessary fitness”. Unlike the legalistic structures adopted in his presentation to others, Angelo uses bodily imagery in this private setting, illustrating the realism and physicality of his experience. The audience’s attention is drawn towards
this new portrayal of Angelo - as one who has been brought face-to-face with the mounting desires of his own flesh. Earlier, the Duke had presented Angelo as a man of “stricture and firm abstinence”, even doubting if his blood flowed and questioning if his appetite was “more to bread than stone”. Angelo’s humanity was doubted by other characters in the allusion to Christ’s question, “What man is there of you, whom if his son ask for bread, will you give them a stone?” - Angelo’s abnormality is confirmed by his lack of bodily desires, heightening his portrayal as an inhumane character. The stark contrast between this cold, immortal presentation of Angelo and his confessions in Act 2 Scene 4 makes the revelation and recognition of his mortality doubly significant. He is revealed not only to have a “heart” with “blood”, but the ability to feel passionate intention in the “conception” of passions. Despite the fact that his word choices are brimming with bodily imagery, his aura of rigidity is still maintained, as he encloses this revelation in the privacy of a soliloquy. Angelo’s recognition of his humanity lends him a certain degree of warmth and mortality, yet he still condemns these desires as “strong
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to prove that the imposition of power on Angelo without adequate assessment by the Duke has only resulted in the election of a morally corrupt surrogate leader.
and swelling evil” - his choice of adjectives reveals the intensity to which he feels them, yet the culmination in the word “evil” shows the strength to which he also looks upon them as a corruption of himself. This is also evident in the way he portrays the mustering of his blood as a “dispossess[ion]” of [his] other parts” - even though these desires are only human, Angelo’s language reveals multiple attempts to reject them. As Lucio put it, Angelo is a man who “rebate[s] and blunts his natural edge”, or at least attempts to do so by refusing to accept this human part of himself.
Angelo’s hypocrisy is heightened further in the way he continues to deem himself suitable to condemn others despite being corrupt himself, as he condemns Claudio’s crime of pre-marital sex, while seizing the opportunity to express his own lust for Isabella. Despite claiming that it was “the law” that condemned her brother, the silence of Justice throughout the play suggests a neutrality otherwise, as the voice of Justice only speaks once and it is to condemn Angelo’s severity. Given that the purpose of the law is to exact justice, the audience is led to doubt Angelo’s supposed mandate as “the voice of the recorded law” as clearly, the voice of justice manifests separately from his own. Coupled with his sexual corruption and valuation of personal gain, even in grave moments when another individual’s life is concerned, Angelo’s request for Isabella to “yield” her body “up to [his] will” presents him as blinded by a superiority complex, wherein the triumph of “his will” over her body shows that he does not treat people with respect as equals, but rather as subordinate to himself the audience is made to find him morally repulsive, as Vienna’s legal system has also been handed over to the dangerous reins of Angelo’s “sensual race”.
We are also led to condemn Angelo for his hypocrisy as a judge. The Duke’s syntactic parallelism in “Mortality and Mercy” and “enforce or qualify” in his outline of Angelo’s duty as the deputed leader assigns the audience an expectation of Angelo’s job scope to exact a balanced and measured judgement of human affairs, living up to his introductory characterisation as one with “ample grace and honour”. Yet, we are forced to question his leadership as his immortality is presented to us in the light of his manipulation of power in the handling of Claudio’s case. He presents Isabella with an option: Claudio may live if Isabella “gives up” her body to “sweet uncleanness”. Even though it is technically a false dilemma with little ground, the audience soon recognises Angelo’s ability to carry out the morally repulsive act of coercing Isabella into submission, using his legal mandate for his own personal gain. Additionally, his language use further severs him from the image of an honorable man: The use of the phrase “saucy sweetness” and “sweet uncleanness” clearly shows a private desire to integrate Isabella’s sweetness and chaste profile into something more primal and sexual, portraying him as a character tainted by sexual corruption. The metaphor of a “coin” in “heaven’s image” also serves to alienate him from morality - the upright image of his own name (“Angelo” meaning “gold coin”) as well as the idea of testing his “metal” presented in Act 1 has come
All in all, Angelo is revealed to be ultimately mortal and capable of human sense, yet this does not override his desire to be viewed as an elevated being. He is now guided by his own “affection”, using his authority for his own morally repulsive agenda, betraying his deputed role as a fair judge of human affairs. His claim to how his “false o’erweighs [Isabella’s] true” solidifies the audience’s repulsion for Angelo, as he has not only failed his moral worth as an individual, but as an administrator of justice. If power corrupts, Angelo’s absolute power has corrupted him absolutely.
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Explore the ways in which Alan Ayckbourn shows the mind responding to crisis in the play,
Woman in Mind. Audrey Choong Jia Yuan (17-O1)
Within the play Woman in Mind, Ayckbourn
nightmares” is a revelation of her unwillingness
masterfully portrays the ways through which the
to accept the reality of her middle-class life,
mind responds to crisis via the variety of ways
where her hopes for a more idyllic and frivolously
that the central character Susan responds to the
pleasant lifestyle are utterly dashed. Her response
inevitable conflict that arises from a loss of control
to this dissonance in her expectations and the
and autonomy. This journey begins with fantasy
reality is to reject it in her daydreams.
as a refuge from the conflict, tensions, and daily stress of self-perceived failures, gradually taking
This jarring disparity between her ideal fulfillment
on a dark light as she devolves into bitterness,
of her role as a loving wife tended to by an
subconscious alteration of existing memories,
affectionate and adoring husband, and the
dramatic hysteria and a complete rejection of
dispassionate apathy her real husband Gerald
reality.
shows her further leads to her construction of an entirely new husband persona, Andy – the latter
Susan’s first response to her dissatisfaction
responds to her hurting herself with a display
with reality (that is, her average socioeconomic
of care and concern, with stage directions of
circumstances and lack of familial empathy)
“hugs” (4), “[tender] kisses”, his appeal further
following the crisis at hand is to project an ideal
intensified when he leaves, ‘blowing her the
fantasy world where she actualises her perceived
gentlest of kisses’. The intensifier “immensely” and
self. This is seen in the beautiful, luxurious
superlative “gentlest” create a cumulative effect to
surroundings that she conjures, where she
curate his image as intimate and delightfully loving
describes to Bill the garden that she does imagine,
toward Susan, which is completely at odds with
consisting of “tennis courts”, a “swimming pool”,
Gerald, who responds to his own sister’s claims of
a “lawn”, “rose beds”, and even a picturesque
inability to sleep with a leading question and thus
view of “the lake” (9); these images allude to her
more concern than his pointed remarks directed
transcendence of her current constrained and
at Susan that her insomnia was ‘hardly surprising’
comparatively pathetic surroundings, emphasised
since she “[sleeps] all day”, such dry declaratives
by the repeated descriptions of “little”, “thirty
indicating a lack of empathy and understanding.
foot long”, and “small” (9). Her initial horror at and
Therefore, the mind is seen to seek solace in its
denial of this latter reality as “some place I [she]
imagination as a means of protecting itself from
wouldn’t choose to live in, even in my [her] wildest
crisis.
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Additionally, Susan responds to crisis that inflicts pain
thus a distinct reaction of the mind, escalating conflict
on her via lashing out with a series of bitter, sardonic
and to reconcile the cognitive dissonance that exists
insults in a bid to disguise her internal despair. From her
between her perceived and projected selves.
sudden torment at the thought of letting her son Rick sell his furniture, stripping their house of reminders
Finally, the play comes full circle as her final attempt at
of his existence and therefore undermining her
self-defence from the painful truth that is her loss of self,
identity as a mother (as seen from her sudden halting
identity, and control over her life is characterised by an
comments that to “sell…his bed…and his – swivel chair”
intensified means of rejecting reality through physically
was to remove him from their lives), she transitions to
denying the company of her real family members and
making biting and sullen remarks that Rick was “selfish,
willing a parade of fantasy into the temporary elusive
insensitive and priggish” and a ‘delicate blossom[s]’.
reality. She begins by cheerfully proposing a “nice quiet
The listing of these negative qualities was an impulsive
divorce” (50), the simple adjectives “nice” and “quiet”
attempt to conceal her despondency at being rejected
revealing her childish flippant perspective toward the
as a mother when Rick revealed he had married Tess
legitimacy of her marriage and then declares that
and planned to soon move to Thailand. Her initial
she “hate[s]” Gerald “very much”; following this she
response of asking leading questions like “Tess?”,
tells him to “go away” and “bugger off!”, raining a
“Was she…?”, “Then why did you?” (32) indicated her
stream of insults that he was a “prim little, frigid little,
curiosity and underlying desire to reconcile with Rick.
narrow-minded little meanness” (53). The exclamatory
Therefore, the mind protects itself from the crisis of
sentences and repetition of “little” underscores her
widening chasms between children and their parents
malice and absolute unwillingness to negotiate further
in the form of projecting disgust instead of grief, and
with this undermined reality, and the devolvement
rejection instead of a plea for love.
into an Alice-in-Wonderland-esque fantastical ending where Andy describes her with the superlatives “most
Crucially, the beginning of a downward spiral begins
important”, “irreplaceable” (61) among others as she
with the crisis-response method of severely distorting
bathes in the literal spotlight (since “lights begin to
the nature of reality. For Susan, this marks the acting
fade around her until finally she is isolated”) reveals
out of her subconscious when she presumably started
the extent to which she has swapped reality for the
“the fire in my [Gerald’s] study” that set “all sixty
illusions of her dreams.
pages” of his book “blazing away”, following which she genuinely perceives the crime of arson to have been
To many dissatisfied housewives and homemakers
committed by “Tony”, “[her] brother Tony”, declaring
struggling to actualise their idealistic identities as
that “I’ll [she could] never forget what I [she] did.
the perfect wives and mothers among Ayckbourn’s
Ever.” – the absolute word “never” and pause between
audience following the release of Woman in Mind, the
the first statement and the second brief statement
demonstration of the multitude of responses toward
“ever” foregrounding her certainty that she had not
the everyday crisis of aspiring toward the socially
responded in anger at Gerald’s consistent rejection of
revered ‘woman’ in society’s mind struck a chord.
her attempts to make amends by choosing to focus
Through the series of progressively extreme and
on his book and attempting to incinerate it, that she
jarring responses to crisis, Ayckbourn thus humanises
sincerely perceives the existence of Tony, a projection
his imperfect character Susan as someone whom
of her repressed childish desires, and his actions
the audience can sympathise with, in her despair,
further indicating that she has lost agency and control
helplessness, and eventual incoherence – as a means
over her ability to distinguish between fiction, reality,
of expression for those who do continue to hopelessly
and the past. This uncontrollable warping of facts is
endeavour toward perfection.
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Unseen Poetry: Write a critical commentary on
‘Grimm Story’
Scan this QR code to read the poem and other Singapore poems.
by Lee Tzu Pheng, considering, in detail, ways in which your response is shaped by the writer’s language, style and form. Kieron Ong Yu Chen (17-O1)
Through the lens of fairy tales and our reaction to them in “Grimm Story”, the writer aims to investigate the susceptibility of man to fantasy, and our subsequent response to these fantasies. The writer begins the poem by discussing the inherent ridiculousness of these fantasies. The opening question, “Why do we tell these tales to children / Who grow to find one day” aims to invite a sense of curiosity in the reader’s mind, leading them to question the inherent foolish sensibilities of fairy tales. The lines that follow “No magic herb to heal their hurt, / Nor castles waiting down the road” aim to be as devastating as possible. Each line opens with a strong negative word - “No” and “Nor” to emphasise the denial of these fairy tale tropes, and the use of “herb”, “heal” and
“hurt” in quick succession emphasises the power of this denial by repeating the “h” sound. The last line of the stanza “And Prince Charming is a toad?” aims to finalise the denial of the various tropes of the fairy tale. The beginning “And” slows down the rhythm of this line for emphasis, compared to the previously shorter “No” and “Nor”, and the equivocation of Prince Charming and a toad is emphasised by the writer italicising “is”. This seeks to induce a realisation within the reader that the very nature of fairy tales, exemplified by Prince Charming, is indeed ugly, just as a toad is. By breaking down fairy tale tropes at the beginning of the poem, the writer leads the reader naturally to the next question - if fairy tales are so ridiculous, why are they still so popular?
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writer emphasises “unredeemed” by placing a stop after the word, showing how fairy tales can often lead to a moral darkness when they are unfulfilled. The writer’s final four lines, “starve in our candied houses / and devour our children”, present a horrific look at the more violent of these reactions. The two verbs “starve” and “devour” create a contrast between them and words earlier in the poem like “asking” and “provide”, to emphasise the macabre harm done by the reader. The use of “candied houses” and “our children” as subjects both reference commonalities found in fairy tales, and offer a contrast between the lighthearted fairy tales and our tragic response to “unfulfilled” fairy tales. The writer’s sense of horror completes the poem’s narrative, investigating deeply the nature of fairy tales and two disparate types of reactions towards them.
The writer offers the reader an answer to just this question in the third and fourth stanza, and offers sympathy for those who engage or used to engage with these fairy tales. The writer addresses “us” and “we”, which automatically allow sympathy for the reader - one always has the most sympathy for oneself, and even more so as the writer engages with her reader in self-criticism. The “Yet” at the beginning of the third stanza alerts the reader to a possibility of redemption. This redemption is emphasised by the writer’s diction. The nouns employed like “devotion”, “belief” and “vision” all translate to positive attributes that target the “soul” or the more transcendental parts of existence. Adjectives like “pure” and “simple” and verbs like “provide” and “regaining” all provide a sense that these fairy tales offer “us” something deep and possibly spiritual, almost ineffable. Further on, in the fourth stanza, the writer engages “us” in a form of playful self-criticism, embracing our imperfections as human beings. The use of “clodhopper”, a long and rare word, compared with the clearer “awkward” or “fool”, can be read as “unique” to further develop a sense of whimsical failure. “Goose-girls” combines the animal and the human in a single word to provide another facet of whimsical imperfection, as humans become forgivable for their mistakes if they become animals, or animalistic in tall tales. This light-hearted and forgiving tone the writer offers however is in a way a “trick” before the writer makes a final point with a much darker tone.
As the title suggests, the poem is indeed a “Grimm Story”, deconstructing something innocent and childlike, the fairy tale, into something that can cause violent and horrifying reactions. The writer ropes “us” into the narrative as we explore the absurd nature of fairy tales and discover a positive justification for our love for these stories they provide simplicity in our chaotic lives. Yet the writer refuses to let “us” go as she explores the “dark side” of fairy tales, where those who cannot fulfil their fantasies instead descend into violent reaction against innocent children. Indeed, the poem’s title refers to the Brothers Grimm, who compiled many original versions of common fairy tales. Yet their versions, full of violence and sex, were sanitised over the years into clean and light-hearted stories for children. The poem’s message is simple - an accusation directed at “us”, society as a whole, for concealing the darkest nature of our humanity. As a counterpoint to this societal convention, the poem drags us into the darkest paths of humanity on the pretence of being a poem about innocent fairy tales, and refuses to let go until we confront ourselves.
Right after offering us sympathy for ourselves by describing our reaction to fairy tales as forgivable and light-hearted, the writer turns around to portray a far darker and more violent response towards fairy tales compared to the previous stanzas. To remove the sympathy previously established, the writer chooses to use “some of us” instead of “us” to emphasise the dark reaction towards fairy tales as somewhat separate from the reader, yet still tied deeply to humankind as a whole. The
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Unseen Poetry: Write a critical commentary on
‘Father Returning Home’ by Dilip Chitre, considering, in detail, ways in which your response is shaped by the writer’s language, style and form. Scan this QR code to read the poem.
Angelique Chia Rui Yi (17-O2)
This poem tackles the relationship between
of sunset, brings about a sense of warmth and
humans and the man-made world we live in today.
comfort, which is clearly a contrast to the interior
The detachment and disconnection between the
of the train. The juxtaposition thus highlights the
two is highlighted by the persona who narrates the
lifeless and cold environment in the train cabin.
monotony of his father’s life, evoking a sense of
Furthermore, the persona brings across the idea
sympathy for his father. The title “Father Returning
that “suburbs slide past his unseeing eyes”,
Home” is ironic, highlighting how the home has
denoting that his father was not fixing his gaze on
come to present no warmth or love, qualities
anything but just glancing listlessly. Similarly, the
usually associated with “Home”.
use of the sibilant “s” sounds in “suburbs slide” adds on to the swiftness of the whole situation.
Firstly, the poem portrays the persona’s father as
Irony is employed here since his father’s eyes were
being extremely lifeless and listless. “Standing
“unseeing”, deviating from the traditional notion of
among silent commuters in the yellow light”, the
the function of eyes, which is to see and observe.
persona effectively creates the image of a starkly
The irony emphasises how the persona’s father
quiet and cold environment, where no human
was withdrawn from life. The persona’s father’s
interaction takes place. The persona’s father
eyes are described as being “dimmed by age”,
is merely just one of the people in the mass of
which suggests how he has lost the sparkle in his
commuters, which seemingly indicates that he
eyes over the years of living in such a mechanical
has no unique characteristics and is simply one
and man-made, barren society. The expression in
in many. The use of the sibilant “s” sounds in
one’s eyes can be a sign of how one feels in his or
the words “standing” and “silent” highlights the
her heart. It is evident how the persona’s father is
pin-drop silence in the train building up the idea
portrayed as lifeless and listless, lacking the drive
that there is no interaction between the people
to live life meaningfully, like the common man on
on it. The “yellow light”, which is characteristic
the train.
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Secondly, the poem also highlights the monotony
share. This idea is further brought out when
of daily life through the narration of the father’s life.
“he trembles at the sink”. This image is greatly
The persona’s father gets off the train “like a word
contrasted to the lifeless ones at the beginning of
dropped from a long sentence”. This simile brings
the poem. The person’s father now has an adverse
across the idea of the lack of identity of his father.
response to the cold relationship between man
The remainder of the commuters on the train are
and his environment. The juxtaposition of these
likened to the remainder of a sentence and the
images allows the reader to understand the true
word “long” indicates that there are numerous
meaning of the poem. The detailed imagery of
people still on the train. These people are
“A few droplets cling onto the greying hairs on
equally bland, unassuming and lack any special
his wrist” evokes a sense of sympathy for the
characteristics. The persona adds, “He hurries
persona’s father for we now see the vulnerable
across the length of the grey platform, / crosses
side of his father. The “greying hairs” are symbols
the railway line, enters the lane”, which documents
of his ageing life, giving rise to the idea that
the journey of his father back home after getting
society had a pivotal part in causing him pain and
off the train. The tone of the persona here is rather
anguish, which resulted in him ageing. The poem
clinical and matter-of-fact as he lists down the
builds up to “He will now go to sleep / Listening to
actions of his father. The regular rhythm due to
the static on the radio, dreaming / Of his ancestors
the use of verbs, “hurries”, “crosses” and “enters”,
and children, thinking / Of nomads entering
adds to the monotony of the journey back home.
a subcontinent through a narrow pass”. The
The colour “grey” also symbolises the gloomy and
repeated use of continuous tense in “listening”,
dreary environment, which builds on the setting,
“dreaming” and “thinking” has a cumulative
creating a very monotonous environment. The
effect and the enjambment in these lines adds
enjambment in these lines drags and lengthens
on to this. It is evident how the persona’s father
the pace of the poem, underlining the monotony
subconsciously wishes his life would be different
which continues even after his father is home,
from what it is now. The initial “listening to static”
where he is “drinking weak tea, / eating a stale
is a clear representation of the monotonous
chapati, reading a book”. The verbs once again
and lifeless life he has in the man-made world
are used to describe his actions and the syntax
today while he dreams of being able to be well-
creates a sense of listlessness. Furthermore, the
connected with his family. The persona’s father
word “stale” shows how his father did not put in the
ultimately thinks of something extraordinary such
effort to go and get some fresh food, which adds
as “nomads entering a subcontinent through a
on to the notion of monotony.
narrow pass”, which suggests that the father has creative, out-of-this-world thoughts which are
Finally, the poem reveals its true purpose - it
unfortunately stifled by society.
portrays man’s relationship with the man-made world through the persona’s father’s actions
In conclusion, this poem brings across the
and emotions. After completing the monotonous
relationship between man and the man-made
activities at home, the persona’s father “goes into
environment through the effects it has caused on
the toilet to contemplate / Man’s estrangement
Man himself, depleting life of its true essence and
from a man-made world”, which shows how the
value, suppressing creative and seemingly absurd
persona’s father recognises the relationship
thoughts.
between the two. “Estrangement” simply highlights the strained and tense relationship these two
41
KNOWLEDGE & INQUIRY Mini Independent Study
Beyond traditional historical sources: To what extent do ‘historical films’ about Singapore provide viewers knowledge of Singapore’s past? Hoe Jia En, Allison (17-O1) Knowledge
of
a
country’s
past
surpasses
central and intrinsic to the story (Davis, 2000).
knowledge that certain events occurred in that
According to Deshpande (2004), historical films
country before the present date. Instead, it
have become a preferred mode of receiving and
encompasses understanding of causal relations
understanding the past in contemporary society,
between these events, the significance of these
as opposed to written history, hinting that they fare
events to the current condition in the country and
better preserving a socially relevant history for the
the various considerations that primary historical
broad public (Kaes, 1990). To illustrate what socially
actors had when they behaved in the manner
relevant history entails, this study examines the
moulding the occurrences of the past. Specifically
nostalgic Long Long Time Ago (LLTA) by Jack
to Singapore, such knowledge is often recognised
Neo to investigate the nature of the knowledge
in the form of written accounts, which are critically
of Singapore’s past that it aims to construct, and
evaluated and cross-referenced for the purpose
how validly it does do. The movie revolves around
of academic History in schools. However, beyond
Singapore’s development as a newly-independent
such platforms which privilege literacy, it remains
nation in the 1950s to 1960s, and also seeks to
to be explored whether mediums like ‘historical
help Singaporeans understand and remember
films’, which engage other forms of acquiring
their history through creating “scenes that make
knowledge (Deshpande, 2004) such as through
[them] reminisce of [kampong life in the] past.”1
visuals, can also contribute to knowledge of For starters, the approach to making LLTA parallels
Singapore’s past.
the deconstructionist approach to written History. For the purpose of this study, ‘historical films’ refer
Deconstructionists concede we cannot know
to dramatic representations in which an imagined
an ultimate historical truth even if it existed, and
plot unfolds such that actual historical events are
therefore each account of the past is an “act of
1 Excerpt from interview with actor Mark Lee, who plays Lim Ah Koon the incorrigible, arrogant older brother, “who just wants to win” , to main character Zhao Di played by Aileen Wong THE MAKING OF《我们的故事》"LONG LONG TIME AGO" [Web interview]. (2016, January 29). Retrieved from https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrML63tLxtk
42
creation through narrative impositionalism as the
(Tan, 2008), historical films convey insights on
historian emplots data” (Munslow, 1997).2 Hayden
social settings of the past.
White (1984), adds that the narrative in professional historical studies is “a form of discourse (the way
Another key feature of historical film is its
we talk about something at a particular place and
visual nature, which provides viewers deeper
point in time) which may or may not be used for
appreciation of the conditions of a past time
the representation of historical events depending
period they could not physically experience, by
upon whether the primary objective is to…tell
“emotionalising, personalising and dramatising
a story.” This is evident from LLTA which seeks
the past” for the “recreation of human feelings
“to bring back the forgotten stories of a village”
in realistic social situations (Deshpande, 2004).
(Neo, 2016), an intention that has precisely been
One way consistently prevalent in Neo’s films is
anchored on the presentation of discourse in the
“the comic use of racial, class, gender, and sexual
film.
stereotypes” which secures the appeal of his films for the Chinese-speaking mass audience in
Historical films, as narrative discourse, provide
Singapore (Tan, 2008). Stoddard (2013) discusses
viewers a visceral way of relating to the past
such stereotypes as “genre conventions” ,
through knowledge of how people responded to
necessary to “represent narratives that extend
a particular historical event, and what it meant
over long periods of time, great distances, or
to them. One example is LLTA’s coverage of the
multiple perspectives…to help the audience follow
first national registration for Singapore Identity
the narrative and keep track of what is going
Cards on 9 May 1966. Through conversation
on”. These include Chinese gangster Ah Long
between Malay couple Osman and Fatimah, Neo
and
teases out concerns about being a minority
father in LLTA, which visually re-present common
group in Chinese-dominated Singapore and how
personalities that were characteristic of the 1950s
Malaysia seemed an attractive alternative with
to 1960s when the film was set. This visual nature of
its abundance of raw materials like oil and rubber
films is hence especially effective in recapitulating
plantations. Neo also presents Ah Koon playing
emotions that such relatable characters based in
‘the complainer’, with his criticism of Lee Kuan
the past may have undergone, through visual tools
Yew and reference to night-soil carts as their
like facial expression which provides viewers with
only weapon against Malaysia. This reflects the
knowledge of the past, in terms of understanding
skeptical attitude, masking apprehension that
what it felt like.
the
gender-discriminatory,
superstitious
many may have felt towards the ability of newlyindependent Singapore to sustain her citizens
A second aspect of genre conventions is cinematic
and herself after separation from Malaysia.
effects including lighting and music (Stoddard,
Hence, historical films “reveal social structures
2013 ) which steer the viewer’s interpretation
and social codes in a given time and place…and
of the ethos of a time period in a certain way
the tension between the traditional and the new”
(Davis, 2000). For instance, the scene on hawker
(Davis, 2000), a process also observed in historical
inspectors in LLTA overturning the stalls of illegal
biography and “microhistory”. This elucidates how
vendors was elaborately directed by Neo to use
similarly to written history, albeit through different
intensifying sound effects and freeze-frames,
and more engaging means like low-brow humour
capitalising on pathos to highlight brutality
2
Quoted from the author’s summary of a position by Michel Foucault
43
inflicted
traumatic
commemoration in LLTA’s case. Therefore, the
experience of their goods being confiscated.
and
dramatise
hawkers’
bi-directional participation of the filmmaker and
This ability of the filmmaker to enhance historical
his viewers aligns the historical film to a socially
power through multiple techniques and resources
relevant history, presenting a “context which most
for narration (Davis, 2000) complicates the viability
can appreciate” (Tan, 2008).
of the claim to accurate knowledge in historical films, due to the apparent intertwining of his belief
Secondly, it was mentioned earlier that the
system with the representation of the past that his
filmmaker’s chosen presentation could potentially
film provides.
be the way it was collectively remembered by majority, but this may not have been everyone’s
To address this issue, two ideas can be proposed.
view. However, the point to emphasise is that
Firstly,
this
can
be
counterbalanced
deconstructionist
history
does
make
by
concessions for the imagination of the filmmaker.
acknowledging and understanding the viewer’s
In other words, his dramatic license exempts
active role in construction of knowledge of the
him from strict empirically verifiable standards
past, which is inherent for historical films to provide
of reconstructionist history (the alternative to
public history. Public history employs historians
deconstructionist) because his duty remains
and the historical method outside of academia
to provide the platform for his audience to “be
(Liddington, 2002) and oral historian Ron Grele
imagined into a community through his films”
raises the idea of broad public participation in the
(Tan, 2008). The historical film’s representation
construction of its own history. So can the public
of the past also holds true under the coherentist
living in the present indeed play an active role in
theory of truth as long as it is consistent within
the construction of knowledge about its society’s
the web of beliefs of its viewers and the filmmaker.
past? One way LLTA argues this is the role of the
Furthermore, its collection of narratives and
historical context in shaping the account, an
perspectives thus becomes unfalsifiable due to
established part of written history documents
the concession of the imagination.
which is now also seen in the representation of visual history in the film. Tan (2008) explains this
Finally, the most compelling feature of the
3
well in his example of how Money No Enough
historical film is how it provides knowledge of the
owed its success to its exploring “the propensity
past not just for viewers to accept blindly, but as
of materialistic Singaporeans to live beyond their
a connector allowing viewers to “understand the
means and the terrible consequences of doing
issues, ideas and values raised in the film” for
so, themes and concerns that resonated well with
“deliberation” (Stoddard, 2013). As Davis (2000)
audiences facing up to the Asian economic crisis,
emphasises, viewers do not automatically believe
which began just a year before the film’s release”.
what they see in a historical film: rather, they ask,
Therefore, like how the historian potentially
debate and even write letters of protest about
crafts his narrative with his target audience’s
it. The case may not have been so extreme with
interests or concerns in mind, the filmmaker
LLTA – partly due to its ability to achieve coherent
may also mediate between his paradigm and
truth, correspondence to historically recorded
that of his audience to convey the most pressing
facts about its covered events like the 1969 flood,
message of that time, which was the recent SG50
and on top of that, endure layers of corroboration
3
A Singaporean comedy film (1998) also directed by Jack Neo
44
(from viewers who had themselves lived through
in tangible ways like relatable emotions and
1960s) which establish it as a “legitimate corpus
human responses, hence greatly complementing
of historical information” (Deshpande, 2004).
and enriching written texts. While these feelings
Nevertheless, the open disclaimer of LLTA as a
ultimately exist in historical contexts conceptually
work of fiction expands the notion that it provides
explained by written history (Deshpande, 2004),
knowledge of the past in the form of “cultural
there is certainly more room to acknowledge
resources” (Tan, 2008) to explore “many different
historical films for the fresh direction and tools
flavours” of Singapore’s past, hence facilitating
they offer for the viewer to inquire about the
the viewer’s own introspection.
meaning of his country’s past to his own life.
In conclusion, historical films gain their authority to give us knowledge of the past, partly from their close relation to deconstructionist History. The visual and highly interactive nature of the representation further confer historical films the power to illustrate cold, abstract concepts
Bibliography Lockhart, B. (Associate Professor, NUS) (2017) Davis, N. Z. (2000). Slaves on Screen: Film and Historical Vision. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press Deshpande, A. (2004) Films as Historical Sources or Alternative History. Economic and Political Weekly, 39(40), 44554459. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.sg/stable/441561 Kaes, A. (1990). History and Film: Public Memory in the Age of Electronic Dissemination. History and Memory, 2(1), 111129. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.sg/stable/25618592 Liddington, J. (2002) What Is Public History? Publics and Their Pasts, Meanings and Practices Long Long Time Ago (2016). (2016, February 4). Retrieved August 21, 2017, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5291232/ Munslow, A. (1997) Deconstructing History National Registration for Singapore Identity Cards Begins. (2010). Retrieved August 21, 2017, from http://eresources. nlb.gov.sg/history/events/07ffb260-e535-4dbb-a946-fa3403f47e72 Neo, J. (Director). (2016). Long Long Time Ago [Motion picture]. Singapore: J Team Productions & MM2 Entertainment Stoddard, J. (2013). Using Film in Historical Inquiry: As Medium, as Evidence, for Empathy. Retrieved from http://www. hsseonline.edu.sg/journal/volume-2-issue-2-2013/using-film-historical-inquiry-medium-evidence-empathy Tan, K. P. (2008). Imagining The Chinese Community Through The Films Of Jack Neo. Cinema and Television in Singapore, 145-184. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004166431.i-304.34 THE MAKING OF《我们的故事》"LONG LONG TIME AGO" [Web interview]. (2016, January 29). Retrieved from https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrML63tLxtk White, H. (1984). The Question of Narrative in Contemporary Historical Theory. History and Theory. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2504969
45
Mini Independent Study
To what extent is Hempel’s General Laws Model useful in constructing historical knowledge about the explanation for events of the past? Audrey Choong Jia Yuan (17-O1) In ‘The Function of General Laws in History’,
based on their race, ethnicity, culture, or other
Hempel revolutionised the way historians meta-
extraneous characteristics. Under this model,
analysed historical explanations for significant
the deterministic concept of ‘environmental
historical events by suggesting that general laws
determinism’ suggests certain consistencies
(such as deterministic concepts) can be used
in the properties of communities, which then
as explanation - meaning that history is marked
‘determines’ the perpetration of genocides in
by consistency in behaviour, not individual
response
occurrences. He suggested using a set of ‘general
conditions - it is also supported by empirical
laws’, where these laws were ‘sets of statements
evidence from the study of past genocides. The
asserting occurrence of certain events at certain
model can thus allow us to better explain and
times and places, such that the statements of
account for the phenomenon of genocide.
to
certain
specific
environmental
both groups are reasonably well-confirmed by empirical evidence, and from these two groups a
The model functions coherently to a large
sentence asserting the occurrence of the event
extent: In the 1900s, numerous geographers
can be logically deduced’. The first group he
acknowledged a significant correlation between
speaks of are initial and boundary conditions,
rivalrous relationships between different ethnic
relating to the kinds or properties of events or
groups and cultural genocides. This rivalrous
given objects (including key figures in history). The
relationship appeared to be a combination of
second consists of empirical laws.
strong ethnic tensions/hatred, and a struggle
for ‘living space’. Ratzel suggests the concept
The extent to which this model is relevant to
of ‘lebensraum’, that ‘[every] new form of life
constructing knowledge about world-changing
needs space in order to come into existence ... to
historical events is important, because these
establish and pass on its characteristics’.1 Kjellen
events influence the politicisation of historical
extends this further, stating that the struggle for
interpretations to justify tangible foreign and
space that characterises history is because ‘vital
domestic policy outcomes for many nations.
states, occupying a limited space, are governed
One catastrophic and highly influential historical
by the categorical political imperative to enlarge
trend is genocide, widely accepted to be the
their territory, through colonisation, annexation, or
systematic destruction of a group of people
conquest’2. Kirchhoff clarifies this best, explaining
1 2
Ratzel quoted in Bassin, Imperialism and the Nation State in Friedrich Ratzel’s Political Geography, 477 Kjellen, Stormakterna: Konturer kring samtidens storpolitik, 53
46
that ‘the struggle for existence between the
where extensive grassland spaces was used
peoples, causes the extermination of the crude,
to feed flocks5. This was important due to the
immoral hordes’, because ‘the righteousness
development of capitalism where numerous
of the struggle for existence ... wills it’3. Their
Western powers sought to overextend their
arguments were supported by many social
empires beyond Europe, seeking space to house
Darwinists, subsuming racial conflict under the
growing populations, land to extract precious metal
Darwinian struggle for existence.
resources like gold and silver from, and people to exploit as cheap labour6. Through a process of
The applicability of the model is strengthened by
confiscating land and other crucial resources,
deductive scientific explanation: The outcome of
British settlers deprived indigenous populations
environmental determinism was explained by an
of basic nutrition and later still, their rights to
adaptation of ‘survival of the fittest’, driving the
raise their own children7. Crucially, unfamiliar
behaviour of colonial powers to annex territories
pathogenic diseases such as smallpox, measles,
and mow down indigenous populations for their
and tuberculosis killed thousands of indigenous
own advancement. These victims were unable to
people, a seeming confirmation of the assertion
adapt quickly enough to this racial conflict, thus
that the end of indigenous lives was necessarily
evolutionary law forced them out of existence.
inevitable as they were too slow to ‘adapt’8. Thus,
Through this explanation, several general laws
general laws can sufficiently explain genocide in
(such as environmental determinism, and ‘survival
the context of specific environmental conditions.
of the fittest’) could thus be used in combination to deductively explain the phenomenon of
For Hempel’s model to stay relevant, it necessarily
genocide. This differentiates it from ‘empirically
has to be able to continue accounting for recent
meaningless statements’, such as the explanation
trends in genocide. However, the applicability of
that a certain race was predestined to occupy the
the general law of environmental determinism
world, or that it was a matter of historical justice
and even ‘survival of the fittest’ to explain recent
that made a certain outcome inevitable.
genocides is much more limited. The most notorious genocidal regime must be accounted for
The extermination of the Tasmanian Aboriginal
- During World War Two, the Nazi Holocaust regime
population following colonisation of Australian
oppressed, imprisoned, and killed over six million
territories by the British was cited to support
European Jews, Romani, and disabled Aktion
this. Between 1824 and 1908, ten thousand
T4 patients9. Evans noted the ‘obsessiveness’
Aboriginal people were murdered . The motivation
and ‘desire to be comprehensive’ of Germans
for these horrific actions are strongly suggested
during the Holocaust in their attempts to rid
to be economic in nature; Cannon suggests that
Germany and the world10 of what they perceived
Australia was appropriate for farming of wool,
to be ‘a parasitical, polluting people’11. Disturbingly,
4
Kirchhoff quoted in Weikhart, Progress through Racial Extermination: Social Darwinism, Eugenics, and Pacifism in Germany, 1860–1918, 274 4 Tatz, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies 1999 Report 5 Cannon, Black land, White land 6 Jalata, The Impacts of English Colonial Terrorism and Genocide on Indigenous/Black Australians 7 Lemkin, Genocide - A Modern Crime 8 Kociumbas, Genocide and modernity in colonial Australia, 1788-1850 9 Niewyk & Nicosia & Francis, The Columbia Guide to the Holocaust, 45, 51-52 3
47
the
Holocaust
regime
was
to mass extermination of the
considered the most efficient
Heroes
extermination machine in the
(present-day
history of genocides, having
justified
industrialised
who referenced the Darwinian
death
camps
in
Southwest Africa Namibia)
by
General
as
Trotha,
and equipped them with gas
struggle
chambers, with the purpose of
resulted in a zero-sum rivalrous
systematic mass extermination.
relationship13. By the time of the
Hitler anchored Nazi ideology
rise of the Nazi Party, Germany
on the concept of lebensraum
had already encountered the
and the necessity of expansion
entrance and development of
to justify this insidious policy,
environmental
which might incline one to
theories in academic discourse,
suppose
following a slew of notable
that
environmental
for
existence
that
deterministic
determinism was fundamental
German
to explaining the Holocaust
Kirchhoff’s ‘Darwinism Applied
and its causes, granted that a
to Peoples and States’ (1910),
deductive explanation similar
Ratzel’s ‘Der Lebensraum: Eine
to that used earlier (refer to
biogeograpische Studie’ (1901),
paragraphs
and
5-6)
could
be
publications
Kjellen’s
like
‘Stormakterna’
(!916), which was popularised
applied here too.
enough to be published in 34 However,
historical
context
editions across 1909 to 1934.
would inform a researcher of the Holocaust otherwise. It is
Instead of explaining Hitler’s
arguable that even before Hitler’s
actions and the phenomenon of
rise to power, publications of
genocide in Nazi Germany, the
prominent
Darwinists
general law of environmental
had long since informed the
determinism and ‘survival of
public
that
the fittest’ instead served as
of
a source of ideation for such
consciousness
Germany’s East
social
colonisation
African
nations
was
genocidal
actions
to
even
justified by arguments that
be carried ou. Hitler himself
were fundamentally premised
deliberately
develops
and
on biological racist beliefs .
echoes sentiments in a similar
Even within the process of
vein just a few years after,
extending the German empire,
appealing to ideas of ‘the right
German colonial policy resorted
of victory of the best and the
12
10 11 12 13
Evans, The Third Reich in History and Memory, 376-377 Bloxham, The Final Solution: Genocide, 140-141 Stoecker, German Imperialism in Africa: From the Beginnings until the Second World War, 209-212 Schmitt-Egner, Kolonialismus und Faschismus, 125
48
strongest’, asserting that ‘whoever wants to live,
choice made15. This undermines Hitler’s agency in
must struggle, and whoever will not fight in this
making a ‘choice’ to manoeuvre the concepts of
world of eternal struggle, does not deserve to
Darwinian struggle for survival and lebensraum to
live’14, which sat well with the ethnic Germans,
achieve his own political aims - while he was able
serving as a moral justification for allowing and
to accomplish what he so desired, his desire was
even participating in facilitating the mass murder
in fact already determined perhaps, by external
of millions. In this context, Hempel’s general law
factors out of his control like his upbringing
model could then be viewed as insufficient to
and exposure to German works advocating for
explain the phenomenon of genocide, because
a racial utopia. This position coheres with the
even if general laws could deductively explain the
deterministic nature of knowledge constructed
properties and behaviours of communities, it fails
on historical explanation when the general laws
to account for the agency and role of individual
model is used, although the utility of the model is
actors in history, who might well be aware and
now constrained with specificity to general laws
subject to the influence of the knowledge that
like environmental determinism. Alternatively,
one can claim to construct under this model.
examining other potential concepts in the context
Therefore, Hempel’s model is undermined as
of their utility as general laws might reveal other
a mode of constructing knowledge about the
weaknesses or strengths of the general law model.
causation for all phenomenons, even those with a significant patterns of similarity across history.
Nevertheless, the position of soft determinism suggests that ultimately, Hempel’s general law
A way to reconcile the differences in the nature
model is applicable to a large extent in the
of deterministic ‘general laws’ explanations and
construction
the agency of individual actors is through soft
explanation for events like genocide.
determinism, which suggests that human agency and will has already been determined by the individual’s experiences, and the experience of freely making a choice is only an illusion in the face of ignorance of the causes that influenced the
14 15
Hitler, Mein Kampf, 316-317 Rond & Thietart, Change, Choice, and Determinism in Strategy, 11-12
49
of
knowledge
about
historical
Mini Independent Study
To what extent do the changing perceptions of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring reveal that our knowledge of Music is constructed rather than objective? Tan Hui-Lin, Natasha (17-O1) Introduction
The Classification System
Our knowledge of music attempts to demarcate
The classification system divides music into
music and explain how value judgements can
periods based on general trends, defined by a few
be attached to musical works. The development
broad characteristics that attempt to represent
of musicology, particularly the branch of music
the whole repertoire of music composed during
history, has given rise to the European music
this period in composition. The tonal products of
classification system, created by music historians
a particular period mutually have both features in
and scholars to attain some degree of ability to
common and different features which are suited
characterise musical works. This system forms
to placing them in distinct categories1 within the
the basis for much of the musical knowledge that
genre. There are approximations of the beginning
has been integrated into multiple fields, including
and ending of each period, but it is impossible to
history, composition and theory. However, the
pinpoint each period definitively as changes in
failure of this system to recognise modern
styles were gradual and subtle.
and unclassified music has led to increasing
Issues
concerns with the knowledge being produced and integrated, the nature of which this paper will explore through examining the changing
Music historians glean their knowledge about
perceptions of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.
different musical eras through analysis of music compositions and identification of notable and prominent characteristics. However, the continuous evolution of music implies that the system will forever remain unfinished due to the inability of scholars to predict the trends of the future or recognise the
1 Mugglestone, Erica, and Guido Adler. "Guido Adler's "The Scope, Method, and Aim of Musicology" (1885): An English Translation with an Historico-Analytical Commentary." Yearbook for Traditional Music 13 (1981): 1-21. doi:10.2307/768355.
50
process of musical evolution, and will only realise what has taken place when the end product stands before them. The definition of music is thus relative to the community and any works that are being produced at that point of time that challenge existing norms, hence making adaptation necessary to evaluate new ideas. However, the wide range of soundscapes and new musical universes dreamt up by our modernity inevitably come up against the impenetrable, established ways of categorizing2, and we are habituated to such a degree that music not of this intellect seems to us to be mere incoherent noise3. Despite our musical knowledge being contingent on existing works and highly provisional, we behave as though the opposite is true, quick to condemn music that exists outside our knowledge. The system is a construct which is heavily based on what the governing body in the field (musical scholars) sees as relevant, thus establishing a closed belief system, within which knowledge is paradigmatic and incompatible with externalities.
Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring The implications this has on musical knowledge can be seen through Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Stravinsky believed that progress in art required the destruction of hidebound rules and aesthetic dogma4, which is precisely what the Classification system proliferated and enforced. This motivated much of his artistic direction and is most clearly seen in The Rite of Spring, where music is perceived violently emerging, naked and unashamed, from even the lightest restraints5 or adherence to convention and precedent. Stravinsky had boldly superseded the harmony systems that had governed the music that had come before him, in an act seen as ‘aural terrorism’ by a horrified audience that responded by rioting at the Rite’s premiere. 2 Pedler, Emmanuel. "The Systematic Refusal of Modern Music and the Cult of Classicism." Leonardo 32, no. 3 (1999): 223-25. 3 Chennevière, Rudhyar D., and Frederick H. Martens. "The Two Trends of Modern Music in Stravinsky's Works." The Musical Quarterly 5, no. 2 (1919): 169-74. 4 Patteson, Thomas. "“The Alchemy of Tone”: Jörg Mager and Electric Music." In Instruments for New Music: Sound, Technology, and Modernism, 52-81. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2016. 5 Gilman, Lawrence. "Music of the Month: From Stravinsky to Sibelius." The North American Review 215, no. 794 (1922): 117-21.
51
Figure 1: The New York Times review of the Rite, 8 June 1913
However, by 1929, the New York Times proclaimed
In comparison, the nature of musical works is
the significance of The Rite “to the twentieth
such that they cannot be viewed through objective
century as Beethoven's Ninth is to the nineteenth.”
and judgement-free lenses, thus all musical
The drastic evolution of the perception of the
knowledge drawn are merely value judgements,
Rite from incomprehensible noise to music had
which are subjective, influenced by personal
happened in the short span of less than twenty
beliefs and experiences, and thus cannot be
years, surmounting the leap from absolute
separated from the person doing the concluding.
rejection to reverence, two incompatible and
No two interpretations will ever be the same, thus
irreconcilable schools of thought.
the basis for which we build our judgement on is incompatible across independents. Two people
Nature of Musical Knowledge
can have polar opposite interpretations of the
To examine how this paradigm shift came about,
would at the very least physically observe the
the concepts of ‘Objective’ and ‘Constructed’ have
same natural phenomena, even if the conclusion
to first be expounded upon.
drawn is different. Additionally, unlike scales of
same musical work whereas in Science, two people
measurement in Science, there exists no objective An example of objective knowledge would be
or universal scale to define ‘good’ music, given
Scientific knowledge. Scientific inquiry grapples
its unquantifiable nature, and neither is there an
with an objective reality and formulates theories
ideal exemplar of music that all existing works can
and laws based on a rigorous and standardized
be compared against. Paradigm shifts in musical
process of testing a hypothesis drawn from
knowledge are due to the new soundscapes and
observation of natural phenomenon. This process
musical products of new eras, thus necessitating
either verifies or falsifies a theory via reproducible
the shift of the system to encompass the additions
experimentation, and results are subject to peer
to the existing body.
review and critique to ensure a consensus among the community. Because Science works with an
This process is perfectly exemplified in the case
objective reality and under the assumption that our
of Stravinsky’s Rite, which was only considered
perception accurately shows us the entity being
music after the classification system shifted to
observed, results can be tested and confirmed by
accommodate it. Musical knowledge may seem to
independent bodies, thus the conclusions derived
be objective, due to the fact that with each new
from the phenomenon can be separated from the
idea comes a protesting public, seeing modernism
scientist who did the experimentation, and the
as an erosion of ‘music’, which seems to imply
two can exist independently. Paradigm shifts and
the existence of a concrete definition of music
revolutions in Science occur due to improvements
which can be deviated from. However, changing
our means of experimentation, thus allowing us
perceptions of audiences demonstrate an ongoing
to have better explanations of a phenomena that
construction of musical knowledge and continual
propel scientific discourse to greater heights.
evolvement and adaptation of the classification
However, the phenomena itself is unchanging and
system. Our ideal form may be due to our dogmatic
it is assumed that this will continue to be the case
view that the classification system is the definition
indefinitely.
of music, as criticism of new ideas is always with
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regards to the previous ones, suggesting that
Conclusion
an absolute, all-encompassing knowledge of music is unattainable. The pattern of rejection followed by gradual acceptance was not unique
Changing
to Stravinsky’s case, for every contemporary
demonstrate the constructive nature of musical
composer has been subjected to negative
knowledge over an objective one, and exemplify an
comparisons with those who came before. Even
ongoing conflict between modernity and tradition
in the 18th century, J.S. Bach was rebuked6 as
that has been ongoing since the dawn of music
‘confounding the congregation’ with ‘perplexing
itself. In the fifth century, Timotheus of Greece
variations and strange harmonies’, which today
was criticized for transforming the dithyramb,
we recognise as masterful counterpoint.
a hymn to Dionysus, into a virtuosic showpiece.
perceptions
of
Stravinsky’s
Rite
The despair of the spectators culminates in a The constant evolution of the system without
cry, “But what is there in this for Dionysius?”7, of
a finite endpoint necessitates the continual
which echoes can be felt throughout the history of
construction of musical knowledge, thus making
music as a motif for all those who feel that music
all knowledge provisional and incomplete. Musical
is being torn away from its noble and exalted
knowledge of the past can and will come into
place by the currents of change. Perhaps, given
direct conflict with the new knowledge being
the incompatibility of musical knowledge from
constructed, and this will always be the case
before and after a paradigm shift, the question we
as modernity continues to produce works that
should instead be asking is “What is there in this
challenge and reject our existing perspectives.
for me?”, reflective of an open belief system and a willingness to partake in and accept the process of knowledge construction as it continues to refine our definition of music.
6 7
Welch, R. D. "The Assault on Modernism in Music." The Musical Quarterly 7, no. 3 (1921): 408-17. Welch, R. D. "The Assault on Modernism in Music." The Musical Quarterly 7, no. 3 (1921): 408-17.
Bibliography Chennevière, Rudhyar D., and Frederick H. Martens. "The Two Trends of Modern Music in Stravinsky's Works." The Musical Quarterly 5, no. 2 (1919): 169-74. http://www.jstor.org/stable/738074. Gilman, Lawrence. "Music of the Month: From Stravinsky to Sibelius." The North American Review 215, no. 794 (1922): 117-21. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25120941. Mugglestone, Erica, and Guido Adler. "Guido Adler's "The Scope, Method, and Aim of Musicology" (1885): An English Translation with an Historico-Analytical Commentary." Yearbook for Traditional Music 13 (1981): 1-21. doi:10.2307/768355. Patteson, Thomas. "“The Alchemy of Tone”: Jörg Mager and Electric Music." In Instruments for New Music: Sound, Technology, and Modernism, 52-81. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2016. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ffjn9k.7. Pedler, Emmanuel. "The Systematic Refusal of Modern Music and the Cult of Classicism." Leonardo 32, no. 3 (1999): 223-25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1576799. Welch, R. D. "The Assault on Modernism in Music." The Musical Quarterly 7, no. 3 (1921): 408-17. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/738115.
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Mini Independent Study
What are the problems with knowledge of the past, derived from collective memory construction efforts in conjunction with the National Education Programme by the state? Sandra Tan Jia Ying (17-O2)
01
Introduction
Overview “Official histories produced by modern states clearly include elements of collective remembering as well as history.” (Werstch, 2009, p. 125) Much of an ordinary person’s knowledge and beliefs of the past is shaped by an official history, and in this paper, I will examine the influence of collective memory on knowledge of the past constructed within a group, using the National Education (NE) programme as a case study. To explain how collective memory deviates from our expectations of knowledge of the past I will briefly draw insights from historical inquiry.
Outline of case study: NE Programme “Our young must know the Singapore Story-how Singapore succeeded against the odds to become a nation. National Education […] is to do with a special story, our story. It is the story of Singapore, how we came to be one nation.” (H. L. Lee, 1997) (as cited by Chia, 2014) In 1996, a Ministry of Education (MOE) quiz reported that youths were “critically” ignorant of Singapore’s contemporary history between the war and her merger with Malaysia. (Chia, 2014) This “crisis of historical knowledge” prompted the government to improve youth identification with the nation. A “topdown” formulation of NE by the state ensued, seeking to rectify the memory gaps (Chia, 2014, p. 74) by constructing collective memory via tools such as education. I will use the NE case study, drawing details and insights from Chia in State Formation and Nation Building Through Education, to demonstrate how the nature of collective memory, constructed by the state, may have implications on a group’s knowledge of the past.
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Definition of collective memory Collective memory has “as many definitions as there are parties discussing it.” (Wertsch, 2009, p. 117) It involves the recall of a common group-past to fulfill some present needs, and produces a distorted version of history that glorifies the collective’s past, and suppresses competing narratives. This collective memory is common among a group’s individuals – memory in the group, not of, as Frederic Bartlett advocates. (as cited by Werstch, 2009, p.118) This paper understands collective memory using Wertsch’s (2002) “instrumentally-distributed” version, that states there are active agents of memory, who use tools to construct collective memory. (as cited in Wertsch, 2009) Yadin Dudai (2002) distilled from collective memory three components: (a) the body of knowledge, common to the group; (b) the attribute, “the distinctive holistic image of the past in the group”; and (c) the process, the dynamic relationship individuals have with their groups. (as cited by Roediger, Zaromb, Butler, 2009, p. 138) The former two are of especial utility to this paper. The body of knowledge, in the context of Singapore’s NE programme, refers to specific interpretations of her past constructed and conveyed instrumentally by the state to the public: the “Singapore Story”. (Chia, 2014) When the public receives and, presumably, accepts this body of knowledge, they use it to construct implicitly their image of Singapore and her past – the attribute; for example, the popularised perception of Singapore as an ‘economic miracle’. The attribute amounts to an ‘end-product’ of collective memory. While this and the body do not qualify as knowledge in the traditional sense, they remain viable for epistemological inquiry – how we ‘know’ what we think we know.
Relevance of historical inquiry to the question Any knowledge of the past must be subjective, due to the nature of the subject matter, and the fallibility of humans in reconstructive efforts. However, historical inquiry arguably offers the best standard for reconstructing knowledge of the past. Tosh writes (2010, p. 2): “[I]t is not enough to invoke the past; there must also be a belief that getting the story right matters. History as a disciplined enquiry aims to sustain the widest possible definition of memory, and to make the process of recall as accurate as possible, so that our knowledge of the past is not confined to what is immediately relevant.” Hence, if historical inquiry methodology is indeed the correct approach to the past for knowledge, when collective memory is constructed in such a way that it opposes the principles of historical inquiry, we have reason to believe that knowledge of the past from collective memory will fall short of the ‘historical’ standard.
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02
Problems with Knowledge
2.1 Recalling the past for the needs of the present In 1996, members of parliament were concerned that the youth might, not knowing key events leading to independence, take Singapore’s prosperity for granted. NE was conceptualised to guarantee the youth’s commitment to the nation. History was identified as a suitable subject for the infusion of NE, and the 2014 syllabus for lower secondary History still reflects this: “The revised Lower Secondary History syllabuses seek to imbue in our students a sense of national identity by helping them understand the Singapore they live in today.” (MOE, 2013, p. 3) This is heavily-reminiscent of collective memory, one feature of which is the provision of a “usable past” (Wertsch, 2009, p. 123). Collective memory – particularly the body of knowledge – hence becomes limited to what is deemed immediately relevant and usable, by a group of clout in society who “[uses] history to promote the viability, dynamism, and superiority of their group”, (Blatz & Ross, 2009, p. 226) and distort the past for social cohesion. (Boyer & Wertsch, 2009) These imply the marginalisation of an ‘unusable’ past. Post-1945 history is “dominated by narratives that have focused almost exclusively on the role of the People’s Action Party (PAP) in leading Singapore’s anti-colonial struggle and the perceived threat posed by the Malayan Communist Party (MCP)”, (Curless, 2016, p. 153-154) particularly in school-level NE and History lessons. In nineteen-sixty-three however a hundred and thirty-three alleged leaders of Barisan Socialis and pro-Communist organisations were detained in Operation Coldstore, a past event that does not feature significantly in NE, or history textbooks. Non-mainstream historians have interpreted the operation as a move to consolidate power for the PAP. Attempts by the state to admit the Operation into the body of knowledge are, to my knowledge, non-existent, and this example reminds us that with collective memory comes an aspect of forgetfulness. Within an ‘instrumentally-distributed’ model (see Section 1.3), forgetting can be enforced by the marginalisation of narratives by the state, reducing public conversations about them, resulting in state-sanctioned historical amnesia. I am not suggesting that Operation Coldstore be admitted into collective memory merely to plug the gap in historical knowledge. However, excluding narratives that do not serve present needs limits the body of knowledge. Distinguishing between narratives that reflect well on a group and narratives that don’t, and excluding one kind from collective memory, has no tenable justification. Although Operation Coldstore might be of no service to the NE aims of engendering youth’s commitment to Singapore, this does not justify its exclusion from the body of knowledge. Moreover, the exclusion denies the group the ability to construct an informed interpretation about the past. We cannot hope that our attributes will expand beyond these limitations of knowledge. If I am never informed of dodo birds, I would be unable to imagine their past existence, or to grasp their current inexistence. Our resultant impression and knowledge of the past will very likely possess incongruences as compared to the past, as it was, and resemble more closely the projection of the present on the past. It is desirable for knowledge of the past to be as closely accurate to the past as possible – because what other standard should we approximate our knowledge of the past against, if not the past itself?
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Furthermore, because this limited body of knowledge is common in a group, the representation of the past each individual derives from it will likely concur with one another in major aspects. Casual conversations, and commemorative ceremonies (such as National Day Parades), provide the chance for the group to compare attributes and potentially provide mutual feedback. Though associated with errorcorrection, feedback is only successful if able to label errors as incorrect, (Roediger et al., 2009) be they errors of omission, commission, or inaccuracies. Consider a History class: should the textbook contain inaccuracies, students will learn and retrieve them and receive feedback from the teacher suggesting they are correct. This reinforces an inaccurate collective memory, and gives rise to the construction and maintenance of an inaccurate attribute. Collective memories are rarely toppled, even in the face of opposing evidence, in part due to the strengthening role feedback plays in a community. This internal resistance to countervailing narratives lacks supporting rationale, and implies that an inaccurate collective memory is unlikely to undergo revisions towards accuracy. Is knowledge of the past from collective memory then impossible? If it is the Singapore Story – and those who preserve it – that is disinclined to change, then the possibility of knowledge remains. If however it is our knowledge of the past instead that resists change, then what differentiates it from belief?
03
Closing
In conclusion, recalling the past for the needs of the present leads to distortion of memory. Within collective memory, conviction for “getting the story right” is absent, and narratives which stand at odds with the simplified, endearing version of history are marginalised. This compromises accuracy, because events of history are underrepresented if ‘unusable’ for present aims, yet this does not mark them not worth knowing. After construction, inaccurate collective memories are likely to resist change. This raises doubts then as to whether we can have knowledge of the past from collective memory. At the heart of this argument is an objection to the utilisation of history to meet an end other than to reconstruct accurately the past. In the full Independent Study, I hope to expand on the research question, and explore the value of this objection to the problems of knowledge of the past.
References Blatz, C. W., & Ross, M. (2009). Historical Memories. In Boyer, P., Werstch, J. V. (Eds.), Memory in mind and culture. (p. 223-237) New York: Cambridge University Press. Chia, Y. T. (2014). State formation and nation building through education. The origins and introduction of the “National Education” program in Singapore. In Williams, J. H. (Ed.), (Re)Constructing memory: school textbooks and the imagination of the nation. (p. 61-77) Washington, DC: Sense. Curless, G. (2016). [Review of the book The 1963 Operation Coldstore in Singapore: commemorating 50 years, Edited by Poo, S. K., Tan K. F., & Hong L.]. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 47(1), 153-156. Roediger, H. L. III, Zaromb, F. M., & Butler, A.C. (2009). The role of repeated retrieval in shaping collective memory. In Boyer, P., Werstch, J. V. (Eds.), Memory in mind and culture. (p. 138-170) New York: Cambridge University Press. Singapore, Ministry of Education, Curriculum Planning & Development Division. (2013). 2014 Lower Secondary History Teaching Syllabus. Retrieved August 28, 2017, from https://www.moe.gov.sg/docs/default-source/document/ education/syllabuses/humanities/files/history-lower-secondary-2014.pdf Tosh, J. (2010). The pursuit of history: aims, methods, and new directions in the study of modern history. (5th ed.). Great Britain: Pearson Education Limited. Werstch, J. V. (2009). Collective Memory. In Boyer, P., Werstch, J. V. (Eds.), Memory in mind and culture. (p. 117-137) New York: Cambridge University Press.
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GENERAL PAPER 2 Perspectives
Consider the claim that we need more honesty in today’s world. Jolyn Ho Jun Ning (17-A3) As George Orwell once famously remarked, ‘In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act’. With the exponential rise in fake news, sensationalised content and dishonest acts, it is no surprise that people are in search of more honesty in today’s world. Yet, critics would simply question our need and willingness to be more honest today. Despite such skepticism, I would argue that the world needs more honesty today, simply because it is the right thing to do for others and oneself, and it also allows for the betterment of others’ lives. Firstly, one reason why we need more honesty today is because traditionally, the media has been the institution that has performed the duty of upholding the truth in society. It is supposed to safeguard democratic values and enlighten the electorate on what they need to know to make informed decisions. Fundamentally, the press is also the Fourth Estate, serving as the public’s watchdog, especially to check those in power. However, today, the media, supposedly the arbiter of truth, is now on trial. With a rapidly growing global economy, the media has become even more subservient to profit and power. This
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problem has been further worsened with traditional avenues for financing journalism coming under assault with the rise of the Internet and digital media, which are all now on a valiant scramble for audiences and advertisers. Given this highly competitive industry, the media has been unable to fully fulfill its role of reporting honest news to us. Instead of rigorous reporting, statistical analyses and true, genuine news, they offer us sensationalised scandal and sleaze in order to stay sustainable. One well-known example can be seen from the News of the World Scandal where reporters hacked into the phones of celebrities – just to extract their personal information to create skewed gossip reporting. However, we should not dismiss the role of the media for it is one of society’s sources of enlightenment. The media’s inclination towards sensationalism is understandable since it is its way to survive in such a highly competitive landscape. Yet, this inclination should not persist or be encouraged as studies have shown that high levels of press freedom correlate with lower levels of corruption. Therefore, we ought to strive for more honesty and think of ways to help the media return to its original function – to report the truth to the people.
with sufficient knowledge and opinions to make an informed decision, many were still clueless on what Brexit meant and entailed even after votes had been cast. Climate Change Denial is also a case in point – even after years of proving that our climate is under threat, there are still stubborn individuals who reject such truths. The Anti-Vaccination Movement also furnishes further proof to show that even when there is factually-proven evidence provided to consumers, there will still be bigoted individuals who refuse this honesty offered to them. Despite scientific consensus that vaccines are safe and effective, there have been claims that vaccinations result in autism. As such, it is no wonder why critics have lost hope in mankind’s desire to shed ignorance, and would question the need for more honesty today. Furthermore, is mankind truly willing to be more honest today? With consumers seemingly only caring about entertainment, which is also a cause for sensationalism, critics question the point of providing more honesty to an uninterested audience.
Secondly, we need more honesty in today’s world, given how many in power, those who should be held in check the most, are exploiting their authority and withholding the truth from the masses. With Donald Trump’s indiscriminate use of the label "fake news" for any news that undermines his agenda, he clearly demonstrates his blatant disregard of facts. Moreover, one must also recognise the limitations of the press, especially if the rich and powerful employ it, control it and severely limit its autonomy in reporting the truth. This is evident from how Turkey’s President, President Erdogan, who is rapidly establishing a dictatorship, showed his control of the country by taking over the press. After an “editorial update” of Zaman Media, the press resumed business, but with a new "pro-government" - "proErdogan" - outlook. Additionally, with the Chinese government employing thousands of individuals, also known as China’s 50cent army, to write nearly 450 million pro-governmental comments a year, this situation is highly worrying. Such cases clearly illustrate how the world is being fed with false information, especially by those in power. Hence, it is exactly because of this that we need more honesty than before, to be able to distinguish between the truth and what is false.
Although opponents may claim that there is no need for more honesty, there are still grounds to claim that there is, and there should be more honesty in today’s world. This is especially so when an issue closely affects the lives of consumers. The 2008 Financial Crisis was a result of people withholding crucial information, and this led to a plunge in various economies worldwide. Furthermore, the claim that consumers are uninterested in the truth is generalising and untrue. The leak by Edward Snowden, the Panama Papers leak and the unclean tap water in Flint Michigan have been lauded to have positively impacted many lives with their exposés of the truth. Such reports have shed light for normal citizens, and have been greatly appreciated by the general public. What critics have argued is therefore too pessimistic, and they should not encourage the continuation of false news, and the exploitation of power that preys on the ignorance of consumers
However, critics with good reason, may argue that it is not necessary for the world to have more honesty than before, and they would contend that we should be satisfied with the status quo. They would pat the backs of media outlets today, such as the New York Times with their motto “All the News That’s Fit to Print” as the New York Times, purportedly, still remains credible because it hires fact-checkers to vet the accuracy of their articles. Critics would also point out that even with such true, fact-checked information, consumers still choose to remain ignorant and take such honest news for granted. Clearly, as illustrated by Brexit, even after the media had published countless reports to inform the electorate, hoping to provide them
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not consider these as excuses for us to stop trying to seek honesty. Instead, it is especially because of such problems that it is imperative for us to seek honesty in the world, and progress to become a more truthful world. It is of utmost importance that honesty is tempered with realism. Let us desire honesty, to be truthful, and to allow honesty to be the norm instead of just a ‘revolutionary act’.
simply because of the premise that many consumers do not care enough about the truth. Rather, mankind should desire more honesty as it is imperative for the betterment of humanity. As such, we need more honesty and we should seek it. In conclusion, even with the current problems and faults of the media, government and consumers, we should
Joelle Heng Wee En (17-E3) Honesty is a highly regarded virtue in today’s world. Whether it be at work, school or play, universally, honesty is a greatly soughtafter attribute. Honesty is a reflection of and a testament to one’s character and accountability. Khaled Hosseini, the author of the book “The Kite Runner” writes that dishonesty is stealing someone’s right to the truth. If one is capable of overcoming this temptation to steal, one of the simplest, but most precious virtues, credibility, is achieved. With the escalating incidence of distrust and allurements in this world, I agree that we need more honesty on personal, societal and international levels. Some people claim that we already have more than enough honesty in today’s world, as honesty is often practised and treated as a given. It is highly emphasised in today’s world, with grave punishments for and variegated severe repercussions resulting from dishonesty. For example, if one were to be dishonest in a major examination, such as during the GCE O-Level or A-Level examinations, one would not only have one’s marks nullified, one would also be barred from taking the rest of one’s papers, and even have a black mark on one’s report card. Years of intense
studying and sleepless nights would have come to naught, just because of a single act of compromising one’s integrity. Putting serious measures in place would deter students from cheating, and thus allow us to maintain relatively high standards of integrity. However, in my opinion, regardless of the great emphasis placed on honesty and integrity, the rare instances of people compromising their integrity during examinations show that there could be credence to the view that people are only honest because of regulations put in place and because of either the explicit or implicit fear of judgement. I am of the view that it is part of human nature to be dishonest, because I believe Man is prone to being self-serving and having lapses in integrity. It is hard to deny that even our acts of honesty are sometimes tainted by thoughts and desires to be dishonest, sometimes, even with a hint of an ulterior motive. In fact, using the example of examinations again, there is often even greater emphasis on cheating and not being found out in some corrupt societies, thus resulting in bribery of examination officials and even more corruption. As such, in spite of the implementation of various measures to deter, there are still many instances of
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have proven itself capable of going back on its words and breaching allies’ trust in subsequent deals. In either case, whether or not this lie was detected, there would eventually be negative consequences for the USA. Many of such controversial circumstances that risk the inevitable manifestation of dishonesty exist. Hence, we certainly need more honesty to combat temptations and to create greater trust, especially in today’s world. This does not only apply on the international level, but on the communal level too, as there have been common instances of monetary embezzlement, unacceptable corruption and convenient plagiarism. In addition, even on the interpersonal and marital levels, dishonesty through incorrigible cheating on one’s life partner has led to the unravelling of marriage unions. Even these acts are forms of dishonesty, as they involve lies that conceal the truth, and therein compromise one’s values. In this sense, dishonesty can also be seen as a deliberate excuse to conceal greater wrongs. As circumstances that challenge one’s honesty are commonplace today, there is a great need for honesty in today’s world.
dishonesty. Therefore, I feel that today’s world needs more honesty. Modern societies also need more honesty because circumstances that allow and foment the compromising of one’s integrity are extremely common. Such circumstances are encountered on a daily basis, and at times, dishonesty may seem an even more attractive and viable option than dealing with hard truths, especially if it is for the common good. White lies, for example, which are recognised as acceptable and seemingly harmless, if and when found out, can lead to increasing suspicion and doubt from those who uncover them. No matter the excuses or justification, honesty still pricks our consciences and our futile defences cannot conceal the immorality of our errors. For example, during the 40 years of Cold War tensions, there were many instances of integrity being compromised, such as during the Iran Contra Affair in 1986, where Ronald Reagan flagrantly lied to Congress that he would not lend aid to the civil war in Iran. However, he sold weapons to the revolutionary government of Iran surreptitiously, resulting in a huge scandal as the USA was covertly supporting the Nicaraguan Contra anti-communist movement. Although Reagan’s intentions for providing aid to Iran’s revolutionary government in exchange for the freeing of seven American hostages seemed noble, this compromised his integrity. Even though, at that point in time, this may have seemed like a triumph for the USA, in the long-term, if it had worked - if the lie had not been uncovered, the ramifications would have been disastrous. This is because despite the short-term goal of having saved the hostages, the scandal would likely have had a detrimental long-term effect on how the rest of the world would view the USA for years to come, potentially causing the nation’s credibility to plummet. This could affect the international and bilateral ties that USA would have with its allies, who would now perceive USA as a potentially unreliable ally as it would
Furthermore, today’s world needs more honesty because honesty fulfils vital needs. These essential needs include successful relationships and friends, a job to ensure a living and most importantly, a clear conscience. One thing that most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes look for when searching for a compatible spouse, is honesty. They look for a trustworthy, faithful partner who will not betray their trust. Employers look for a dependable employee who can be counted on to handle the company’s finances without compromising his or her integrity. For example, there was once a job opening that remained vacant for many years. The most difficult question the interviewers asked after having given the potential employee the impression that he had gotten the job was to include a realistic scenario of the job opening
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and pervades even mundane routines. For example, in the Dream Argument or Hutton’s Paradox, British writer, Eric Hutton challenged the truth of his belief that he existed. This was because he had experienced lucid dreams, which felt like real life, except that he would wake up from them. He asked, “What if life was just a dream?”, and found that this revelation changed his outlook towards life completely. If life were truly a dream, one could do wrong, and one would not actually have to truly bear the consequences of wrongdoing, as much as in real life. If someone lied to a gullible child about his life being merely a dream, that he would soon wake up from, such could lead to the child’s despair. Indeed, there can be no benefit in listening, telling and believing in lies, though they may seem true. As truths indeed thoroughly influence our entire lives, being honest, and telling the truth is essential. Honesty is the presence of truth, and with its disintegration, when truth ceases to exist, society runs the risk of collapse, with its rock-solid foundations of truth replaced with sandy, precarious undercurrents of lies. As truth has not just influence, but authority, if the truth is not told, our society would be doomed.
requiring the candidate to compromise his or her integrity. Nine out of ten potential employees answered that they would be willing to compromise their integrity, and were thus unfortunately not given the job. It may seem that having integrity may cost one’s reputation, opportunities, and money, as it means having to admit one’s mistakes and to risk facing the consequences. However, such materialistic possessions pale in comparison to the importance of upholding one’s beliefs and values. Only by having a clean conscience can one be rid of guilt, and abstain from lust and temptation. Only in standing firm on one’s values can one have true, unwavering love, happiness and bliss. Only in being faithful to one’s virtues, can one’s life be one of fulfilment, peace and contentment. Honesty prevents the undesirable breaking of relationships and even the loss of reputation, respect, one’s career and trust. Thus, today’s world desperately needs more honesty to fill the heart’s vacuum which desires the truth. Hence, lastly, we need more honesty in the world of today because of the value of truth. Truth is important because of its rarity and influence. In today’s world of widespread ‘fake news’, it is increasingly challenging to differentiate between truth and falsity. As such, credibility and reliability are highly sought after commodities in almost all circumstances in life: in seeking answers to questions and in pondering life decisions. Credibility, the assurance of the accuracy of the truth, renders a source more thoroughly useful. Therefore, credibility is a vital characteristic searched for in writing papers and essays, for example, historical analyses, and even in our general quests for truth. Truth and honesty are, in fact, the very basis of what gives facts their authority. These facts are the foundation of traditional beliefs, established systems and entrenched standards which are the essence of society. Truth governs one’s entire life, builds treasured camaraderie,
Overall, it may be said that we must pursue honesty in today’s world because honesty prevents the occurrence of mistrust, fulfils one’s utmost desires and protects our priceless truths. In this chaotic world of turmoil, where truths are so often distorted, so much so that almost everyone’s version of the truth is different, we need to persevere in pursuing the right truths and being honest and most importantly, being true to ourselves. Despite the haze of what the truth is, our duty is still not to remove other people’s rights to the truth by withholding information, even though it may lead to short-term benefits. Only then, can we enjoy the long-term benefits of trust and good relationships.
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Consider the view that
spoken language is more important than the
written form.
Lai Shu Ying, Nicole (17-O1)
language is more important than written language, but it cannot achieve its aims compellingly without written language.
Language, at its most foundational level, has always been used to communicate; with others, ourselves or to no one in particular. Language has always been called upon to express desires, needs, thoughts and emotions. In gauging the importance between two modes of language, written and spoken, one must judge the capability it thus has in exerting these effects. Written language can be said to allow more often for deeper contemplative thinking that relies mostly on its content to relay its views. Spoken language is different. It may rely on written language to develop, but ultimately hinges on delivery to express itself effectively. In considering both means of language, it can be said that spoken
Firstly, written language can be said to be a better educator for our young, by conveying a greater sense of specificity in meaning, or, even when written language is abstract, by allowing readers time to ponder over and analyse its content. For example, I grew up with Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl and Eric Carle, fine children’s book authors that shaped the way I thought, felt and saw the world around me. I learned about the limits of my appetite and the consequences of greed from the innocent “Very Hungry Caterpillar�, I learned about childlike
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naiveté, the development of cynicism and the power of unconditional love from “The Giving Tree” and I learned to appreciate and desire to grow my intellectual capabilities from “Matilda”. Written language, even if innocently phrased, can inculcate even the most precious of values and understanding in the world’s children, through books that serve as perpetual reminders as they rest on children’s shelves, and by extension, in the world as children grow up. Written language allows for the revision of past lessons learnt, and the choice to learn more from the same text and words if a person so chooses. On the flip side, spoken language can be said to convey a more obvious and less layered form of expression. Going along the same vein of children-targeted programmes and the impact they have, podcasts from the Animal Planet and children’s news outlets have allowed me to listen to and appreciate the world around me, in a more tangible way. However, it would be impractical to assume that these podcasts were made without a script, which is where written language comes into play. In our search to educate, to convey meaning and teach our children about how to garner optimism, hope and wisdom in this world, written language must be credited for the enabling capacity it possesses for both itself and the spoken word. However, spoken language can be said to be more forgiving in its expression. While the written word is more permanent and open to eternal criticism and dissection, the spoken word tends to be more spontaneous, transient and allowing for bursts of emotion. It lends a deeper respect to bodily and facial expression when words fail, and is kinder to those who express it. When a child is nervous about speaking in
front of his class, spoken language allows for a merciful stutter and conveyance of anxiety through body language, which in the finite capacity of a human being’s memory, can be forgotten. The written word, if required to express these same sentiments, would have to immortalise discomfort and humiliation in “black and white” text, through complex use of language technicalities. Along that same vein, the spoken word is validated further by the emotion it conveys through body language. Passion, if felt, can be expressed through spoken language, not merely by words alone, but through the inevitable and important use of body language and tone – the puffing of chests; animated, wide hand gestures and raised volumes. Love, if felt, need not be explained by numerous hopelessly frantic, wildly-linked adjectives to describe the onset of hormonal barrages that belies its target but can instead be mutually felt by pheromones and simple spoken declarations of love. The capacity of spoken language to express what needs to be expressed from human to human is thus much greater than that of the written word, because of the emotion that can be profoundly shown through subtle but meaningful physical signs. Thus, in facilitating the effective expression of thoughts, feelings and desires that connect human beings together, the spoken language appears to be far more empathetic and adept, and is therefore, more important in this regard. Spoken language also has the privilege of being certain in tone. In Martin Luther King Junior’s (MLK) famous “I Have a Dream” speech, he spoke to the masses who had been, for decades, repressed and shunned by virtue of their skin colour. In racist 20 th Century America, MLK’s courage to openly stand up and declare his ringing message of how “his four babies” should
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have long involved an annual song. One song in particular, “Home”, stands out as a favourite for many Singaporeans. Its spoken and sung lyrics are emotional and relatable: “There’s a place that will stay within me, wherever I may choose to go”. Despite the continual evolution of Singapore’s national identity in an evolving globalised world, it is impossible to deny that it exists and despite its vagueness, it is a valued part of Singapore’s culture. Through this simple ballad, Singaporeans are reminded to disregard differences in race, class and religion in three minutes and forty six seconds. Undeniably, the lyrics first came to life in the form of the written word, but it can be said that the sung words, with voices in tune and in unison, breathed life into the important mantras that are in many ways imprinted in the memories of many Singaporeans.
have the same opportunities in school, work and life as their white counterparts a hopeful, despairing father’s plea for his young children - pulled at the heartstrings of even those who had been brought up to believe that racism was normal and the proper status quo, and further catalysed the fight against racism in America then. The unthinkable alternative of having these same messages solely proliferated in text, printed and circulated, renders the message best communicated in the spoken word as the written word would not be able to embody the same level of emotion and appeal to the target audience. MLK’s heartfelt passion, fervor and therefore, efficacy in expressing his desires, hopes and dreams for his society were shown evidently through his use of spoken language, which shows its greater importance vis-a-vis the written word. More capable of expressing the influence of the spoken word, albeit used in tandem with the written word, was Hitler’s usage of it as a means of propaganda at his rallies. In preparing to convert people to Nazi ideology, Hitler sought to rehearse every hand gesture, every pause, down to a tee. So convincing was his spoken delivery in displaying his leadership abilities that his intention of converting the masses worked, and the influence of Nazism on Germany was pervasive and strong. In gauging the importance of language, we must also consider how effective it is in achieving its aims - in this case, the spoken word, when used in tandem with the written word and ultimately, as the final means of expression, was more able to convey messages effectively and was therefore arguably more important.
On the whole, the written word is a complex means of language that espouses specificity and oftentimes brevity in representing the complexity of many life interactions that involve the spoken word. By looking at text, one cannot immediately discern the tone or intent of the writer. The immediacy of the impact of the spoken word through undeniable bodily actions and tone contributes to the immediate influence that the spoken word has over those who listen to it, and this can thus catalyse much more passionate and revolutionary change in times of need.However, one cannot deny the imperative presence of the written word behind all of these effects – even if the spoken word ultimately is the most compelling factor in the expression of ideas and thoughts and the impacts they exert, the written word is an integral part of that process of bringing the spoken word to fruition and life, and its importance cannot be discounted.
Lastly, the spoken word is able to convey emotions on a level more profound than words can express. For example, the National Day celebrations in Singapore
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Should countries prioritise the development of the arts? Joan Tan Jing Wen (17-A1) social instability. For example, countries such as Afghanistan and Israel undergo frequent periods of turmoil and wars, together with the high poverty rates, and such countries should not and usually would not have the means to prioritise the development of the arts, such as dance, music, art and literature, given that there are more perceivably pressing issues to deal with. In instances like these, the development of the arts would be seen as less important, and take a back seat, as it is deemed more crucial for the government of such countries to deal with the problems they face first, given that these problems would bring about more dire consequences if left unresolved.
“A picture paints a thousand words, a song speaks a thousand languages, and a film tells a thousand stories.” With the globalisation and modernisation of the world, there has been a general economic boom and improvements in standards for living for many countries, through developments in various sectors. As a result, many governments are now looking towards building and developing other sectors, such as the arts. This has given rise to the issue of whether countries should prioritise the development of the arts and to what extent they should do so, given that the arts are perceived to be less pragmatic an investment than other sectors in bringing about tangible benefits for a country. In certain circumstances, countries should not prioritise the development of the arts, such as when the said countries are already struggling to survive. However, assuming that countries do have the physical and economic capacity to develop the arts, I believe that on the whole, countries should prioritise the development of the arts if a country’s arts scene is under-developed, if the development of the arts builds the national identity and culture of the country, and if it is a means to bring about the betterment of the country.
Having said that, not all countries around the world struggle with such issues. Some countries enjoy social stability and thriving economies, and these conditions allow for the development of the arts on a large scale. As such, I believe countries should prioritise the development of the arts when their country’s art scene is under-developed. The arts may sometimes be perceived as a luxury and of little significance. However, the arts can be seen as a reflection of the country’s international standing and pride. It is hence of paramount importance to prioritise the development of the arts to firstly, give recognition to the contributors to the art scene, and also to maintain the country’s position. In Singapore, while the local arts scene has been steadily growing and gaining more recognition in
I do concede that in certain circumstances, countries should not prioritise the development of the arts, and this is often in cases when the country is already struggling to survive. These circumstances can be seen when countries are experiencing a severe financial crisis or poverty, or when countries are going through political and
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culture. Through this, the arts serve the role of giving the country and its people an identity, bringing the people together and unifying society. Therefore, it is vital to prioritise the development of the arts.
the country, its popularity and recognition may pale in comparison to countries with more clout in the international arts scene such as South Korea’s pop industry and Russia’s prominence in ballet. In this sense, Singapore’s arts scene may be seen as being under-developed, reaching a smaller circle of people as compared to artists from other countries who enjoy greater international acclaim. Poetry and music written by Singaporeans such as Cyril Wong and Gentle Bones may be less well-known in the international community. Hence, there is a need to prioritise the development of the arts in countries such as Singapore, where the already fledgling arts scene runs the risk of dying out.
Countries should also prioritise the development of the arts when it is a means to bring about improvements for a country. This can be seen in the case of Vienna, a country known for its vibrant and rich art scene, particularly in classical music and contemporary art. Vienna is known for having nurtured many well-known musicians of the 18 th to 20 th century, such as Beethoven, Strauss and Schubert. Its Western style art scene is so established, artists, musicians and people who enjoy the arts flock to the country to learn more about its art scene, watching performances such as operas, or visiting the museums that were once home to famous musicians. In so many ways, the arts scene in Vienna has allowed Vienna to grow and thrive as a cultural and artistic epicentre, and in such scenarios, countries would be hard put to not prioritise the development of the arts.
I also believe countries should prioritise the development of the arts when it builds the national identity and culture of the country. The arts may sometimes be perceived to be a less pragmatic choice to invest in as compared to other aspects of development such as scientific research as the latter seems to yield concrete results and quantifiable improvements. However, the arts are also able to bring about improvements, not just in pragmatic aspects, but also in terms of creating a unifying identity for people and building the culture of a society. This can be seen in the case of Spain, where the Flamenco dance and Habanera rhythm music have become characteristic of the country and people across the world identify them with Spain. In the case of Indonesia, the Balinese and Javanese gamelan, with its distinct metallophone sounds, stratified polyphonic rhythm and its slightly out-oftune music, has become a defining feature of its country, and many people associate Indonesia with it. In Singapore, the use of Singlish in literary writings has become a trait of ours. These distinct art forms of different countries draw in tourists and arts consumers, which not also boosts the tourism sector and contributes to the country’s economy and cultural prestige, but also gives the country its unique
“And when words fail, the arts speak for themselves”. There may be a perceived misconception that the arts may not be as beneficial for the country as they may not always yield tangible results. Given a country’s social, economic and political circumstances, there are certain situations where countries should not prioritise the development of the arts as there are more pressing issues to deal with that could threaten the survival of a country. However, when a country does have the means to develop the arts, I believe that countries should prioritise this development when the arts scene is underdeveloped, when it builds the national identity and culture of the country and when it is able to bring about improvements for the country. It is only with the recognition of the potential and value of the arts, can countries then tap on their own arts scenes to bring about the betterment of their societies.
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2 Perspectives
‘Competition is always bad’. Do you agree? Wong Wei Jin Justin (17-E5) may bring about undesirable outcomes to humanity as a whole. In addition, from the perspective of wildlife, competition in the food chain can definitely pose certain threats that lead to an unwanted aftermath. For instance, the introduction of new animal species into a non-native environment may disrupt the natural balance of that given ecosystem, especially when no other natural predators exist in that habitat. Prime examples include the reduced sightings of the green-crested lizard in Singapore due to competition from the changeable lizard, an introduced species, and the invasion of fish species such as the peacock bass and snakeheads in the waters of Florida. Thus, the displacement of animals due to the disruption of the natural food chain equilibrium is a prevalent environmental concern when unnatural competition occurs. As such, it is undeniable that in certain cases, competition is undesirable as it could drive people to commit unethical behaviour and also from the perspective of the environment, it could disrupt the food web.
The concept of competition is not a modern invention but rather, an age-old phenomena known to humans and all living things alike. Charles Darwin’s theory of the survival of the fittest necessitates competition as a fundamental aspect for species survival. Thus, the idea of a contest to discover which group or individual is better in a certain aspect has always been innate in us. When placed in the modern context, this spirit has manifested in every field imaginable, leading many to question the value that competition has in our society, or rather, the detrimental outcomes that competition may give rise to. With regard to this, it is my conviction that since competition does not always produce undesirable consequences, I therefore disagree with the statement that ‘competition is always bad’. It is prudent to recognise, firstly, the fact that competition does indeed generate undesirable outcomes. Modern society has shown, in many cases, that competition drives people to partake in unethical behaviour. Doping and drug abuse in sports, underhanded business practices and morally questionable political advancements are some examples of how the desire to gain the upper hand may motivate one to take extreme measures. Thus, this breach of ethics is a representation of how competition
Despite this, the acknowledgement that competition is not always bad is of utmost importance. One reason is simply the fact that the nature of competition leads one to strive to excel. For example, in sports, the greatest performances often occur in
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incentivise firms to expand and innovate to make themselves more unique, increasing the spread of choices consumers can choose from while keeping the prices low to stay competitive, ultimately preceding more advancement in the standards of living of people. Therefore, from an economics perspective, competition is welcomed as it manifests a greater outcome for society as a whole.
the context of extreme competitiveness. Regarded as some of the best basketball players of all time, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan emerged as top performers as they constantly delivered quality shots because they learnt to rise to the occasion during high-pressure competitions. When many others cracked under the intense pressure, their competitive streak drove them to aim to be the best every single game, edging out other competitors. This is also the reason why sports fanatics are always hyped-up about sporting finales, as they epitomise the beauty of human athleticism at the peak of competition. Collectively, competition also leads to the betterment of society. Much of today’s science and technological advancements can be attributed to competition as well. At the height of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, the arms race spearheaded scientific discoveries, resulting in technological breakthroughs that even managed to bring human beings into outer space. Although the Cold War was responsible - even if indirectly - for innumerable deaths in the world, it cannot be perceived as purely bad when viewed from varying lenses. Hence, where competition is present, improvement in its respective fields can be witnessed to better what is the status quo.
Apart from modern society, favourable competition can also be observed in nature and thus cannot be deemed as always bad. While it is true that competition within the food chain can be ill-favoured in specific cases, competition in nature is a fundamental fact of life that all living things partake in. Through competition, be it interspecies or intraspecies, the stronger survives and carries with it the genes that will allow the next generation to survive more favourably in their environment, contributing to the overall health of their respective species and also determining who survives in the long run, or not. For example, the decline of the panda, an endangered species, can be attributed to its lack of competitiveness for survival. Their slow movements, metabolic rates and reproduction are naturally disadvantageous traits that would have caused their demise if not for human conservationist efforts. Thus, from nature’s perspective, competition ensures that only the fittest survive to pass on the traits that will improve the overall health of a particular species, thereby increasing its survivability in dynamic and challenging environments.
In addition, from an economics standpoint, competition in the free market is often met with open arms. In a market without competition, monopolistic firms will become unwanted as the goods they produce would be priced unfairly high. This is made possible due to their dominant market presence that essentially permits them to manipulate market prices as they deem fit. For example, De Beers once held close to 90% of the diamond market share in the late 1980s which saw prices soar to exorbitant rates. Thus, the lack of competitors in the market would leave many powers unchecked that does not benefit societal welfare. On the other hand, competitive firms are favourable as they
In closing, although competition has manifested in various undesirable ways, it has undeniably been a key driver for progress and change. Taking into consideration the aforementioned arguments, it is illogical to assert the claim that competition is always bad, simply due to the fact that there are multiple instances in which the statement holds untrue. Therefore, I disagree with the statement that ‘competition is always bad’.
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Kwan Yun Fong, Jason (17-O4)
As the world constantly evolves at an ever increasing speed, the levels of competition in various aspects of life have soared to levels never before seen. Competition refers to the pitting of oneself against others on equal ground and footing, be it in examinations to outscore other candidates, to compete with others for a spot in that prestigious university which is highly coveted, or on sporting grounds where we test our competencies against other fellow sportsmen. However, as the world has become more competitive, it has prompted many people to question whether competition is good or bad. With competition becoming more prevalent in the modern world, it is thus important to assess the impacts of competition. I feel that to classify competition as being always bad is being myopic as even though competition undoubtedly has negative impacts such as causing too much undue stress, there are also undeniable positive impacts of competition. As such, I do not agree that competition is always bad. I do not agree that competition is always bad as competition gives us a fair assessment of our abilities. If we do not compete with each other, how else can we know where we stand in comparison to our counterparts? People who choose not to challenge themselves under more trying conditions may end up becoming the proverbial “big fish in a small pond” and not be able to understand their true position with respect to a wider competitive pool of people. For example, in competitive e-sports, American team TeamSoloMid, widely dubbed as the best e-sports team in North America due to their consistent performances and victories in the North American region, was seen as a team with very high potential of becoming the best e-sports team in the world. Yet, time and time again, they
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faltered against supposedly ‘smaller’ teams in terms of reputation in times of international competition. Evidently, competition within our own comfort zone is not enough; we need to compete against the best of the best to obtain an accurate sensing of where we truly stand in relation to others. Competition thus provides us this opportunity for us to reflect upon ourselves and also gives us a timely reality check. As such, I do not agree that competition is always bad. In addition, I do not agree that competition is always bad as competition can spur people to do better. Competitions are thrilling in nature as many competitors work hard in the build-up to competitions as they are keen to prove themselves in the competitive arena. When we compete, we are seeking to do our very best and we hope that it is good enough to allow us to taste victory. Inevitably, competition brings out the very best of people. With the end goal of winning or going as far into the competition as possible in mind, competitors put in their best efforts, push themselves to the limit and may even soar to heights once thought of as impossible. Furthermore, the bitter aftertaste of defeat can also ignite the fire and will in one to constantly improve to erase the memories of defeat. For example, in extremely competitive soccer leagues in Europe such as the English Premier League in England, virtually no player in the squad is guaranteed a position as a starting player of a match as the entire squad comprises many high quality players and all the players wish, equally, to get onto the field to represent their football club and compete against other clubs. Knowing that nobody’s position in the squad is safe, the more regular starters would undoubtedly not rest on their laurels and would ensure they maintain their high standards whereas
work, parents also stress their children by pressuring them to be the cream of the crop. In fact, the stress levels in Singapore are so high that according to a Straits Times poll a few years back, more children reported that they were more worried about failing their examinations than dying. Due to the over competitive nature in Singapore, it is also one of the most sleep-deprived and overworked countries in the world, with the average Singaporean receiving an average of 6 hours 24 minutes of sleep compared to the regional average of 6 hour 54 minutes of sleep. Not to mention, Singaporeans work an average of 2,178 hours a year as compared to the global average of under 2,000 hours a year. Besides stress, competition could affect our ways of life and even quality of sleep, because of the fear that we might fall behind the rest of the pack. As such, I acknowledge how some would hold the view that competition is always bad.
the less competent players would also be incentivised to put in extra effort to impress the manager. This healthy competition between players of the same club can help to improve the overall performance levels of the club as a whole and thus, make the club better and provide more exhilarating performances for spectators. Therefore, I do not agree that competition is always bad as competition can motivate us to improve ourselves and it has the potential to help us achieve breakthroughs. Opponents of this view may argue that competition is always bad as competition causes a lot of stress among people and it may worsen our mental well-being. With every winner in a competition, there must be a loser. When one experiences the bitter taste of defeat, one may feel utterly devastated as all of one’s hard work would have come to naught. Some might even feel that their "defeat" equates to them being incompetent. While some can handle the implications of defeat, others may not have the maturity or capacity to do so and they may become demoralised as a result. This could disincentivise them from pursuing greater heights and from continuing to strive as their efforts did not translate to desired results. Not achieving what we want from a competition can hurt us emotionally too. In Singapore, which is infamously known as an extremely meritocratic and competitive society, national examinations such as the General Certificate of Education Ordinary and Advanced level (GCE O and A-Level) grade students on a bell curve. In other words, a student is not graded based on how well he or she actually did but rather, how he or she did in comparison to peers. This has caused immense competition not only among students but also among parents, who spend thousands of dollars a year for their children’s private tuition. Not only do students in Singapore have to deal with the daily stresses of academic
Yet, one ought to recognise that stress from competition is often self-induced and it all depends on how well we can handle our own stress levels. Some stress is still necessary to help us in achieving our goals and to help us to aim higher. Without competition, it would be difficult to remain motivated to work hard to achieve better results. In the 2015 PISA test, Singapore emerged top in all three categories of Mathematics, Science and Reading. While Singapore’s education system is top-notch in the world, could we have achieved such stellar results if not for the competitive nature of the country? One must acknowledge that it is only with some motivating factor, such as our continuous pursuit to do well, can we achieve results. Competition provides exactly such a platform for us to put in our best efforts to bring out the best in us. Furthermore, competition could also have positive impacts on society as a whole. For example, a company which has a monopoly of the industry
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unnecessary stress, this stress induced could in fact be used as a motivational factor if managed well and competition also helps to give us a fair assessment of our abilities, not to mention that it spurs us to do better and push our limits. As the world gets ever more competitive, the onus is on us to not be complacent and to constantly improve ourselves to make sure we do not get left behind. While some people condemn competition, it is critical to recognise that we cannot run away from it and it is up to us to manage the impacts of competition well so that we can get the best out of competition so that we can view competition as a good thing rather than something that is ‘always bad’.
may not be as incentivised to innovate to improve their products. However, with the introduction of more competition, the company would be pressured and more incentivised to innovate and improve itself so that it does not lose out in terms of its market share to newcomers. This allows society, in particular consumers, to enjoy higher quality products at a lower cost and a greater variety of goods. Evidently, the pressure induced from competition could in fact bring about greater positive impacts on the whole. In sum, I do not agree that ‘competition is always bad’ as there are more positive than negative impacts of competition in general. Even though competition may cause much
Scan this QR code to read one more perspective by Wong Zann Yee (17-O1)
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2 Perspectives
The solution to our environmental problems lies with the people, not with governments. Do you agree? Weng Pei Yun (17-E2) electricity by using alternative forms of energy such as solar power plants, hence solving environmental problems such as pollution and the depletion of fossil fuels. For example, the Singapore government has introduced a carbon tax to be implemented in 2019 on the larger emitters of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, derives only 19 percent of its primary energy needs from fossil fuels, with 100 percent of its electricity coming from sustainable sources of energy such as geothermal energy. Such examples show how the government can exercise its power and put in place national measures to solve environmental problems while the people may have limited say in and ability to influence environmental issues especially if the situation involves big players such as the energy industry.
As global warming and climate change have reached a peak these few years, government leaders around the world have been scrambling for a consensus on the best way to solve environmental problems in an attempt to alleviate the negative impacts of global warming and climate change. However, questions have been raised about the role ordinary people have to play in solving environmental problems as well. Some people feel that the solution to our environmental problems lies with the people and not with governments while others beg to differ. I agree with the statement that the solution to our environmental problems lies with the people and not with governments. The notion that the solution to environmental problems lies with the government and not with the people is indeed true when we consider the power the government has when it comes to policy-making. Governments can draft policies such as carbon taxes which can encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint. This can potentially solve environmental problems such as the depletion of fossil fuels. Since many big emitters of greenhouse gases that cause environmental degradation such as power plants are often controlled by the government, governments can choose to build power plants that generate
However, I feel that such a notion is myopic as it underestimates the power the people have as a collective in influencing government decisions. Ordinary people who are well-informed with regard to the environmental problems faced by their society or the world today can rally together to put such problems on the government’s agenda. They also can resist government decisions which will not benefit the environment. Hence, the people can
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to our environmental problems lies with the people as such ground-up initiatives help people build a sense of belonging to their community and they will hence have a heightened sense of social responsibility in participating to solve environmental problems, which is much more effective than government campaigns.
also address environmental problems, such as environmental degradation brought about by the accelerated development of the country that lacks environmental consideration, by raising such issues to their community and political leaders, making such leaders care more about the problems and consider the impact on the environment before putting plans for development in place. For instance, the climate march which took place in many countries around the world with active participation by various communities sent a clear message to the governments of such countries to put the issue of environmental problems higher up on their agenda. The fear of environmental disruption following plans to build a new Mass Rapid Transport line cutting through the central catchment area, which contains many nature reserves, also resulted in strong opposition from environmentalists and the public in Singapore, causing the government to rethink its plans. This shows the power of the people in voicing their concerns for environmental problems following decisions made by the government and that the solution to environmental problems lies with the people as, after all, in any democracy, the people are the ones who elect the government into power.
Furthermore, the statement that the solution to environmental problems lies with the people is indeed true when we take into account the potential of the people as consumers to solve environmental problems. Environmental problems such as pollution and deforestation are largely caused by companies exploiting natural resources to make products at the lowest cost to maximise profits. However, by consuming more goods that are produced sustainably, we encourage more companies to make their production chain greener. For example, the transnational haze is an environmental problem Singapore faces almost every year. However, consumers in Singapore have identified companies which use the slash-and-burn method for clearing palm oil, contributing to the haze, and have boycotted the products of such companies. Supermarkets in Singapore have also taken their products off the shelves. This shows that we as consumers have the ability to solve even transnational environmental problems by consuming sustainably produced goods.
The notion that the solution to our environmental problems lies with the people also holds true when people come up with ground-up initiatives to solve environmental problems such as pollution. Such initiatives created for the people by the people are likely to be far more impactful and effective than educational campaigns as they are more organic and ground-up and hence more people are likely to participate actively. For example, the Waterways Watch society is one such organisation initiated by a group of people which aims to clean up the waters of Singapore. Another example is the Earth Hour events organised by the people from the World Wildlife Fund, which have been popular amongst many young people in Singapore. This shows that the solution
In sum, I agree that the solution to our environmental problems lies with the people and not the government. As the people and the government can communicate with one another through dialogues, the people can influence government decisions and create ground-up initiatives to combat such problems. People can also solve environmental problems by exercising consumer rights, and this makes the actions of the people even more impactful and effective than government campaigns and policies in tackling environmental problems, especially in the long-term.
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Ow Qi Ting, Joei (17-U1) them, ordinary citizens can form societal pressure to push the government into greater action. These activists and critics may argue that people, with their passion and fervour to solve the environmental issues they are confronted with, can serve as catalysts towards realising solutions. For example, with increasing pressure from the people, whether via social media or through smaller-scale protests to direct the government to look into solving the severe air pollution problem in Beijing, the Chinese government promised its people that it would enforce stricter regulations on coal-fired production factories and even introduce coal consumption caps in certain provinces. Hence, the air pollution situation in Beijing has been slightly alleviated as a result of people advocating and acting. In addition, even in Singapore, with the annual “Save My World� campaigns that started in 2010, as well as the National Parks’ National Biodiversity Strategy and Action plans, environmental conservation has gained traction in Singapore, with an increase in the number of ordinary citizens involved in environmental conservation and helping to preserve the biodiversity in Singapore within their own capacity. Hence, some activists would argue in favour of the claim that the solution to our environmental problems lies with the people and not the government as initiative and ideas from the people can effect real change in solving these problems.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), 2016 was by far, the hottest year on record, with a peak in the number of El Nino-related disasters as well as the increasing intensity of natural disasters such as cyclones. From global environmental problems such as global warming, to regional issues like the transnational haze and even national problems of environmental conservation and pollution, environmental problems have remained unresolved even though they have plagued societies for a long time. While environmental problems may seem hard to solve, it is logically possible to solve them since most escalating environmental concerns, such as increased global warming, are the result of man-made practices. This raises the question of whether the solution to our environmental problems lies with the people or the government as despite more people actively seeking to raise awareness and effect change in their own societies in a bid to solve environmental issues, and the collective government action in efforts to combat environmental problems, concrete results and change remain to be seen. It is my opinion that I disagree with the claim to a large extent as realistically, compared to the government, the general public lacks the full range of resources and bargaining power to effect change, and solutions to environmental problems do require such substantial resources and power. Some environmental activists and government critics may argue that the solutions to environmental problems lie with the people as they are the ones who can most effectively raise societal awareness on the issues. In influencing more people to see the severity of the problems and the inadequacies of governmental policies in addressing
However, one must realise that the people, though powerful in their passion and interest in raising awareness, are still confronted with the issue of being limited in resources and capital. In reality, it is nearly impossible for people in society to solve environmental problems solely by themselves, with no help at all from the government. Citizens raising
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awareness of environmental problems can expedite the community’s dedication in seeking alleviation for the issue but in order for the problem to be truly addressed, governments must be roped in as only they have the legitimate authority to enforce regulations and encourage better practices countrywide and globally, as the scope of influence of people would invariably be limited especially if the country is very large or if the environmental issue is a global one. For example, the various pollution prevention acts in countries such as the United States of America, which passed the Pollution Prevention Act in 1990, aim to decrease pollution at an industrial and national level, something which may prove difficult to achieve with the same scale by the people. In addition, it was, after all, the direct, concrete actions taken by the Beijing government to allocate resources to tackle environmental concerns and introduce stricter regulations that the problem of air pollution came closer to the endgoal of elimination, and it could be said that such an outcome would not have been possible by solely relying on the rallying efforts of the people. In addition, the solution to our environmental problems lie, to a greater extent, with governments as they are better placed as globally-recognised entities with the power to negotiate
international agreements and enact climate change remediation efforts. For example, in light of the threats of climate change and global warming, countries have come together to work on possible solutions to combat these issues. The Paris Accord, which had been ratified by 125 countries, detailed the end-goal of keeping the maximum temperature rise within 2 degrees Celsius of our preindustrial global temperatures. Aligning with the guideline of “common but differentiated responsibility�, governments pledged to put in place certain measures in their own countries. The United States of America has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by about 26% to 28% by 2030, while India has pledged to ensure that 40% of its energy sources are renewable by 2030. Hence, as oftentimes solutions to global environmental problems can only be found through the establishment of a global consensus on the need for every government to work together and devise national measures, governments do have greater power in cooperating with other countries to work towards finding solutions to global issues, much more so than the limited power of individuals and groups as they are unfortunately, limited by their scope and ability to influence a global audience.
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Furthermore, governments do have access to a greater pool of expertise and capital in working towards concrete solutions to environmental problems. Governments have the capacity to channel resources towards national measures to solve a problem locally or even those occurring overseas, for example, within the region. With the ratification of the ASEAN Transboundary Haze Act in 2015, the Singapore government sent some of its fire-fighting teams to the hot-spots in Indonesia to help the local Indonesian government deal with and control the spread of the fire. Countries that ratified the agreement had also agreed to explore the sharing of digital geo-reference concession maps and leverage on satellite and mapping technologies to enhance hot-spot monitoring. Malaysia also signed an agreement in 2008 to collaborate with the Riau province in Indonesia to implement action programmes to prevent the haze from recurring. In addition, locally, the Singapore government also rolls out a series of plans each year detailing environmental goals that the government is actively working towards. The Singapore Green Plan 2006 outlined the government’s plan to derive 60 percent of its energy needs from natural gas by 2012 in order to reduce air pollution from the use of traditional energy sources such as
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coal. As early as 2010, more than 70 percent of Singapore’s energy needs was already being derived from natural gas, successfully bringing down the level of air pollution and thus, presenting a viable and sustainable solution for the future of energy generation. Hence, governments, with their wealth of resources and capital, are in a better position to implement concrete changes to the system to solve environmental problems. Hence, the solution to environmental issues can be said to largely lie with the government instead of the people. On the whole, in light of the capacity as well as the globallyrecognised power of governments, governments can be said to be better placed to find solutions to our environmental problems in reality, as compared to the people. However, the passion and activism of the people can be employed when working towards solutions as ideally, when the people and the government work together, both parties would be able to cocreate insightful solutions that consist of both top-down and ground-up initiatives. With less of a disjunct between the priorities of the people and the government in solving environmental problems, hopefully, solutions can be fully established.
‘Life is meant to be enjoyed, not wasted on work.’ What is your view?
Ong Xin Yi, Ally (17-O2) The meaning and purpose of life continue to be ephemeral, intangible, and out of reach to the innumerable philosophers and great thinkers who have begged the question. Some argue that pleasure and enjoyment remain the highest achievement of human existence, free of the supposed drudgery of everyday work. Others postulate that work should be our sole ideal in life, and that our species would have achieved nothing in the grander scheme of things if not for our measure of productivity. On a more individual level, the balance between enjoyment and work remains a critical question because the meanings of each vary from person to person. I believe that, while life should not be wholly dedicated to efficiency and results, the individual’s utter rejection of productive activities in favour of a selfserving indulgence would not be possible in today’s world; the ideal would be a lifestyle where enjoyment and work are not treated as mutually-exclusive opposites but where the individual may
derive enjoyment from work and hence lead a fulfilled life. Firstly, some claim that work is a waste of time relative to time spent on pleasure and indulgence. The assertion that work is somehow less valuable or worthy than enjoyment has been met with much contention. Certainly, hard work has the potential to bring about multiple benefits to the individual, which could significantly contribute to the individual’s ability to enjoy life. For many today, this is exemplified by the belief that studying hard to obtain educational certification, such as a degree, and then participating in the rat race or paper chase to climb the corporate ladder, is the reason that putting in effort to navigate these social and economic institutions will eventually result in material benefit. Such tangible rewards evidently contribute to the enjoyment of life in modern capitalist society, where work is seen as a necessary precursor to indulgence, an essential part of the system where work produces the material rewards that are
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removed from the luxurious, soothing scent of the beverage; every article of clothing bringing reminders of sweatshops and extortion far down the production line as the threads were coaxed into shape. Consider the tropical island getaway, the very ideal of luxury and enjoyment, especially to a Western mindset from a developed country: economic studies done on tourism receipts on Thailand suggest that, due to the role that large, international corporations play in enabling modern air travel, as little as 0.1% of the profits of tourism go back to the local hotels, restaurants, and taxi drivers, whose work in the tourism sector is crucial to the tourists’ travel experiences.
needed to achieve material luxury. On a larger scale, the work of some may benefit more than just the individual, having such great impacts on the world at large. Jonas Salk has been widely applauded, perhaps even venerated, for his undying dedication to his scientific research on smallpox, which culminated in saving millions of lives who might otherwise have been lost; yet his true act of heroism lay in refusing to patent his vaccine, and instead, releasing his hardearned creation to the public. Evidently, it was not material benefit that drove him to years of study and research, but the joy derived from helping others that he took for his reward - his life was hardly wasted on his work; he left a legacy behind: a world with one less evil, where millions more are free to enjoy their lives.
Finally, who is to say that work and enjoyment should be mutually exclusive? Being able to enjoy one’s work is not as rare an occurrence as the cynics might like to believe. Oscar Wilde was a great supporter of the idea that life was to be lived in pursuit of beauty and pleasure. His fervent belief in aestheticism remains iconic even today. Yet, in his pursuit of pleasure, Wilde produced such works of comic and literary genius that have been widely considered to have greatly affected the scene of English literature, as well as provided leisurely entertainment that thousands have since derived enjoyment from. Wilde, a proponent of “art for art’s sake”, would have rejected the label of a life dedicated to work: to him, his writings were not the dull drudgery of a robotic, productive worker, but a retreat for him, which he greatly enjoyed.
Furthermore, while the attainment of pleasure and indulgence may be seen by some to be the true goal of life, the reality is that such enjoyment is often not possible without the support of the toil of others. The prospect of a world saturated only with thoughts of rampant over-indulgence and luxury brings to mind images of a Huxleyan society, where orgiastic, consumerist culture proliferates, propped up by the rigid backbone of an oppressed lower class, condemned to eternal and uncomplaining drudgery in the servitude of others. The reality of the situation now, while not nearly as horrifying as that vivid prediction, is still undeniably one where pleasure and work are inseparably linked in an equation where one’s indulgence is not possible without the effort of another; it would hence be impossible to claim that the goal of all life is enjoyment since a proportion of that community would have to submit to work to enable the enjoyment of others. Today, we are reminded that for every convenience in our daily lives, there exists a chain of production and transportation that brought it into fruition. Every cup of gourmet coffee is accompanied by stark images of underpaid farmers and labourers in a distant land, their forlorn and desperate faces so far
In closing, while work and enjoyment are individually worthy pursuits, neither should be the sole aim of life to the exclusion of the other; work, while it may be perceived as drudgery, has produced enjoyment in the lives of individuals as well as the community; enjoyment of life in society at large cannot be achieved without the hard work of others. There should, ideally, be a virtuous cycle where enjoyment can be derived from work, such that there would be no false dichotomy.
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The ARTS encourage elitism.
How true is this?
Grace Marie Yeh (17-I3) The Arts have long existed as a form of selfexpression pre-dating even language. In medieval times, people carved murals onto ceramic pots, stones and caves to depict stories and tales that were indescribable with the language of words. Followers of the Roman Catholic church would sing Gregorian chants - simple, unaccompanied, monophonic, non-diatonic chants in praise of Jesus and Mother Mary. As time passed, the Arts evolved to form three main genres: the performing arts, the visual arts and the literary arts. Combinations of several art forms were also seen in larger-scale works of great grandeur such as The Gesamtkunstwerk, a form popularised by composer Richard Wagner, which attempted to unify all forms of Art to form one earth-shattering, jaw-dropping piece of Art. Inevitably, the grandiose nature the Arts was tending towards meant that cost started to become a factor for one to be able to engage in the Arts. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the Arts were mainly associated with the aristocracy due to its inherently expensive nature and how exclusive an audience it served. As time progressed towards the early 20th century, the lines between ‘High Art’ and ‘Low Art’ then began to blur. Thus, whether the Arts encourages elitism depends on the context, which one is viewing it from. Such contexts could be time-bound and cultural. Firstly, the Arts do encourage elitism due to their historical associations with the aristocracy. This mindset, especially prevalent in traditional Western Art forms like classical music, ballet, opera and the visual arts, continues to transcend generations and is hard to eradicate. Between the 1700s and 1800s, composers
such as Austrian-born Mozart composed arias, symphonies and concertos for the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg while court painters such as Giovanni Maria Delle Piane were hired exclusively to paint for several royal families. Towards the late 1800s, when composer Richard Wagner popularised the costly Gesamtkunstwerk, the unification of music, dance, literature, the visual arts and drama, into one massive work which was marketed to the rich, the stamp was sealed. The inherently costly nature of the various art forms, meant that the Arts became a means of sussing out an exclusive group of people - the aristocratic and wealthy from the masses. Owing to the continuation of these traditional art forms across the decades, this pre-existing exclusive divide laid the foundation for the Arts being increasingly associated with the elite due to what we now know as the ‘echo chamber effect’. Artists think that since the elite are the only ones engaging in the Arts, all the art produced by themselves should henceforth be directed at pleasing the palates of the elite. The poor have become increasingly dissociated with the Arts, while the elite enjoy the Arts more and more. In today's world, the mindset prevails to a small extent as people continue to engage in Arts in the traditional way - purchasing expensive tickets to a gala performance in an air-conditioned concert hall. Hence, preexisting mindsets encourage elitism in the Arts. Through the passage of time though, the role of the Arts in society has expanded to include areas such as fostering community bonding. These areas not only obscure the elitist associations of the Arts, but also serve to bridge ties between members of
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has resulted in a exclusive group of people who perceive that they view the Arts in the “correct” way. Take German artist Jason Beuys for example. In 1965, Beuys held a performance cum art exhibition entitled “How to explain pictures to a dead hare”. The exhibition entailed Beuys coating his entire head in honey and a gold leaf, while holding a dead hare in his arms as he walked around the art gallery whispering explanations of the various art pieces to the dead hare. To the untrained eye, it would have been quite a bizarre scene, possibly causing one to never return to view Beuys exhibitions again. In the eyes of the professional art critics however, Beuys was hailed as the “new Mona Lisa” due to his ability to represent the relationship between thought, speech and form through the honey, gold leaf and hare. Taking into account the positive reviews from critics while dismissing the masses, the work was restaged in 2005. This sheds light on how there is a set of views that is deemed more superior than the rest in the Arts, drawing a divide between the exclusive few who were lucky enough to receive an Arts education that taught them how to critically interpret the Arts, and the rest who have no prior knowledge to tap on. Hence, the Arts does encourage elitism when its complexity increases as it requires one to adopt a critical lens to appreciate the art piece, which is usually only acquired through formal Arts education which is not readily available to the masses.
society, contradicting the notion of Arts encouraging elitism. The Arts can be seen as a means of building bridges between people from all walks of life due to an increasing number of Art-related activities that are not specifically catering for the wealthy, but rather the masses. In 2016, the annual Singapore International Festival of the Arts (SIFA) featured a segment entitled Art As Res Publicae which brought people from different strata of society to discuss socially relevant issues such as dementia and the role of art in society. Events such as Art As Res Publicae do not possess the frivolity of high-brow orchestral concerts, but are a means of honest discourse between members of society in order to elicit positive change for the masses. Instead of encouraging elitism, such events empower individuals to come together regardless of social status, to fight for causes they care for. Australian Violinist Ray Chen took this one step further by using his violin, playing to connect not only with people of other social stature, but with people from different countries. After conducting a simple music class at an indigenous Taiwanese school in late 2017, Chen reflected that he felt enlightened on how music was such a powerful tool for communication. He mentioned that although he met the children for only a couple of days, he felt like he knew every one of them personally. Hence, contrary to encouraging elitism, the Arts are a powerful tool for communication between people of different origins and socioeconomic backgrounds.
To conclude, the nature of most art forms is one that requires years of hard work and sacrifice, a feat attainable by a lucky few who have had access to opportunities. This inevitably results in an inherent degree of elitism. I feel that although the Arts does encourage elitism to a sizeable extent, the notion is constantly challenged in the present day world where the Arts becomes increasingly accessible to all. My hope is that in the years to come, the Arts will become an integrated and indispensable part of everyone’s life.
Lastly, although it is true that the Arts does serve as a platform to bring people together, the degree of its effectiveness in doing so is often restricted by whether the art form is easily understood by many. In reality, the nature of the Arts is very complex, requiring one to acquire certain lenses for comprehension, through an Arts education, in order to perceive and appreciate what one is viewing and listening to, and this
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Can there ever be
JUSTICE in capital punishment?
Tan Zi Hao (17-U1)
Capital punishment, the ultimate form of punishment that seeks to permanently deprive an offender of his or her ability to do more harm to society, has been widely condemned by the West as excessively inhumane and cruel. To do justice is to do what is fair and right. This, while subjective to many, can be achieved by considering the implications on all stakeholders. In the case of capital punishment, some may argue that there can be justice since the victim of the crime, and his or her family members, are compensated by having redress for the victim’s suffering and/or loss of life, and the broader community also benefits from having one less member suffering from severe personal maladjustment that could result in harm to others. However, I argue that such a viewpoint on justice, or “retributive justice” to be more precise, is warped. Hence, I insist that there can never be justice in capital punishment.
describe this as “setting an example”, by reaffirming society’s condemnation and denouncement of the select group of major, capital crimes and any individuals who dare to commit them. Through this, other members of society will also be deterred and refrain from committing such crimes, whether due to moral grounds, the fear of legal consequences or the fear of society’s condemnation. Singaporean policymakers are fine examples of proponents of capital punishment who follow this train of thought. The Singaporean government has repeatedly insisted on the effectiveness of deterrence through capital punishment, and has even made a speech to the United Nations, challenging other foreign leaders to find better alternatives that still allow a country to maintain low crime rates. As such, there are proponents of capital punishment who would argue that there is justice in capital punishment.
Proponents of capital punishment may argue that there is justice in permanently removing, from society, individuals who have caused great harm to others, such as serial killers, masterminds of genocides and even drug traffickers in countries involved in the War on Drugs. Not only are such criminals permanently deprived of their ability to inflict harm again on society, which hence benefits the wider community, victims and their loved ones are being compensated for their losses and grief, which can therein be perceived as doing what is fair and just for victims and the broader community. In addition, delivering the death penalty invokes the potent, preventive force of punishment, and serves as a strong deterrent against crimes of similar severity. Proponents
However, the argument presented by such proponents of capital punishment can only be considered legitimate if the convicted is truly guilty of the crime charged. I would argue that there can never be justice in capital punishment due to the irrevocability of mistaken execution. Once executed, humans cannot be reanimated or revived should further investigations prove them innocent of the crimes charged against them. Human beings are not perfect. Rather, we can only try our best to be fair and just, which raises the reality of the fallibility of human judgement. While Singapore’s Law Minister has complete faith in our judicial system, such a perspective does not hold true in other parts of the world. In the United States, a recent study found that
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Finally, I believe that with all things considered, there can never be justice in capital punishment because for every rightful conviction, there is a wrongful one that presents no opportunity for justice to be restored. Furthermore, even if the convicted is indeed guilty of the crime charged, capital punishment offers no chance for redemption, and robs the convicted of the chance to contribute to society to compensate for the damage done. There have been many accounts of drug traffickers being sentenced to death in Singapore, who have, upon reflection, expressed immense remorse and who are willing to do community work to signify their guilt and willingness to reform. If the purpose of institutionalised punishment is to also serve the function of reformation, there is great injustice in capital punishment even if it does yield societal benefits by way of retribution and deterrence. Viewed through the lens of compassion and reformation, it is unfair and wrong to disallow the convicted from making amendments for the harm caused, and to prevent society from benefiting from their restorative actions. Perhaps, the loved ones of the victim of the crime, or the victim himself or herself, if still alive, might derive some form of relief, some form of psychological closure, from seeing the one who did them harm executed. However, justice cannot be merely viewed from the perspective of one group of stakeholders only, and the viewpoint of the convicted and his or her family members should be considered as well. Capital punishment, when evaluated in its entirety, can never be truly just.
one in twenty-five Americans who receive the gavel of capital punishment and who are executed are later found and proven to have been innocent. In such a situation, there is no justice for the wrongfully executed who have lost their lives. There is no justice for the family members of the wrongfully executed who have to cope with the psychological and emotional trauma of seeing a loved one die without a legitimate cause. There is no justice for the victim of the crime too, for the true perpetrator is still at large. There is no justice for the wider community as well, for the true criminal has not been deprived of his or her ability to inflict harm on society and can continue to do so. In addition, there can never be justice in capital punishment when it is used as a tool for repression by authoritarian governments. Death is arguably the most secure way of ensuring someone’s silence and compliance. However, capital punishment has been used, historically, for political expediency, and not for justice for victims or the broader community. In fact, the convicted suffer from acute injustice as they are being prosecuted and executed for their political activism, for being a prisoner of conscience. Human Rights Watch and other organisations promoting justice in the form of ensuring that those who are convicted are treated fairly and justly have long protested Russia’s infamous treatment of political opposition and opposition activists, which is imprisonment followed by capital punishment for “treason against the state”. When due processes are circumvented for political expediency and to quickly deliver capital punishment upon the convicted, who are, in this case, political dissidents, there is no justice afforded to the convicted at all. Authoritarian governments may commonly argue that it is justice on the grounds of achieving social stability and the prevention of disharmony that can be caused by political dissidents, but such arguments are tenuous since society can benefit from a robust public participation in politics. It is hence clear that the hardline position that capital punishment is absolutely defensible is weak and absolutely indefensible.
Humans have progressed far in terms of ethics and morality, making many giant leaps in social progress in the past century such as with the abolition of slavery and providing women the right to vote. Capital punishment, an outdated form of punishment with origins dating back to antiquity, is simply incompatible with the human-oriented philosophy of civic morality that modern society has embraced. There can never be justice in capital punishment, and the retention of capital punishment is a great disservice to the ideals that humanity has been striving for, to achieve what is fair and right through compassion and love.
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2 Perspectives
Can WAR ever become a thing of the past? Ho Yew Han (17-O1) From the Thirty Years War to the Vietnam War, the construct of war has been ever present in humanity’s history. War is a manifestation of conflict between differing factions: capitalists versus communists; Muslims versus Jews; Americans versus Germans. It can manifest as civil wars in the Middle East, proxy wars such as the Korean War or wars between nations such as those between Germany and the Allied Nations. More importantly, the reason why war has always existed amongst humanity is because of our inability to resolve conflict. However, with increased cooperation between nation-states in the modern epoch, the chances of war have arguably been drastically reduced. This begs the question: can war ever be a thing of the past? I would venture to argue that war will never be a thing of the past, due to conflicting ideals, interests as well as the inherent distrust that exists between nation-states. Prima facie, many utopian thinkers and liberals are optimistic about the prospects of eventually phasing out war, due to ostensible trend of increasing cooperation between nation-states. The nascence of the Bretton-Wood Institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, and the birth of transnational entities like the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) – these are manifestations of such increased cooperation. These entities serve to arbitrate international conflicts and act as a bridge between nation-states.
To gauge how far we have progressed, it is worth looking at Europe, a continent that was perpetually plagued with war before the 21 st Century. Wars such as the 1866 Austro-Prussian War, the Napoleonic Wars and World War II are all examples that show how divided Europe was. However, with the formation of the European Union, the multinational political organisation of 27 European countries, Europe has seen no major wars in the 21 st Century. Such cooperation between nations can thus be interpreted as a positive prospect towards reducing the propensity of war. However, it would be utterly idealistic and sanctimonious to argue that war could ever be a thing of the past. War will always exist, insofar as conflict between humans exists. That is to say, conflicting ideologies, interests and distrust will always occur given Man’s nature, and wars of different types would invariably be a ramification of such conflicts. Furthermore, even the ideal of global cooperation amongst nationstates is starting to erode. Recent times have seen a rise in populism and distrust towards multinational organisations. Harking back to the example of Europe, the nascent Euroscepticism that culminated in Brexit - Britain leaving the EU - shows how fragile, transient and ephemeral interstate cooperation is. Any tension or conflict could easily result in the unravelling of such cooperation, and history is replete with antecedents. As such, it would be difficult to argue that war could ever be phased out.
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the inevitability of conflict of interests. In this dog-eat-dog world, factions of people, societies and governments go to war because of self-interest and preservation. With the issue of scarcity, people fight over land and resources just to survive. It must be recognised that war, more often than not is a last resort; and it is the basic human instinct to protect ourselves that often instigates people to wage war. When people feel or perceived that they are threatened, they will act upon that notion in order to survive - one of the many resultant effects include waging war. A modern day example of how a conflict of interest led to war is best seen in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict: the Palestinians felt threatened by the Israelis who wanted a Jewish state, and Israeli encroachment into Palestinianheld West Bank and Gaza was seen as an invasion and an infringement of Palestinian sovereignty. The territorial conflict escalated when Palestinians joined radical militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas to fend off Israel, resulting in the modern day Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians know that a belligerent incursion by Israel to infringe upon Palestinian land would put their lives in danger; they were thus galvanised to take up arms to defend their own survival, leading to the outbreak of war. It is this basic need to survive, coupled with the issue of scarcity that leads people to fight. As such, because of the perpetual conflict of interest that will invariably occur, war can never be phased out.
Idealists present an ideal we ought to strive towards but historical and recent trends paint us a different reality. Firstly, as mentioned, war will never be a thing of the past because of differing beliefs and ideologies. Whenever factions of people fail to reconcile their differences, tensions and conflict always occur. At a macro-level, such conflicts can escalate into war if there are no channels for proper resolution or mediation. The diversity of ideals that we live have would thus inevitably place peoples, societies and nation-states in diametrically opposed positions to each other. The Cold War is a clear manifestation of such a conflict that escalated into a ideological war. Granted, it was not a physical war between countries, but it was nonetheless and precarious standoff in the ideals of capitalism and communism. The USSR and USA were adamant in the perpetuation and superiority of their ideals; both dogmatically proclaimed the universality of their ideologies and refused to concede to the other. Ultimately, the dissonance between both entities proved so great that it escalated into a dangerous nuclear arms race, proxy wars in Vietnam and Korea, and turmoil on the global stage. Additionally, war does not have to occur at national level either: civil wars such as those in Uganda and Syria have occurred because of the failure to reconcile ideological conflicts. It is thus difficult to posit that conflicts of ideals can be amicably resolved. More importantly, many of these conflicts mentioned are modern day and still ongoing. Current existing tensions such as the fundamental irreconcilability between the beliefs of radical Islamists and those from secular democracies have escalated into precarious situations, threatening the outbreak of war. As such, the permanence of ideological conflict means that war can never be extinct, and hence, I do not believe war can ever be a thing of the past.
In closing, war is a manifestation of conflict, and with the ever-present conflict of ideals and interests, it is difficult to posit that war will ever be a relic of the past. This is simply because there will never be any guarantee that all forms of conflicts can ever be resolved permanently. While it is true that we could reduce the propensity of the outbreak of war, we can never guarantee or conceive that war will ever be extinct. With the recent sabre-rattling and political instability in the world, it is highly likely that war will once again rear its ugly head.
Secondly, practically and pragmatically, war will never be a thing of the past because of
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Piaa Ong Pang Kun (17-U1) “An eye for an eye makes the world go blind” is perhaps what a pacifist would say to discourage retaliation and promote forgiveness and peace. The saying advocates that revenge should not be taken and that combative behaviour will make the world a worse place to live in. Such a simple concept, however, is more often than not ignored in practice and it is more common to see this quote being halved, with the indignant using “eye for an eye” as justification for exacting revenge on those who have harmed them. On a larger scale, wars work in a similar fashion. One entity is threatened and retaliatory measures are taken, usually ending in violence. Wars can be defined as large-scale acts of violence by one large entity or a country against another due to clashing ideals or other more malicious political or social causes, usually involving military action and combat. Simply put, it is the escalation of human conflict to the largest possible scale and magnitude. Hence, to say that war can ever become a thing of the past - for war to at some point be remembered as nothing but a past shame of humanity - is fallacious. War is part of human nature and is thus inevitable: it cannot ever be a thing of the past. War is an endless cycle that stems from our sense of pride and ironically, justice. In recent times, tensions between the United States and terrorists in the Middle East have been at an all-time high. Perhaps the most significant act of terrorism would be the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center led by al-Qaeda. This horrific act of violence provoked a retaliation by the United States which sent wave after wave of military personnel to Middle Eastern countries such as Afghanistan with the aim of completely eradicating terrorism. Upon experiencing an appalling, unwarranted act of violence, the United States sought revenge for the injustice its people felt when thousands of their citizens were killed or severely injured
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for seemingly no apparent reason. In return, terrorists who were under attack from the United States military also felt injustice and even further wronged, believing that what they were merely doing was following the instructions of the Quran and they therefore did not deserve such harsh treatment. Each party did what they thought was right. Both parties felt that they were above the violent treatment given to them, and as a means to seek justice, to set things right, they returned fire with fire. This is but a vicious cycle, as shown by the fact that even after Osama Bin Laden, a key figure in al-Qaeda, had been killed by the U.S. forces in 2011, the war on terrorism persisted and continues to this day. Once an act of violence is done, both parties’ sense of pride and justice will continually fan the flames of war as each side relies on their subjective values as validation to justify inflicting harm upon the enemy. It is for this reason that it is unlikely that war will ever cease to exist. Violence and war are also part of our basal human instincts. Throughout history, multitudes of wars have taken place, from the two World Wars to civil wars, and all these wars have played a central part in shaping our world today. In addition, war has been shown to have its roots even in our evolutionary ancestors, the primates. Researchers studying the social behaviour of chimpanzees have made appalling discoveries about two large clans of the apes in the wild: the two factions were at war with each other. Members from one clan were observed to go as far as raiding the homes of the other clan and kidnapping their members as hostages. The apes were also observed to have had attacked solitary members of the other clan in groups, killing that lone ape by brutally beating it to death. This behaviour is ominously reminiscent of human warfare and acts of violence where other people are forcefully taken and used as collateral or to negotiate a harsh deal,
or when enemies are intentionally targeted at night when they are most vulnerable to ensure successful eradication. This implies that violence is indeed present in our evolutionary history, and our acts of warfare now are but a natural manifestation of this unfortunate trait or instinct that stayed with us even as we evolved. The need for violence and war, much like our need to cohabitate with others in groups, due to humans being social animals, is a part of human nature that is extremely difficult to circumvent and overcome as it is so deeply ingrained within us. Hence, idealists who are starry-eyed in believing that we can one day have a world without war ignore the realities of basic human instinct. Despite this, I must concede that humankind has shown the capacity to avoid violence and suppress our innate tendency to inflict harm on others. The time period which we live in now is notably less physically violent than yesteryear. There are no large-scale wars ongoing in the world today and the annual death toll by acts of violence has indeed been on a steady decline. This is indicative of a less violent world, where people are able to rise above their instinct to use violence as a means to solve issues. As global issues such as overpopulation and climate change increasingly add stress to the general populace, the fact that violence and war has remained at a consistent low demonstrates how humankind has grown to control their need for warlike and combative behaviour amidst increasing stress and tension. Yet, this assuring trend provides us with no real assurance that the decline in warfare and violence will tend towards eventual eradication. A low incidence of war certainly does not guarantee the eventual complete absence of warfare. This is further corroborated by the fact although acts of physical violence and warfare have been on the decline, warfare is still a pressing issue today as the nature of warfare has changed. In the recent
technological age where humankind has come to rely on technology for everyday purposes such as communication and transactions, cyber-warfare has been on a frightening and alarming rise. A prime example would be the recent WannaCry attack on social media platforms such as Facebook where the network became compromised with the perpetrators demanding ransom in terms of online currency. There may be little to no physical scars borne by victims of this incident, but the fact remains that the attack was a malicious act carried out on a very large scale with the intention of seizing material gain. The ramifications of such technological warfare can be as damaging as the effects of physical warfare. Personal information may be leaked, compromising privacy, while online transactions may be tampered with to the detriment of all parties involved. Hence, although on the surface, violence and war is seemingly on the decline, war continues to exist perpetually as the nature of warfare has changed to another equally threatening form. Thus, war is still a pertinent issue today that is extremely challenging to eradicate. If war is such an ever-present and integral part of being human, it is thus overlyoptimistic to believe that humankind can currently, or at some point in the future, change to a point where warfare can be completely eradicated. There are many pieces of evidence that support this position such as war’s consistent role in historical and present events. Artistic expressions by many have taken a similar stand, such as in the novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, which depicts the story of a group of young boys stranded on a deserted island reverting back to extremely violent, war-like behaviour after extended estrangement from society. Hence, one should expect to continue hearing “an eye for an eye” for a long time to come, rather than “an eye for an eye makes the world go blind”. War is inevitable and can never ever be a thing of the past.
Scan this QR code to read two more perspectives by Farell Toh Yicheng (17-E4) and Le Quang Anh (17-U3)
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How far should the State have the right to restrict individual freedom when it comes to matters of national security? Liew Wei, Brian (17-O4) The recent case of a local pre-school educator being featured in videos disseminated by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria sparked widespread debate about individual freedom and national security. The issue of the extent to which the State has the right to restrict individual liberty, when issues of national security are concerned, is undoubtedly contentious. It is my opinion that the State has the right to restrict individual freedom if social harmony could be threatened, when an individual’s unbridled freedom leads to a potential terrorist threat as well as if the individual seeks to spread ideology that is not in line with societal values. However, the State can only do so to the extent that other forms of personal data are not encroached on and it should not have the right to restrict freedom to the extent that civilians are almost or extremely ignorant about world issues. Weighing the potential for the disruption of social harmony with personal liberty, it is my utmost belief that the needs of the majority should take precedence and the State should have, to a large extent, the right to restrict individual freedom. The State has the right to restrict individual liberty on matters of national security when there is the potential for disruption of social harmony. A strong social fabric is essential to a well-functioning society. During the 2016 United States of America (USA) presidential election period, there
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were many exemplifications of the USA’s openness leading to the potential harming of social harmony. One prime example would be the fact that Hillary Clinton, the forerunner of the Democratic Party, breached federal regulations as a Secretary of State and was found to have used her personal email server to disseminate approximately 35,000 classified emails. Who can guarantee that such actions would not lead to emails falling into the hands of others, and result in external espionage of the State’s actions? Such freedom could lead to others using the email contents to disrupt society and harm social fabric, especially if there are misinterpretations of the emails. Therefore, the State has the right to restrict individual freedom when it comes to national security because a disruption of social fabric could lead to national security being threatened. It is also the State’s prerogative to restrict individual liberty when the liberty could lead to potential terrorist threats. One example is how Singapore and many other countries alike have banned individuals’ access to the Deep Web. The Deep Web allows for the unbridled trading and exchange of perilous equipment such as firearms or armours, which could lead to threats to national security if inappropriately used by individuals. Under such circumstances, collective wisdom should be favoured as an individual may not have the ability to
citizens’ behaviour. What right does the government have to encroach upon an individual’s private life? I feel that such actions to “maintain national security” should not be condoned, and therefore the State should not have the right to restrict individuals’ liberty to the extent to which their personal forms of privacy that are unrelated to national security are encroached on. This caveat should be flagged out at the start of any discussion to impinge upon individuals’ freedom in the name of national security.
discern right from wrong, especially in an age where there has been the proliferation of terrorist organisations attempting to recruit individuals, instigating them to conduct terrorist activities. If an armament procured from the Deep Web is used, individuals could use it to conduct activities such as mass shootings, which undermines national security. Thus, if a terrorist threat is present due to individual freedom, the State should have the right of regulation in order to maintain national security. The State should especially have the right to restrict individual liberty if individuals attempt to spread extremist ideology to others, including family and friends. One pertinent example would be the recent incident where a PAP Sparkletots preschool educator was indicted for spreading his perverted notions of jihad to his family and friends through social media. Such actions should be clamped down on because national security could be threatened. This is especially so if individuals are utilising media platforms which inherently have an extensive outreach – the spreading of wrongful ideology that undermines societal values could become uncontrollable if freedom is given to individuals to spread their dangerous ideologies, which can undermine national security in that lone wolves could surface in the case of wrongful terrorist ideology and spread these values that override societal values.
Furthermore, the State should also not have the right to restrict individual freedom to the extent that it leads to high levels of ignorance in society. Modern day examples of such countries which experience this problem would be that of North Korea as well as China. In the name of national security, China has utilised its censorship programme, the Great Firewall of China headed by the Cyberspace Administration of China, to impose almost blanket censorship on world issues, through restricting individuals’ access to global media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Similarly, North Korea has utilised blanket censorship. Such actions tighten the vice-like grip around the practice of journalism and restrict the flow of information online. This would inevitably result in a politically and socially apathetic and ignorant society which conforms to political norms rather than to objective standards of the truth, which I deem unacceptable as the costs of such actions outweigh the purported “national security” that they can bring.
However, having said that, the State should not have the right to restrict individual freedom when the State’s actions of protecting national security involve the procuring of other forms of data that could lead to the loss of privacy. The Edward Snowden saga showed how the USA government has been utilising government intelligence programmes, XKeyscores as well as PRISM, for purposes other than the actual purpose of utilising the programmes to ensure national security. The leaks have shown how the USA government has been using the programmes to eavesdrop on conversations as well as analyse American
The issue of the extent to which the State has the right to regulate individual freedom continues to be actively debated. I believe that censorship to restrict individual freedom will be here to stay to protect national security but the extent of restriction should be reduced in countries with blanket censorship to allow for the creation of more well-informed societies.
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‘The world would be a better place if identity mattered less.’
What is your view? Identity is a fact of life that we hold closely to our hearts. It defines who we are; our traits, our character, our cause. Yet, many of us are in a constant struggle to find our authentic identities, to which there is no simple answer. This struggle is time and energy consuming and happens on a global scale as the world is made up of people. With so much time and energy spent on this topic globally, many question the legitimacy of our obsession with identity. “Could the time have been spent better on more productive things?” they question. Furthermore, it is also a fact that many of the terrible things in history were by-products of the pursuit of identity, such as the German-initiated world wars. However, I do not agree that the world would be a better place if identity mattered less to us as it is the fundamental driving force of people’s lives to do great things and suppressing or removing it would cause society and the world as we know it to crumble.
Firstly, I will address the opposing viewpoint: some say that less focus on identity makes for a more efficient system of living. There would be less political dissent, as we would focus more on pursuing economic and social gain rather than the national identity figurehead. It would reduce the number of congressional deadlocks and allow decisions to be made faster. There would also be more connectedness, superficially, due to our pursuit of uniformity over uniqueness. Family and community relations might improve and ethnic struggles may be resolved as they can put aside their unique identities and work together – for once. People can also be more productive as they spend less time dabbling in philosophy with the question of ‘who am I?’. I acknowledge these points to be true and appreciate their arguments. However, should identity matter less to us, it will undermine our human need to matter and be purposeful, and ultimately lead to the deterioration of humanity.
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Tan Shi Jie, Ariel (17-A1)
speeds up the process. Through these advances they could further spread their cause and build a common identity with people of other nations and states. They were so persistent in their push for identity that they continued having the Cold War for over 40 years. In this way, identity drives our world forward through its push for the search of meaning and truth.
Understanding our identity drives us to search for its truth, which gives us the will to live and push boundaries. Identity is the makeup of ourselves. We are continually changing, and so are our identities. With these changes come the re-evaluation of the authenticity of our current and previous understandings of our own identity. As we place a high value on identity, we are not content with just accepting the transient nature of ourselves but are interested in finding out what it is. This gives us an impetus in the tough or low moments, as it reminds us of a larger lifelong goal. To just throw in the towel at that point in time would be absurd to most of us. People need to know themselves because it defines the purpose which they are living for. It gives them a sense of mission. The consequences of giving up the search while a vast treasure trove of informative experiences lies out there would be unsettling and prompt regret.
Identity also imbues us with a strong sense of purpose in life, and the chasing of it develops our character. Imagine this: if a person was charged with and identified with the role of a king, would the person not act and rule like a king? If a person believed himself or herself to be a farmer or a peasant, would they not act like one? Sure, there are many people in the world with a wrong belief about their identity, most prominently, the terrorists of the modernday world. They believe that they are destined on earth to fight a holy war, and they act in correspondence to their beliefs in their identity. It results in murder, mass killings and bombings. However, there is a much larger, greater proportion of the world that identify themselves as changemakers, proponents of good. People like Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. (20 th century) and Martin Luther (16 th century), and Nelson Mandela all identified their lives with causes for positive social reformation and thus acted accordingly. Identity is at the heart of our belief system, and taking it away would negate all those brilliant people. Should all identity matter less, we would lack the drive of a purposeful life and such reforms would not have taken place.
This drive to search for the truth of our existence shows up in the work we humans produce. Thousands of self-help books are published every year with deeper levels of philosophical thought that seek to help us improve our character traits, like being more computer-savvy, happy or calm in a pressurising situation. Searching for identity also produced the Cold War rivalry between the USSR and the USA, where one espoused communism while the other pursued capitalism. These two camps helped form artificial national identities for their people by giving them a cause to fight for, with the ‘other’ being the enemy. For all its tensions and misgivings, the need to justify its sense of identity resulted in an impressive amount of military development in the USA and the USSR that is the backbone of many civilian technological services that we use today. Examples would be the ubiquitous Internet and the cellphone. These were byproducts of the people’s effort to improve the efficiency of developing scientific advancements through linking computers together, which
In conclusion, the world would not be a better place if identity mattered less to us as it is the fundamental driving force of many individuals’ lives to do great things for this world, and their impact on this world has been unmistakable.
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‘The world would be a better place if more political leaders were wo m en.’ What is your view? Stacy Fernandes (17-O2) Firstly, electing more female leaders to political offices is extremely important as it aids in breaking the glass ceiling that still exists today, especially in politics. Politics, and the running of a country, have long been traditionally male-dominated fields, with men asserting their power over how the internal and external affairs of a country should be managed. Due to the historical predominance of men in this said field, it has been incredibly hard for women to break onto the political scene, and have their voices heard, due to the rigid and non-conformist characteristics of the system. Take, for example, the United States of America. America has had fortyfive presidents till now, forty-four white, one of them black. All of them were men. In a history spanning over two hundred years, never once was a woman elected the ‘leader of the free world’. In 2016, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton came incredibly close, only to be defeated at the last minute by the dark horse candidate Donald Trump. During the campaigning period, a number of polls were conducted on both Clinton and Trump supporters by news channels such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and Fox News. While some interviewees had legitimate reasons for supporting one or the other candidate, such as disagreeing with their policies or their methods, a worrying number of Trump voters said that they were only voting for him because although they
Governments and public offices have long been places where women are starkly underrepresented. Even though nearly half of the world’s population is female, this fact is not accurately represented in governments and congresses today; in fact, not even a tenth of the world’s political leaders are women, a statement which might be as shocking as it is true. We can put this down to a history of systemic discrimination against women, dating back to the Ancient Roman and Grecian empires, where women were not allowed to compete in sporting events or attend them as spectators. Politically, the advancement of women to be on almost equal footing as their male counterparts has been worryingly recent, with women only winning the right to vote following the rise of the Suffragette Movement in the early twentieth century. Nevertheless, it is incredibly important to realise that because nearly half of the world’s population is female, this historical and systemic disparagement is incredibly pernicious to society as a whole and we as a society need to recognise the benefits of having more female political leaders, as they will firstly help break the glass ceiling that still persists in the political scene today, accurately represent the gender demographic, as well as help society as a whole move forward by giving women in third-world countries equal rights.
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thought Mrs. Clinton’s policies were viable, beneficial, and altogether sane, they did not want to vote for her because she was female. In a sense, these voters were choosing between two evils, and they saw Donald Trump as the lesser evil as compared to Mrs. Clinton’s gender. Through this example, it is highlighted that even in what is widely regarded to be the most progressive society in the world, there still exist these unspoken barriers that prevent female political leaders from advancing, insofar as saying these rarely acknowledged mindset barriers are what disadvantage them and hold them back from being on equal footing as their male counterparts. Hence, if we were to elect more female leaders, this would prove to more conservative sections of society that being female and being good leaders are not mutually exclusive. Secondly, electing more female political leaders to office would also help represent more accurately the women in that society, and in turn help them deal with their issues in a way that is both more targeted as well as beneficial. In parliament, a plethora of issues is debated upon, and often due to there being a lack of women ministers, when issues pertaining to the female gender are brought up, the manner in which they are dealt with is not very helpful or accurate. This is because men, while being at no fault themselves, are unable to grasp the crux of the issue, nor are they able to find solutions and put in place measures that female members of society would find useful.
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However, if a female member of parliament were to debate the same issues on the floor, she would be able to understand what it truly is that is needed; because male members of parliament are unable to accurately predict what it is that women need, and are unable to view it through the eyes of a woman, their arguments lack conviction and the house fails to pass bills relating to women’s issues relegating them to positions of less importance. Take, for example, the fact that women's hygiene and sanitary products are still taxed very heavily all around the world. Governments have simply not found it worthy enough to be exempt from tax as some essential items are. If more female political leaders were elected, however, they would be able to find issues that resonate with and are close to the hearts of women, the same way their male counterparts do with the male citizens of a country, and find a way to ameliorate their struggles. Lastly, the world would also be a better place if more female leaders were elected as this would then help promote gender equality. While we have come a long way from the times when women were denied the right to vote, we still have a long way to go, almost indubitably so. In many countries, especially thirdworld ones, women are faced with so much hardship, ranging from female genital mutilation, to being denied the right to education simply because of their gender. In a country like Ghana, even the brightest and smartest girl child might have her dreams quashed by the misogynistic and
discriminatory ways of the society around her. However, if more female politicians began to emerge, and gain power throughout the world, this would, although not instantaneously, begin to cause a shift in the way people around her think. Change cannot always be caused by words. Sometimes, change must be catalysed by change itself, and through example. Hence, for the little girl in a less developed country who dreams of creating change, only people who are now where she wants to be can spur her on. Women like Angela Merkel, Condoleezza Rice, and Sushma Swaraj are the ones who blaze the trail for change, and for progress. Therefore by electing female leaders, we too, are validating the dreams of millions of others and inducing change in society. However, it is not uncommon for some people to argue that women are less capable to lead, justifying their stance by saying the genetic makeup of a woman does not lend itself to leadership. Nonetheless, we must understand that the argument itself is inherently misogynistic, and unfounded, even proven through numerous scientific trials and experiments. Some, however, try to find any possible means to justify this and microanalyse any actions taken by female politicians in a bid to prove their discriminatory words true. Late last year, when candidate Hillary Clinton contracted pneumonia on the campaign trail, certain
radical disbelievers in female politicians claimed that a woman’s immune system is not as capable as a man’s and therefore, women do not make good leaders. This Salem Witch Hunt style of analysing and finding fault with every little thing that female politicians do is another way in which this argument is inherently sexist, and therefore unfounded and baseless. In conclusion, by electing female politicians, by allowing women to lead us, we are benefitting society in three main ways, firstly by breaking the glass ceiling, secondly by tackling women’s issues in more targeted and effective ways, and thirdly by helping fight discrimination and the gender divide. Female politicians, even ones like Marine Le Pen, are trailblazers in their own right, because no matter their political stances, we have to recognise how hard and how long they fought to get to where they are today. By advocating for, and endorsing our female leaders, we are sending the message that we too reject the old biases and gender barriers that might stand in our way, and we too, are advocates of change. A single twig snaps easily, but a bundle of them is almost impossible to break. If we stand behind our female politicians and lend them our support, we will be helping our society in innumerable ways, and only through progress, and change, can we build a better world for all sections of society.
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The 2015 GCE A-Level Paper 2 Application Question
One writer thinks sport has considerable value, while the other questions this view. How important is sport for you and your society, and how far would you agree or disagree with the opinions expressed in these two passages?
Wong Zann Yee (17-O1) from primary to pre-university levels of education have compulsory Physical Education lessons where they learn the techniques of different sports, and all Singaporeans are given a sum of money through the ActiveSG scheme for them to book different sports facilities or attend lessons, thus showing the growing emphasis placed on sports by the government. The citizenry reciprocates and appreciates such efforts as well, as seen through the strong take-up of the ActiveSG funds, perhaps owing to Singaporeans’ increasingly sedentary and workaholic lifestyles, which are widely recognised as unhealthy. These show that Singaporeans are aware that they can better their lifestyle habits through sport, and thus shows how sport is an apt vehicle in Singapore for selfimprovement.
Kate Robb argues that society benefits from sport, even if not as an active participant, while Alfred Benjamin casts doubt on the value of sport as it stands today. Although I am not a sportsperson, sport is still very important to both me and my society, Singapore. As a result, I agree more with Robb than with Benjamin based on their views expressed. Robb exposits the inherent value of playing sport. Be it physically, psychologically, or socially, she argues, it is beneficial for all. I largely agree that sport improves our physical skills, and allows us to be more healthy. While I am not an avid sportsperson, I do try to exercise by jogging occasionally. This is so that I can keep fit and stay healthy. In the larger Singaporean context, Singaporeans are encouraged to keep healthy through sport. Students
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is a cold and cruel one, especially at the pinnacle of achievement in the sporting world. While it is true that some athletes have gained a bad reputation for taking unauthorised drugs for better results, I still believe that the benefits of sport outweigh the detriments. Benjamin claims that in sport, “finer feelings, such as compassion, sportsmanship and magnanimity are considered weaknesses” which may be true for some, but I do not believe the assumption is true of the entire sporting world, and definitely not true in Singapore where very strict anti-doping regulations exist and are enforced. There have also been many examples of athletes going out of their way to help struggling athletes, both globally and locally, for example when a marathon runner sacrificed her chance at first place to help a dehydrated runner, giving her much needed water. This case shows that not everybody cares only about winning, and at all costs. In fact, sportspeople often serve as an inspiration to marginalised minorities. Simone Biles, an AfricanAmerican Olympic gold medalist has been an inspiration due to the marginalised racial and gender groups that she represents on the international and domestic stages. Similarly, national Paralympian, swimmer Theresa Goh is a beacon of hope for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, and handicapable communities, given her courage in speaking about her sexuality as well as her journey in overcoming the odds in her sporting pursuits.
Robb also opines that sport “offers a benign outlet for patriotic passions”, which I strongly agree with as well. While Singapore is not widely recognised as a sporting superpower given its neglect towards this perceivably less pragmatic aspect of national development, we do take great pride in our athletes’ achievements. In fact, just last year, in the Rio Olympics, Joseph Schooling won the first Olympic gold medal for Singapore. It was indeed a highlight for the nation and many Singaporeans felt great pride when they witnessed the historic moment. In that moment, almost the entire nation tuned in to watch the broadcast and I remember cheers of jubilation echoing through my estate as my neighbours were united in egging Schooling on. Thus, it stands to reason that sport and sporting achievements can bring people, communities and even whole nations together and Robb is quite on point with her observation. Finally, Robb also exalts the way the sporting arena parallels developments in society, providing the example of the recognition of female athletes. I believe that sport as a vehicle of social change goes beyond that. Just after the first Olympic gold medal was attained by Joseph Schooling, Singapore also garnered a gold medal in the Paralympics by Yip Pin Xiu. Although also a crowning achievement, it brought to light the unequal treatment that disabled persons receive in Singaporean society. It was a point of reflection for many Singaporeans, especially for me and my friends, as we realised how easily forgotten marginalised groups in Singapore can be, perhaps owing to the nation’s nearobsession with achievement and perfection. Thus, I also believe that sport is indeed a platform for pushing for social change, as well as a reflection of how far society has progressed as a whole.
While it is easy to be cynical about the sporting world and sport itself, one must remember that unscrupulous behaviour is not representative of the entire sporting industry - it certainly is seldom seen in Singapore. Hence, we must not fall into the trap of oversimplification and generalisation, especially when sport does in fact bring about numerous benefits to both the individual and to society as a whole.
On the other hand, Benjamin argues that the current state of the sporting world
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2 Perspectives in Response to the 2017 EJC JC1 Mid-Year Examination Paper 2 Application Question
Susan Cain questions current perceptions of leadership and proposes what society needs. How far would you agree with her observations? Relate your arguments to your own experience and your society. Chloe Alexis Ong (17-E2) had been in the political scene even before Singapore’s independence, recognised as not only a pioneer but the core founding father of Singapore today. He served in positions such as a Member of Parliament, Prime Minister and later, Minister Mentor, starting his leadership journey from humble beginnings in the People’s Action Party, which championed many moves that he deeply believed in, such as the merger with then-Malaya and the subsequent creation of our democratic society. His passion for his cause was what motivated him and garnered the support of the people. He remains a role model for many generations of Singaporeans and leaders to come. His leadership model is something celebrated and revered in my society by leaders and civilians, and his values of generosity and commitment are instilled in young and old alike. The leadership model in my society remains strongly rooted in the qualities of our pioneers and hence it is unfair to say that the leaders in my society do not have a heart for service for they have not been taught otherwise.
Cain places emphasis on how leadership today is a warped version of what the word fundamentally means. I believe that her observations are not very applicable to my society and hence agree with her only to a small extent. In my society, leadership has not shape-shifted into something far off from what it is traditionally viewed as, due to the values held dear in my society. In paragraph 11, Cain states that leaders today are “motivated by the spotlight” and are “leader(s) for the sake of being in charge”. This illustrates her view of the attitudes of leaders today, whom she sees as not only lacking the spirit to serve but also being selfish and only in it for themselves. However, I do not think that this is true of my society as the leaders who have kept Singapore afloat have exemplified great selflessness when it has come to building my country up from a third to first world country in a short span of 50 years. The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew once said that for his country, he had given up his life, which is true and something anyone can testify for. He
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saw 20,000 N95 masks being donated to Kalimantan where the severity of the haze was more than 10-fold that of what it was in Singapore. These individuals and groups felt a strong calling during those times of difficulty and actively took it upon themselves to make a difference through their own means. It hence goes to show that the idea of servant leadership and having people who care about what they are fighting for is not lacking in my society but rather, it has just started to gain traction as more and more individuals, especially those not in leadership positions, have been inspired and have started to be more active contributors to society.
Cain also raises the point that “we need to do a better job of making” the idea of having a “society of caring, creative and committed people and leaders who feel called to service rather than to stature” “clear”. I do not think that such distinctions are lacking in my society as people have exemplified through their actions that they are willing to start and lead movements and not ask for any glory or recognition in return. For instance, during the severe haze situation in recent years, individuals, such as Mr Cai Yin Zhou, stepped forward with their own initiatives to alleviate the situation for various parties. Mr Cai distributed 3,000 masks to foreign workers in Singapore and the “Let’s Help Kalimantan” initiative
Andrea Yeong Xiu Hui (17-O1) and citizenship education, and schools actively encourage students to take on different roles to contribute to society. As such, I have observed many students taking the initiative to head and launch their own projects simply for altruistic and truly passionate motivations. The National Youth Council has one programme called “Youth for Causes” which supports such youthinitiated projects that inspire and help the Singaporean community. Given the heavy demands of Singapore’s “pressure cooker” society, it is difficult enough to dedicate time to complete one’s school work. Thus, it is truly young people‘s passion that motivates them to propose ideas and solutions to the National Youth Council and to embark on missions, in their scarce free time, to lead and serve others. I have had friends implement “Youth for Causes” projects for numerous marginalised groups in society, one being “Operation Nephros”, which raised awareness about kidney dialysis patients and these attempts often include fund-raising efforts as well. This desire to go above and beyond, with no view for title or personal gain, shows how
Cain observes that more people want to be leaders for the reputation and not the cause they are leading. She proposes that society needs more followers, team players, and individualists who have their own perspective. Additionally, Cain proposes that qualities sought after in college application forms should be changed to highlight “excellence, passion and a desire to contribute beyond the self”. While I do not fully agree with Cain’s observations, I do agree with her suggestions with respect to my society, Singapore. First and foremost, Cain believes that students are taught “to be a leader for the sake of being in charge, rather than in the name of a cause or idea they care about deeply”. She mentions examples of American students who yearn for a leadership role that they do not have a passion for to desire to serve. In relation to my society and my own personal experiences, I strongly disagree with Cain’s perspective. In Singapore, there is emphasis on students’ holistic growth given the overall importance placed on character, values
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also voicing their opinions to collaborate towards achieving the same goals. Also, I have observed, in school, and society at large, that many Singaporeans are good at listening to instructions and much prefer to do so in the name of deference and efficiency, perhaps owing to Singapore’s communitarian nature and Singaporeans’ general fear of standing out and up to take the lead. Ultimately, Cain is right in saying that it is not necessary for every single person to aim to be a leader, especially if they do not have the true passion for their cause as too many misguided leaders could create a disruptive group where there are too many domineering voices and opinions.
students in Singapore can be trusted to serve with purpose and passion. The title of “Chairperson” for such projects is also not so easily attained, as the person leading the project would have to continuously put effort into organising people to form committees and to actively motivate them to embark on their responsibilities. Hence, I greatly disagree with Cain’s observation as in my society, Singapore, I observe students leading out of their own conviction and yearning to empower others and make a change, rather than solely for the reputation and title. Cain also proposes that society needs “followers”, “team players”, and “those who go their own way” in order to form a well-functioning body. I largely agree with her suggestion given consideration of my society. In a small country such as Singapore, citizens interact with one another every day and if tensions between groups of people were to arise, our unity could be disrupted. Hence, it is imperative that we do not have an overabundance of leaders as we require followers in the community to support and play an active role as well. If everyone tried to impose their own ideas, nothing would be accomplished, and this is seen in my own life, in school, where Cocurricular Activities Leaders are important figures who guide us, but who also rely on the collective team to accomplish things through attentively listening and followers
The antithesis of this is seen in Singapore, as the government typically makes decisions in order to serve the populace, and the citizens fall in line, rightfully or wrongfully. The upside of Singapore’s system is that our leaders listen to their followers, as seen in the Budget Plans from 2012 to 2015, which promised assistance for the elderly and disabled. Singapore’s bureaucratic leaders initiated the Silver Scheme Plan and the Pioneer Generation Package, better infrastructure for the disabled in our transportation systems, and two new hospitals in the West, in response to the numerous suggestions raised by the community - Singaporean “followers” who providing mooted ideas for greater societal development. Being a “team
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player” in society thus also means looking out for the disadvantaged and suggesting ideas to leaders on ways to create societal structures that would best help the entire community. It is clear that in a wellfunctioning society, not just a student body, it is imperative to have different groups of people to fuel progress and collective growth. Thus, I agree, to a great extent, with Cain’s proposal to attain a balance of leaders and followers in society. Lastly, I agree with Cain’s belief that colleges should look for “excellence, passion and a desire to contribute beyond the self” instead of solely focusing on leadership qualities, especially in the context of my society, Singapore. There is a social enterprise called “The Hidden Good” which aims to raise awareness on many social issues within the country, such as xenophobia and negative stigma against mental illness. They tackle an array of issues that Singaporeans face, and I find that we truly need to act selflessly and help others in order to make Singapore a better place. Universities in Singapore should actively seek such people with a genuine drive to contribute to society, and place less emphasis on whether they have a clean slate of academic As or a stellar leadership portfolio, especially when it seems that the road ahead for Singapore will be paved with structural inequality issues. In
December 2013, Isaac Ong galvanised 70 of his friends to give out ice cream to foreign workers to thank them for their hard work. This highlights the goodwill we can bring to others as just regular members of society, with simple acts, and not just as leaders of clubs with fleshed out action plans. If universities in Singapore were to tweak their admission criteria, and some already have, I believe this would engender more caring and empowered behaviours among young people to advocate for causes, be it as leaders or followers. Hence, I believe that Cain’s proposal would be good for Singapore, especially given recent concerns that Singaporeans lack compassion and motivation to help those less well-off. In conclusion, I agree with Cain’s proposals to stop the flawed glorification of leadership skills and instead focus on an individual’s character. I think that this suggestion is applicable to any society, not strictly to Singapore. I also believe, thankfully, that local universities do not promote the same ideal of leadership in students as American universities do. With that being said, I do, however, disagree with her observations of students wanting to lead purely based on less than altruistic intentions. Rather, I believe that Singaporean students are motivated to serve others through leadership.
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CHAPTER
Mathematics
Big Data And Mathematics
The Future of Proofs
Le Quang Anh (17-U3) Liu Muchen (17-U3)
Abstract:
Big data technology holds promise in improving the verification and generation of Mathematical proofs, which have become increasingly complex. Whilst mathematicians have increasingly adopted the use of proof assistants and Automated Theorem Provers (ATPs), they rely on brute force searches possibly leading to computational bottlenecks. Recent breakthroughs in data technology, such as deep learning, can yield significant acceleration in overcoming these bottlenecks. This offers optimism for wider adoption of ATPs by mathematicians in the future, which looks set to be greatly shaped by the upcoming ’fourth industrial revolution’.
1
Introduction
Big data has been one of the hottest buzzwords across many industries in recent years. This term usually refers to datasets that are too large and complex to be processed by traditional database management tools. To handle big data, sophisticated algorithms, usually based on Mathematics, are utilised in fields such as finance, security, communications, media, and healthcare, to gain insights that may elude human intuition. The versatility of big data leads us to the following question: Can we actually use big data technology to improve the very study of Mathematics? The answer turns out to be in the affirmative. Indeed, over the past decades, proof assistants to verify proofs and automated theorem provers (ATPs), such as Coq and Princess have been developed.
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2 1 A. A. Alemi, F. Chollet, N. Een, G. Irving, C. Szegedy, and J. Urban, “Deepmath – deep sequence models for premise selection (arxiv)”, 2016.
ATPs and Type Theory
As the study of Mathematics becomes increasingly extensive, some of its fields have become too abstract and complicated to be definitively checked by humans. Hence, there is a necessity for formalisation and translation of the entire field of Mathematics into one that machine can understand. Vladimir Voevodsky, a Fields medallist and a leading mathematician on infinity groupoids advocated using an alternative formal logic system, called “type theory” to recreate the entire mathematical universe from scratch1. Type theory is consistent with the mathematical axioms, but unlike set theory, it is couched in the language of computers. This led to the establishment of univalent foundations, with a considerable amount of Mathematics having already been formalised using this system, the first such library called “Foundations” was created in 2010. Foundations is a part of a larger development with several authors for UniMath at the moment. Formal theorem proving could be envisioned, where the formalisation of Mathematics onto a large database, together with the invention of proof assistants, hold the possibility of having a reliable system to check unverified mathematical proofs, with minimal human support. This would help in pinpointing specific loopholes in the proofs, for humans to improve upon. Voevodsky and his team use a programme named Coq. Coq hosts the capabilities to check the proof of mathematical results by the user’s suggestion of which tactic or operation to employ (i.e. by mathematical induction and usage of side verified results) to validate a step in the proof. It allows users to enter their proof of the theorem on the left, with an interface on the right which displays what has not been proven. This would save the user the hassle of inadvertently trying to prove what have been proven before. Moreover, one can safely define other established results within the proof, without the need to prove them again if it is confirmed and proven by others, by creating a personalised module and importing it. This would enable swift compilation of different side results which would substantiate the main proof.
3 2 D. Hassabis and D. Silver, “Alphago’s next move”, 2017.
Future of ATPs
The recent advent of deep learning also enables ATPs to go beyond brute force combinatorial search methods, which would lead to combinatorial explosion, which is impractical when checking against all possible established results and axioms within the ATPs’ libraries. According to Alemi, Chollet, et al.2, there is a need to use deep learning for premise selection, where limited number of the most relevant
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results for proving a new conjecture is utilised. After surpassing the computational bottleneck, ATPs can be used in a tractable manner by operating upon large databases at accelerated speeds to verify and generate mathematical proofs, with low probabilities of errors. Although ATPs have been around for the past few decades, their proofs have mostly been “ugly”: being too large to be checked due to the brute force method employed. Together with more advanced deep learning techniques, it may also be possible that in the future, computers can use novel ways to prove mathematical theorems, that eludes mathematicians. One analogy would be AlphaGo. According to Hassabis and Silver3, in Seoul in 2016, AlphaGo played an innovative and beautiful move against Lee Sedol, a Go World Champion, which had a one-in-tenthousand chance of humans playing it. This meant that deep learning yielded moves that competitive players did not anticipate or experience before. This move brought about a completely new knowledge to the Go world. Furthermore, unofficial online games AlphaGo played under the name Magister (Master) during early 2017, have influenced many of Go’s leading professionals - including the top human GO player Ke Jie himself. This is evidenced from how another top GO player Fan Hui, improved his ranking after five months of matches with AlphaGo. AlphaGo is powered by artificial intelligence and big data, which may be promising in assisting mathematicians to verify proofs and generate new ideas for proving difficult mathematical conjectures and theorems. However, this approach of using ATPs still faces some problems. Though the accuracy of the calculations done by computers can be largely trusted, computer codes are not without the faults of the human programmer, and there are no clear standards of how they can check the programme and establish that it is doing the right thing. Consequently, the veracity of proofs may be deemed by some mathematicians as uncertain, which is undesirable in our quest for mathematical truths. Besides, even if the standards were to be set in place, people might baulk at verifying the correctness of another’s code as it is often time-consuming and unrewarding. Nevertheless, ongoing efforts are underway in enhancing the systems mentioned above.
4
Conclusion
In conclusion, big data technologies such as deep learning, together with univalent foundations, seems promising in achieving advancements within the study of Mathematics. Even though there are inherent flaws in the system currently, it is inevitable for mathematicians to embrace technology assisted proofs in the long run, given the growing complexity of Mathematical proofs. With the constant work of mathematicians in the fields, it is hopeful that one day we can set up an efficient system where computers could become an entrusted companion in establishing truths within the mathematical realm.
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3 N. Wolchover, “In computers we trust?”, 2013.
5
Chapter
INFU SION C SC CLL G SC TLL
怀念李光耀先生 ——新加坡52周年国庆有感 倪雪珂（17-A1）
岛国平时的瓢泼大雨总是很短暂，来得快 去 得也快。但记忆中，两年前 的 那 场 豪 雨 却 下 得 特别久，似乎老天也在为一 颗 巨 星 的 陨 落 而 哭泣，为民众对国父的爱而感动。雨水交织 着 愁绪，打湿了马路两旁送别 的 人 群 ， 而 人 们 却 丝毫没有退缩，仍旧举着国 旗 伫 立 在 路 旁 为 您 送行。当灵车缓缓驶过时， 哭 声 、 雨 声 、 呼 喊 声，将国人对您的那份牵念 ， 那 份 崇 高 的 敬 意 ，汇成了一曲悲恸的乐章。
52年前，您在无奈地宣布独立的那一刻， 放 声大哭。这个只有六百多平 方 公 里 的 小 国 ， 在世界地图上只是一个小红点，没有任何资 源，甚至连水都没有，怎么生存？面对这样 的 困境，想必您那时的心里也 一 定 是 有 些 茫 然 吧 ！但这些怎能动摇您创立一 个 公 正 廉 洁 的 繁 荣 国家的伟大决心呢？为了让 这 个 小 红 点 在 世 界 的舞台上成为一颗耀眼的红 宝 石 ， 您 不 惜 付 出 一切，以国为家，带领着一 个 强 大 的 团 队 一 起 并肩作战。现如今，新加坡 早 已 从 第 三 世 界 晋 升到第一世界国家的行列， 这 也 让 身 为 新 加 坡 人的我们感到无比的自豪， 我 们 感 恩 有 您 这 盏 指路的明灯照耀着新加坡。
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在面对国家危难的时候，您是一名战士，充满了战斗力，始终坚定不移地保 卫着这个国家朝着理想前进。而这种奋斗精神，正是我们这些从蜜罐中长大的青 少年所缺少的。很多新生代少年都觉得自己所拥有的一切都是天经地义。殊不知 没有您和老一辈们的努力打拼，怎么 会 有 今 天 幸 福 的 生 活 ? 饮 水 思 源 ， 我 们 感 恩 有您! 在面对人生挑战的时候，您是一名勇士，有一股自强不息的精神。坚持“活 到老学到老”的您从来都不耻下问，七十岁时还主动要求学用电脑，而几十年来 您在学习华文方面也从未间断，甚至在病重前的几个晚上还在跟华文老师上课。 您的博学多才让我们望尘莫及，您的学习精神更让我们这些为了考试才学习的青 少年感到汗颜。 在面对国家发展规划的时候，您是一位智者，您知道新加坡唯一的资源就是 人。您认定只有培养人才，才能使国家繁荣昌盛。您的远见为新加坡培养了一 批又一批的双语人才，新加坡的年轻一代都是受益人，我们能说流利的英语和母 语，让新加坡人扎根本土，胸怀世界。不仅如此，您更是将新加坡打造成了一个 不分种族、言语、宗教，多元种族，人人平等，唯才是用，诚实廉洁和依法治国 的国家。生长在治安良好的环境中， 我 们 是 何 等 的 幸 运 啊 ！
你是国家的设计师，规划着新加坡的 现 在 与 未 来 ； 你是非凡的杰出领袖，带领团队把新 加 坡 推 向 繁 荣 ； 您是我们学习的楷模，生活简朴，勤 奋 好 学 ； 您是名园丁，清河储水，种树绿化， 让新加坡成为名副其实的花园城市； 您是我们的好总理，无论是国家的经 济 建 设 法 制 法 规 ， 还是人们的衣食住行都牵动着您的心 。 您为新加坡操劳一生，鞠躬尽瘁！
千言万语道不尽我们对您浓浓的不舍和满溢的感 激。您为我们树立了典范，您的一生波澜壮阔，却无 怨无悔地为新加坡的未来引路，是您改变了每个国人 的命运。今日是新加坡建国52周年，我想说，我们一 定会继承您和建国一代的拼搏精神，努力学习，掌握 知识，携手再创更加辉煌的五十年。
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愤 青 ， 是 进 步还 是 阻 碍 ？ 杨吟菲（17-U5）
我会接触到“愤青”这个主题主要是最近发生的两件事。一是上个月中共建 党96周年在微信朋友圈看到的被网友们疯传的两篇文章：《在高速公路上倒车， 是一件很危险的事》以及《我知道这样发会被删还要发》，二是最近看到的以 2011年利比亚撤侨事件为背景，充 满 爱 国 色 彩 的 动 作 军 事 电 影 《 战 狼 2 》 。 这两件事都让我联想到了“愤青”这个词。其实我起初对这个词不太熟悉， 在出国之前，我很少听到身边的人在探讨对国家不满的言论，最多是在中学入团 的时候有人抱怨背团章像是被国家洗脑，但没有人敢真正把这件事拿出来谈。然 而在出国后，我开始慢慢意识到身边有许多人都对中国社会现状不满，他们对国 家、政府失去信心，以激进的言辞来表达自己的想法。第一次接触到愤青是刚来 新加坡的第一周，在街上遇到一位北京来的中年人，她想向周围路人宣传共产党 的黑暗……我当时是觉得十分荒谬的，毕竟是第一次听到这种与众不同的声音， 而且多数不明状况的新加坡学生都在这张表上签下了自己的名字。后来，我发现 生活中确实存在着许多这样的人，且大部分都是和我同龄的在校学生，他们大多 通过在网上发言来表达自己对祖国的不满情绪，但大部分都被当作敏感内容而被 屏蔽。之前在网上看到一篇讲到关于愤青的文章，认为很有道理，大概说的是， 中国人自古以来就有着愤怒的传统，从发动“国人暴动”时愤怒的人群，到大泽 乡揭竿而起的愤怒的农民，到新文化运动中愤怒的文人，还有五四时愤怒的学生 和工人。时代在变迁，然而有些精 神 是 从 来 没 有 改 变 过 的 ， 比 如 这 种 愤 怒 。
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对于“愤青”是好还是坏，并没有一个清晰的定义。以我的角度来 看，愤青的出现是极其正常的，随着国家不断发展，更加国际化，中 国与别的意识形态不同的国家在政治经济及别的许多领域的矛盾碰撞 冲突增多，也就出现了更多不同的反对的、批判的声音。我认为，愤 青多，证明中国教育提高了，更多人有自己的思考，不是盲目爱国， 盲目相信自己的政府，而是能够自己做出判断，辩认出国家的好与不 足。愤青也代表新一代青年人对自己国家有更高的期望，对国家的政 治经济有了自己的认知，并能够自己反省，希望通过自己的声音，让 国家和政府听到并加以改善。愤青也不是只有中国才有，许多别的国 家也存在着这样的人群，这是任何一个先进发展的国家不可缺少的一 部分，没有哪个国家是不存在任何非议的。然而，现在许多“愤青” 的行为都太过偏激，即使初心都是爱国情怀，但与理智冷静爱国是相 违背的。他们通过针对性强的言论来引起周围人的赞成与围观，以这 种方式来宣泄自己的不满和社会的不公，这些都对当今社会造成了不 好 的影响。 就比如说在七一建党日时朋友圈疯传的两篇文章，两个作者用隐晦 的语言批判中国社会主义与现当代别的先进国家的资本主义相违背， 针对言论自由、民主、性解放等新进思想来批评中国腐朽传统，无法 保证社会的公平性与人民的自由。两篇文章在中共建党日发，无非是 为了引起更多网友的关注，造成讽刺的意味。但我认为，这种行为是 冲动自私而不顾后果的。中国不同于别的已发展国家，国人的受教育 程度还不够高，许多人还没有良好正确的政治思想。因此，这些文章 很容易影响群众，使更多本没有自己看法的人人云亦云，开始怀疑政 府和国家，从而造成政治的不稳定。国家及时遏制住这种思想，删除 这一类文章的手法是正确的。这并不是不民主，而是为了防止更大的 打砸游行事件的发生而影响现在的社会治安。中国政府确实存在着许 多不足，但是中国需要的不是这种不负责任的批判，而是冷静理智的 真 正对国家好的建议。 由于我出生在中国，成长的环境和家庭背景使我自然带着个人情感 来看待这些事件。这也是我想要继续学习中国通识的原因之一。我希 望以更加客观的角度来看待国家问题，不仅是看到带有中国色彩的评 论，而是应该更多接触到一些国外的更公正的信息资料，我也希望未 来能通过自己的努力来改变世人对中国的看法。最后想以《战狼》中 的两句经典台词作为结尾“没有和平的年代，只有和平的国家”，以 及“当你在海外遭遇危险，不要放弃！请记住，在你身后，有一个强 大的祖国！”虽然这些话可能有些太过夸大，但是带给我们的精神冲 击确是不可忽略的。希望以后中国能够继续发展，真正成为我们能够 依 靠的强国。
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浅议
中国网络审查制度 及网络防火墙 2016年8月3日，中国互联网络信息 中心发布了第38次全国互联网发展统计 报告。报告显示，中国的互联网普及率已 经达到51.7%，这体现了中国当前互联网 信息产业蓬勃发展、蒸蒸日上的大趋势。 然而在这大好势头背后，一个挥之不去 的阴影却始终萦绕着亿万中国网民：在繁 荣的互联网世界背后，一堵无形的墙时 时阻拦着中国大陆地区的人们访问谷歌 （Google）、脸书（Facebook）、推特 （Twitter）等海外网站。而随着中国政府 对个人虚拟网络（VPN）的监管更加严格 （实际上，自2018年3月1日起，中国政府 将禁止使用各类VPN，并已经从大陆苹果 商店中下架了所有VPN产品），这也意味 着以后中国人从大陆“翻墙”访问海外内 容将更为困难。显然，这样的网络监管措 施也在中国大陆及海外用户之中引发了巨 大的争论：有人认为互联网防火墙会严重 影响接下来中国大陆的互联网事业发展； 也有人认为中国的网络防火墙实际上保护 了刚起步的中国互联网企业，在“墙”内 其实也有欣欣向荣的网络经济。那么中国 的网络防火墙究竟有没有继续存在的必要 呢？ 首先，我们可以从中国政府设置网络 防火墙的动机来思考，在2000年，中共 中 央 前 总 书 记 江 泽 民 在 一 次 采 访 中 曾 说 ： “我希望人们将从网上学习很多有用的事 情，但无论如何，网上有时也有不健康的 东西，特别是网上的色情内容──对我们 的年轻人伤害很大。而BBC和华盛顿邮报 等没有色情的网站被禁可能是因为有些政 治消息的报导立场。我们需要有所选择， 我们希望尽可能地限制对中国发展有害的
万沁颐（17-U5)
信 息 。 ” 这 点 出 了 大 陆 网 络 审 查 制 度 的两 个出发点：一是防止色情、暴力等违法内 容在中国境内传播，二是通过过滤不利的 政治新闻报道而巩固共产党及中国政府的 权威。 在这两个大出发点下，中国政府的网 络防火墙通过对境外网站的封锁以及敏 感词审查等方式控制着国内网民的上网内 容。在很大程度上，网络防火墙对境外非 法信息，例如色情、暴力等内容在中国大 陆境内的传播起到了很好的抑制作用。 然而根据美国哈佛大学法学院《2004 －2005年中国互联网过滤报告》，在大 陆，不能登录的色情网站只占在10％左 右，这说明，中国政府对其境内的色情网 站监管力度仍然不够大，大陆网民仍然能 够访问大陆私人网址注册的色情淫秽网 站；中国大陆的色情、淫秽网站仍然没有 办法根除。因此，中国的网络防火墙在防 止色情、暴力等不良信息的传播上虽然做 出了自己的努力，但是却无法有效抑制色 情内容在大陆的传播。在这个层面上，中 国的网络防火墙仍需存在并需要进一步加 强，以保护中国网民的身心健康。 与此同时，在政治敏感内容的审查上 面，中国网络防火墙在色情网站的监管上 远没有其对政治内容的审查严格。中国政 府则认为网络是各种不实不良信息高速传 播的渠道；过于开放的网络环境及其虚拟 性、扁平性等特点则会助长不法行为的滋 生，对社会的和谐稳定带来威胁。因此中 国有关部门加强对网络传播秩序的依法监 管。而中国的互联网防火墙则是中国互联 网监管审查制度下的一个产物。对于涉及
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到有关批评中国共产党一党执政的弊端、 其他意识形态的宣传、社会敏感事件与问 题、对中国政府高层领导人及其子女的批 评和信息公开，中国政府会保证部分的言 论自由，但是存在的更多是网络限制。中 国网络防火墙屏蔽了大部分政府认为会传 播导致国家分裂、意识形态变化的网站， 包括大量国外社交网站及新闻网站。
成的产物正在逐渐影响着世界互联网产业 新一轮的变革。因此，网络防火墙从另一 方面促使了中国本土化互联网公司的蓬勃 发展。与此同时，中国内部舆论环境也在 营造一个拥有这堵墙也不会影响大部分人 网络活动的氛围：《环球时报》在一篇名 为《防火墙给中国互联网带来哪些影响》 的文章中指出“然而对于没兴趣上这些被 屏蔽网站的人来说，这个问题又几乎不存 2010年《纽约时报》（The N ew Y ork 在 ” ， “ 中 国 的 对 外 开 放 没 有 受 到 防 火 墙 Times）在报道中国前国务院总理温家宝 的什么影响。中国内外的信息交流总体畅 家族贪腐及财务曝光事件后遭到在中国大 通，人员的网上正常接触和沟通也无实质 陆 屏 蔽 ， 其 中 文 及 英 文 官 方 网 站 均 无 法 障碍。物流所需的网络帮助更不是问题。 从大陆登录。在同一年，彭博社因为发表 一些特殊需求因为防火墙会遇到些麻烦， 了一篇有关时任中国国家副主席习近平的 但很容易找到“替代办法”。这篇社评中 亲 属 海 外 积 累 财 富 的 报 道 而 在 内 地 遭 遇 更 直 接 指 出 ， 认 为 “ 防 火 墙 塑 造 了 大 多 数 一系列难题，其中也包括对其英文网站的 中 国 人 在 信 息 方 面 更 依 赖 本 国 网 站 的 习 屏蔽。同时，在中国遭到屏蔽的网站还包 惯，那些必须或热衷于访问被屏蔽点的人 括 英 国 广 播 公 司 新 闻 网 等 其 他 新 闻 媒 体 网 在 逆 着 管 理 坚 持 他 们 的 习 惯 ” 。 对 于 大 部 站。因此，在中国大陆境内，人们能得到 分互联网的用户而言，能否访问境外网站 的信息均是经过防火墙过滤后的内容，其 并不是他们上网的重点。在这里，我们必 内容一般都是支持中国意识形态或与中国 须承认的事实是境外网站都不是中国绝大 政治内容无关的体育娱乐新闻。在防火墙 部分网民的必需品；但是，中国政府应该 的 保 护 下 ， 中 国 政 府 得 以 对 国 内 思 想 及 更关注开放境外网站对中国未来民主以及 意识形态进行较为成功的控制，但从另一 新闻媒体自由的影响。对境外网站的封锁 方面，中国的防火墙极大地限制了大陆境 实际上限制了中国境内获取新闻信息的途 内的言论自由以及信息的传播。而这一点 径，而这可能影响到网友对某些事件的正 正是不少中国网民以及国外新闻媒体抨击 确看法。与此同时，中国本土网络公司由 中国网络防火墙的重点。在中国，被屏蔽 于生存在没有外在竞争力的环境中，最后 的网站是国外的主流网站，比如谷歌，脸 可能导致一家独大并影响到社会安全。之 书以及推特等，这令中国大陆的网民难以 前爆出的“百度魏则西事件”就是这类危 享 受 这 些 网 站 所 带 来 的 附 加 服 务 ， 其 中 害的一个代表。因此，中国的网络防火墙 就包括了谷歌邮箱（GMail）、云端硬盘 应积极面对其带来的消极影响，减少其对 （Google D rive）等。尽管不少媒体均指 网络言论自由的限制。 出，中国的网络社会在墙内蓬勃发展，似 乎并没有因为访问境外网站受限而丧失活 总而言之，中国的网络防火墙是有其 力。中国的互联网公司的影响力及其推出 存在的重要意义，它帮助维持了中国社会 的软件正在逐渐改变人们对中国网络的看 的繁荣和稳定，但是在另一方面，却也对 法。微信从最初的即时通讯交流软件，逐 社会思想和文化的进步产生了一定阻碍。 渐“进化”成了现在集通讯、消费、社交 所以中国政府应当在保留网络防火墙的同 等功能为一体的多功能软件。而微信推出 时，加强其对色情暴力等危害信息的审查 的这些功能也正在被脸书、Whatsapp等其 及 管 控 ， 并 适 当 放 松 对 新 闻 媒 体 的 审 查 ， 他软件学习模仿。中国“墙内”的土地生 营造一个相对宽松自由的网络环境。
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知 其 不 可 而 为 之 吴唯莹（17-A1）
“知其不可而为之”出自《论语·宪问》，是一 个守城门的人评价孔子的一句话，意思是明知做不到 却偏要 去 做 ， 表 示 意 志 坚 决 ， 倔 强 固 执 。 从古至今，这句话一直被用来褒扬那些不畏艰 险、不惜代价、拼命硬干的人。很多人敬佩这种精 神，但也有人认为它是一种蛮干、傻干的行为，遵循 它的人 都 是 不 自 量 力 的 理 想 主 义 者 。 我认为“知其不可而为之”是一种自我挑战的精 神。秉持这个原则的人往往不顾旁人的质疑，去做那 些“不可能”的事情。这样的人看似莽撞、天真，但 是成功的往往就是他们。荀子曰：“不登高山，不知 山之高也；不临深溪，不知地之厚也”。这些人成功 的原因恰恰是因为他们有“知其不可而为之”的觉 悟，比旁人更有决心和勇气去实现目标。凡事在你没 做之前都是不可能的，只有徒步跋涉才能体验高山的 巍峨，只有行动才能突破思想中的“不可能”。所以 这种精 神 当 然 是 值 得 学 习 的 。 海伦凯勒就是一个“知其不可而为之”者。19个 月大时，她失去了听觉和视觉，人们纷纷向她投来怜 悯和惋惜的眼光。尽管如此，她没有自暴自弃，在启 蒙导师安妮·沙利文的帮助下，她学会了说话、阅读 和写作，最后通过努力成为了史上第一位获得文学学 士学位的聋盲人，成为了著名的作家和教育家。世界 上无不可能之事，只有心理上给自己的限制。海伦凯 勒凭着信念挑战自己，这不是自不量力，而是相信自 己的潜 力 ， 是 我 们 学 习 的 楷 模 。 尽管如此，还是有人认为，海伦凯勒的成功纯属 少数。“知其不可而为之”者不是人人成功。相反， 很多人因理想不切实际而一事无成，所以不少人还是 认为孔子这种精神不值得学习。但是，孔子眼中的成 功并不是光鲜的结果。对他来说，勇于尝试和学习过 程更加可贵。“知其不可而为之”就是鼓励自己不 断努力、进步的精神，要是能做到这一点，就是成功 的。那些所谓“一事无成”的人至少为梦想勇敢奋斗 过，他们在这个过程中提高了自己，磨练了毅力，所 以不是失败者。同样的，孔子虽在后世被尊为圣人， 但在古代却处处碰壁，甚至发出了“知我者其天乎” 的感慨。尽管如此，孔子还是在众人的不理解中不 断学习、思考，使得世人称他为“知其不可而为之” 者。这个评语准确地描写了孔子坚韧不拔、孜孜不倦 的精神 ， 值 得 我 们 学 习 。
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孔子凭着这种精神成为了一代宗师。但是随着世界的变 化，“知其不可而为之”在现今社会还行得通么？现在让 我们来探讨一下它的现代价值、反响 和 可 行 性 。 首先，国际化的步伐促使各种创新发明、观点、思想、 发现涌入了不同人的生活里，让人们更加习惯新事物，以 及创新和探索精神。因此，比起以前封闭、保守的传统社 会，“知其不可而为之”的精神会更被接受。马云的网络 购物公司阿里巴巴集团就是这样一个例子。零零年早期， 网购对中国大陆还是一个十分陌生的概念。但是受到当时 美国亚马逊网购公司的成功故事的影响，消费者们还是接 受了马云的公司，让它得到了一个平稳的起步。现在，阿 里巴巴集团已经成为了世界第一电子商务在线平台。此例 子证明，现代社会对新事物的包容增加了“知其不可而为 之”精神的可行度。人们对网络购物的接纳让阿里巴巴平 稳起步，让“知其不可而为之”的马云走上了成功之路， 但要是在过去的保守社会，“知其不可而为之”者会被看 作愚蠢，新奇的事物会被抵触。所以，这种精神在现代社 会更加可行。 第二，现代社会面临前所未有的问题，比如环境恶化、 资源耗尽，还有核能的滥用。我们需要勇于创新、敢于接 受挑战的人去探索解决方法。所以，“知其不可而为之” 的精神在现在不仅行得通，而且极为可贵。新加坡凯发集 团总裁林爱莲女士就是这样一个典范。于1989年，她决定 投资废水再生技术，成立了个人公司。随着世界地球水资 源的疾速消耗，她的薄膜净化污水技术也更加受欢迎，众 多国际大公司都前来求购.使凯发集团成为了亚洲最大的海 水淡化厂, 供应新加坡十分之一的 淡 水 需 求 。 像 林 爱 莲 这 样 不畏艰险，勇于创新的人往往能找到解决问题的方法。而 那些循规蹈矩的“知其不可而不为”者却很难有勇气去做 极其困难的事。她这样的精神是当今社会所需要的，我们 应该学习这种勇于尝试、坚韧不拔的精神，才能突破种种 困难，做出对社会有用的事情。
总 而 言 之 ，“知其不可而为之”是自我挑战的精神，大家千 万不要把它误读成不自量力。从孔子的时代开始，这种精神就属褒义， 而且在现代社会有着更大的可行性和价值。姚明说过，努力了不一定会 成功，但不努力肯定不会成功。就算我们最后真的达不到最初的目标， 但是只要全力以赴，我们的行为就是一种成就，一种突破。最后，让我 们 学 习这句话的精髓，不要因惧怕而退缩，向“不可能”勇敢前进。
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论 新 中关系 林柚伶（17-A1）
新加坡和中国政府自从1990年建立外交关系以 来，两国间双边关系迅速发展，在各个领域的互利合 作不断扩大。两国最高领导人为推动双方友好合作关 系持续发展一直进行着不懈的努力。中共中央总书记 习近平曾说：“李光耀是我们尊敬的长者，迄今，他 依然不懈地推进中国与新加坡的双边关系，我对他满 怀敬重之情。我们永远不会忘记他对我们的双边关系 做出重要的贡献。”而伴随着中国这个经济大国的快 速崛起以及“一带一路”倡议的提出，中国也将会与 亚细安国家建立更密切的关系，这也为新中关系的进 一步发展带来了重要契机。
首先，新加坡可以充分发挥“中介国”的身份， 促进中国和其他亚细安国家之间的外贸。中国与亚细 安地区之间的外贸有着悠久的历史。虽然早期亚细安 国家是以朝贡的形式向中国缴纳贡品，但明朝皇帝通 常会以更贵重的礼物和贡品进行交易，所以对这些小 国是有利无损的。而到了今天，中国在亚细安地区展 开了更灵活和具结构性的一种外贸和外交建设，譬如 在亚细安国家进行许多大型的计划，在越南进行建高 铁的计划等。而新加坡作为亚细安所有国家中最发达 的金融中心，在东南亚地区拥有丰富的商业投资经验 和广泛的人脉。据统计，有60%的亚细安国家的国家 融资项目是由新加坡为基地的银行主理。此外，新加 坡自2015年起已成为中国最大的外来投资国家。而 利用这些优势，新加坡无疑可以在地区投资和国家发 展策略等领域中发挥更为重要的作用，成为“一带一 路”地区投资建设的安全港，实现双赢甚至多赢的效 果。
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其次，新加坡的语言优势有利于促进中国政府与 亚细安国家间的多边贸易。新加坡是一个多元种族 社会，根据新加坡的宪法规定，英语、华语、马来语 和淡米尔语都是“官方语言”。长期以来，新加坡 一直奉行着以英语作为第一语言，母语作为第二语言 的双语政策，而这一政策也培养了大批能够流利使 用双语甚至多语的本土人才。相比之下，周边国家则 比较缺乏能够使用华语和英语沟通的人才。李光耀曾 说过：“除非从小学起，否则汉语是最难掌握的语 言。”在这一背景下，新加坡的语言优势成了有利于 帮助两国之间沟通的梁桥。除了此外，新加坡近些年 的教育政策越来越重视本土华人对“双语、双文化” 的深入学习。这也使得两国人民之间不仅在语言上容 易沟通，更是在文化上能够给找到共同点。一旦两者 的心灵找到共同点, 就 会 更 容 易 谈 生 意 。
最后，随着西方国家推向自我保护主义。中国与 东盟国家的贸易地位变得日益重要，中国自从开放经 济以来，就从国际市场获得了经济全球化的好处。所 以进一步扩大外贸交易对中国来说是利大于弊。但随 着美国总统特朗普的上任，和英国退出欧盟，许多西 方国家越来越倾向于贸易保护，再加上长期以来，西 方对中国崛起的影响充满担忧和疑虑，这使得中国在 逆全球化的浪潮中推行开放经济变得日益困难了，而 新加坡作为一个渺小又缺少天然资源的弹丸小国，对 西方发达国家和中国来说，都属于没有威胁的小伙 伴，而这一身份反而能帮助中国与其他国家进行沟 通，促使中国更加开 放 。
总之，新中关系在未来将会有着更为密切的合作 前景，而良好的新中关系也必将给亚细安地区带来繁 荣和进步。
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新 加 坡
需做好准备应对 区域恐怖主义的
威胁
蔡玮瑾（17-A1）
近年来，我国所面对的恐怖威胁级别达到了最高点，显示我国随时 都会面临恐怖袭击的发生。恐怖主义已经不再限制在国家以内，跨国 的恐怖组织让这场反恐行动更为迫切。频频在区域发生的一系列恐怖袭 击，也敲响了加强反恐工作的警钟。我国要面对与准备应对区域的恐怖 主义，要从两大层面来着手：我国必须与区域政府机构合作，还有巩固 我国自身的反恐准备。 恐怖主义越来越猖獗，使到本区域的安全受到严重的威胁。最近， 伊斯兰国的恐怖分子在马拉维对抗菲律宾的政府军队，终于在数月后被 迫撤退，放弃在马拉维建立哈里发国。除此之外，印尼也在去年遭受了 恐怖袭击，而犯案的地点则在首都雅加达。由此可见，恐怖袭击所发生 的地点离我国不远，凸显了区域的恐怖主义是真实的，并象征伊斯兰国 组织已经把焦点转移至东南亚本区域。我们必须及时反应，不让他们实 现成立哈里发国的野心。面临高度流动性的恐怖主义，我国要更积极与 邻国分享情报，才能协调本区域的反恐安全网，维护我国本土的安全。 若我国只是把本区域的恐怖主义视为外部威胁并视若无睹，恐怖分子将 能轻易渗入我国，展开屠杀行动，造成悲剧发生。此外，我国做为一个 多元种族与宗教的社会更容易被恐怖分子视为目标，因此，我国有必要 做好充足的准备，来应对区域恐怖主 义 的 威 胁 。 我国现在的区域反恐工作的参与度，可谓相当积极。例如，我国伸 出援手协助菲南打恐，派出一支无人机队伍，加强当地反恐部队的情报 收集和侦察能力。这也反映我国正视区域的恐怖威胁，考虑到其他城市 如新加坡有可能同样会遭受袭击。另一区域合作的例子，是印尼的特警 与反恐部队成功地侦破一个恐怖细胞组织。他们原本计划从巴淡岛发射 火箭到我国的滨海湾金沙，虽然我国最终逃过一劫，但我们不可以抱持 侥幸的心态。我国的国防部长黄永宏也提到，没有任何国家对于恐怖主 义袭击是可以免除的，虽然我国积极参与交换情报，参与联合军演及巡 逻工作等，但仍然要设法扩展现在的参与力度，让区域反恐力量相应提 升。
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除了在区域反恐工作上扮演重要的角色，我国也加强了自身的反恐 力度，在社区的反恐工作上做了显著的努力。我国在2015年推出的“全 国保家安民计划”，让国人意识到反恐不只是军人或警察的责任，而是 一场全民战。我国的人民也积极学习紧急技能如包扎伤口，为那些停止 呼吸的受害者做心脏复苏等，让人们掌握基本的救人知识，在每个社区 里，至少300名人士会用自动心脏除颤器。在心理的准备上，我国也设 立心理应对小组（HEART）的队伍。他们的作用是在恐袭后，安抚幸 存者的情绪，使人们更快地复原。不仅如此，我国也有治本的做法，通 过宗教与种族互信圈增进人们之间的凝聚力，以确保我国不会在恐怖袭 击 发生后出现社会分裂。 除了在社会的层面上做好准备，我国也积极地巩固军警的力量。身 为第一防线，他们的反恐角色至关重要。我国成立了一个由特种警员组 成的紧急应对部队，专门应对突发恐怖袭击事件。除此之外，我国正式 成立陆军速应部队，他们的任务就是赶往与封锁现场，管控人流以免恐 怖进一步扩散。任何想要挑战我国第一防线的企图，将面对顽强的抵 抗。 我国的反恐工作也已经延伸至职场，让这一场反恐的全民战目标更 明确。今年，我国就正式推出“职场保安计划”。由于恐怖分子有可能 袭击敏感的基础设施如发电厂，加强基础设施保护是另一项重要工作。 我国推行了“基础设施保护法案”，协调职员们如何冷静应对突如其来 的 袭击。我国自身的反恐力度 将 把 损 伤 降 至 最 低 。 虽然我国在各个层面上费尽心思与努力，这些资源的投入还是无法 让反恐的工作做得十全十美。随着互联网的普及，人们能轻易接触到一 些极端主义的贴文，那些宗教知识贫乏的，会更容易自我激进化，最终 展开独狼式的袭击。这种难以侦测的活动，也让反恐工作增添了不确定 性。恐怖分子也把目标锁定在外籍工人，让我国的反恐工作面临严峻的 挑战。例如，我国去年拘捕了27名自我激进化的孟加拉客工，他们原本 打算回返祖国展开推翻政府的计划，建立哈里发国，但也随时可能改变 主意，在我国本土上展开袭击。因此，这种内部的潜在威胁让我国在反 恐 工作准备上必须采取全盘性 的 考 虑 。 虽然我国还未有重大的恐袭发生，但我们不应该掉以轻心。我们要 具备居安思危的心态，保持警惕。我国人民未经历过恐袭，因此很难想 象恐怖袭击发生后所留下的后遗症与创伤。但是，我们有必要从松懈的 状态提升至时时警惕的状态。我国人民要意识到，恐怖分子不只是要造 成人命财产的损伤，他们的最终目的是要分化社会，让恐怖主义扎根。 只 有一个有凝聚力的社会团结 在 一 起 ， 才 不 会 让 恐 怖 主 义 在 我 国 得 逞 。
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佘峻恺（17-A1）
扭转新加 坡 年 轻 人
不婚不育的趋势 “人养我，我养人”这个传统观念，就是指大家应该做好本分，结婚生育、 传宗接代。不过，随着我国的生活素质逐渐提升，这个传统观念也就渐渐消失 了。现今的新加坡，正面临着一个很严重的问题：人口萎缩。我国的生育率只有 区区1.2，远低于2.1的替代水平。同时，我国的单身者也越来越多，迟婚者也一 直不断增加。2015年的一项调查结果显示，年龄介于30岁至34岁的国民中，有 43.4%是单身男性，31.4%是单身女性。从以上的数据可知，我国不婚不育的情 况确实很严重。若我们要试着扭转这 个 趋 势 ， 就 必 须 要 有 各 方 面 的 协 力 合 作 。 从国家和社会集体的角度来看，不婚不育将影响很多方面。首先，人口萎缩 将会影响我国的经济。当我国的人口持续减少，我们的劳动人口也会下降，使我 国的国力减弱，严重影响我们的经济发展。其次，随着我国的人口老化问题持续 恶化，年轻国人的经济负担将会加重。这是因为没有足够有条件的国民来交税。 因此，若政府要持续执行政策，就得依靠年轻人多承担税务。最后，随着我们的 生育率下降，我国的军人也会越来越少，严重影响我国的国防实力。从以上可 知，我们确实有必要扭转不婚不育的 趋 势 。 政府早已开始为扭转这个趋势作出准备，如在2013年推出了新一轮的结婚 生育配套，在各个方面给予年轻夫妇帮助。例如，政府改进了现有的婴儿花红， 第一和第二个孩子可获得6000元花红，第三和第四个孩子则可获得8000元。其 他做法还包括育儿优先配屋计划，也就是让育有孩子的首次购屋夫妇能获优先分 配。此外，还有填补儿童培育户头等等。政府采取的这些政策，最终目的就是要 给予年轻夫妇不同层次的帮助，从而减轻他们结婚生育的负担，以鼓励他们尽早 结婚、多多生育。 虽然政府在减轻年轻国人结婚生育的经济负担已作出了努力，但效果有限。 这是因为如今的社会，每个人都有更大的自由与权力去追求自己想要的，这使 国人的个人意识越来越强。换句话说，国人的自我为中心的意识正逐渐上升。国 人比较注重其他方面，例如工作上的优良表现。因此，国人产生了一种错误的想
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法，认为结婚生育只会阻碍自己追求理想生活，而不肯结婚生育，或是选 择迟婚迟育。 为此，政府与公司企业合作，支持和鼓励家庭工作平衡。育有孩子的 工作人士很有可能遇到家里的突发状况，但因为工作繁忙而顾此失彼，结 果他们宁可不结婚生育，省却麻烦，也不会影响工作表现。针对这种情 况，政府鼓励公司企业，允许育有幼儿的年轻夫妇采用灵活工作时间与环 境。若有必要，他们能够向老板申请直接在自己方便的时间与地点工作。 这么一来，年轻国人可能更愿意结婚生育，不会觉得有了家庭与孩子是个 负担。 政府加强的另一个政策就是改善我国现有的托儿服务。这是因为，政 府已了解到结婚与生育带给都市人的生活压力。现在的都市人，早出晚 归，要不就是工作狂，要不就常常在外应酬，年轻夫妇往往没法同时照 顾孩子。为此，政府在每个社区增设了托儿所，从2012年的1022所增至 2016年的1329所。同时，降低托儿所的费用，提供更优质与负担得起的 托儿服务。 从以上可知，政府正在尽全力让年轻国人可以更安心结婚生育。不 过，无论政府推出什么政策，最重要的还是我们个人的想法。由于教育的 普及，经济发展的需要，上世纪60、70年代的“男主外，女主内”家庭 分工模式已经起了天翻地覆的变化，每个人都想拥有私人的空间、享受人 生、出国旅行轻松自由等，所以都不太愿意结婚生育。年轻国人必须重新 思考自己真正想要的。比起过度重视个人意识，生活其实有别的东西值得 去追求。拥有一个完整的家庭，为家人努力奋斗，可以让我们的生命更丰 富。如果生命的形态是身心的滋润成长，不断自我完善的过程，当前的个 人主义意识形态，显然不利于 个 人 生 命 的 完 善 和 幸 福 的 实 现 。
我们每个人都是社会的一份子，不能 只关照自己，也应该为我国人口问题尽一份 力，使我们的社会更健康。
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我对 新 加坡 迈 向
"绿色出行"城市
的看法 林洁欣（17-O5）
“绿色出行”指的就是人们使用绿色的方式，例如搭公交或是选择活 跃通勤来作为他们的出行方式。依我之见，新加坡的确是个“绿色出行” 的城市。到了2030年，每四人中会有三人以公交作为他们主要的出行工 具。我国政府希望通过改善我国的交 通 系 统 来 鼓 励 更 多 人 选 择 绿 色 出 行 。 为 什么新加坡要成为一个“绿色 出 行 ” 的 城 市 呢 ？ 首先，一个“绿色出行”的城市也是个低碳城市，惟有成为一个绿色 出行的城市，新加坡才能减少私家汽车的用量，减少碳的排放量。这不仅 能确保我国的空气清新，也能确保人们的健康。其次，迈向一个“绿色出 行”的城市也有助于新加坡成为一个更宜居的城市。因为当我国的空气素 质良好、环境优良时，就会有更多人 愿 意 到 我 国 生 活 、 工 作 。 我国的公交系统在这些年来改善了许多，也变得更贴近人民的日常生 活，使我国向“绿色出行”城市前进 了 一 大 步 。 首先，我国政府的目标是到了2030年，在我国约710平方公里的土 地面积上，建有至少9条地铁线，地铁网络比现在扩大一倍，长达360公 里。而每十户家庭中有八户只需步行十分钟就可到达一个地铁站。现在， 我国的地铁网络系统变得更密集，更贴近人民的生活，这有助于鼓励人们 多乘搭地铁，少用私家车。除此之外，政府也在增加地铁的班次来应付人 口的增长。地铁班次的增加缩短了乘客的等候时间，尤其是繁忙时段。这 给乘客带来了许多方便，因此也吸引了更多的人选择地铁作为他们的出行 工具。最重要的是地铁公司SMRT经营模式的改变使他们不再受到利益驱 动的掣肘，而是更注重于服务人民，满足他们的需求。这些地铁系统上的 改善都有助于鼓励更多人使用地铁，从而减少汽车的用量，并且让新加坡 迈向“绿色出行”的城市。
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其次，我国在提升巴士服务方面也下了不少功夫。路线和巴士班次 的增加也鼓励了更多人选择巴士作为他们的出行工具。我国政府也推 出了巴士外包计划来提升巴士服务水平。这确保每个承包业者之间产 生的良性竞争，激励他们为人民提供更完善的服务。另一方面，政府 也进一步让我国的巴士系统变得更具有包容性。现在，我国大多数的 巴士都是低底盘的，而且婴儿手推车也无需再折叠就可以上巴士。这 是为了方便我国的年长者和残疾人士，还有鼓励更多有孩子的家庭搭 乘公共交通工具。这样一来，政府有效地吸引了更多不同的社会群体 来乘搭巴士，减少了汽车的用量。因此，我国巴士系统和服务的改善 是新加坡能成为一个“ 绿 色 出 行 ” 城 市 的 一 大 原 因 。 除了改善我国的公交系统外，我国也扩大了活跃通勤的网络和推出 了鼓励人们减少用车的措施。政府为了鼓励更多人使用个人代步工具 来出行，不仅在全岛建立了脚踏车专用道，也允许脚踏车和其他通勤 工具在人行道上行驶。此外，政府也制定了明确易懂的条规和行为准 则确保道路使用者的安全。如此一来，就会有更多的人愿意使用个人 交通工具在路上行驶，选择绿色出行。此外，我国政府也推行了拥车 证的制度和减少停车位的供应量。这些措施都有助于降低国人拥车的 意愿，鼓励人民使用方 便 的 公 交 作 为 他 们 的 出 行 工 具 ， 绿 色 出 行 。 我国在绿色出行方面已做出了成绩，但是我相信进步的空间还是有 的。 第一，我国的地铁系统还能进一步改善来减少故障的发生。虽然现 在常发生的故障不是测试新的信号系统，就是检查的疏忽而造成的， 但是对乘客来说，发生故障的原因无论是什么，只要发生一次长时间 的严重延误，就足以影响他们对我国公交服务的信心。这对我国迈向 成为一个“绿色出行”的城市肯定会受到一定的影响。因此，进一步 改善我国的地铁系统非常重要。除此之外，地铁的维修团队也应进一 步从预防性维修发展到预测性维修，那么才能尽量避免未来地铁故障 的发生。 第二，我国人民也都应学习和遵守交通规则，才能维持一个安全、 和谐的出行文化。这软性的公众教育并不容易实行，但我相信只要所 有的使用者都有一定的安全意识，要形成一个文明共享的文化并不困 难。惟有一个安全的公路，才能鼓励更多的人使用个人代步工具在人 行道上放心行驶。这将 有 利 于 我 国 成 为 一 个 “ 绿 色 出 行 ” 的 城 市 。
我国的交通网络发达，而且也有越来越多人开始使 用个人代步工具来完成他们“最后一英里”的旅程。这 代表着新加坡在成为一个“绿色出行”的城市方面取得 了进步。虽然改进的空间仍是有的，但是我国也已在采 取措施来解决这些问题了。因此相信再过不久，我国就 会 是 个 一 百 分 的 “绿色出行”城市了。 121
谈新一代小贩 中 心 的 社会功能 戎家萱（17-I3）
在1970年代初期开始出现的小贩中 心原本是为了安顿街边小贩而建的。但 逐渐的，小贩中心对新加坡不再是一个 只卖饮食的“空壳”。它不仅是我国独 特的小贩文化的载体，也具有非常重要 的社会功能。尽管今天的社会情况和过 去几十年已大不相同，新一代小贩中心 不但延续过去，它也负起了新的任务 。 新加坡政府希望打造一个具有包容 性的社会，而新一代小贩中心的功能能 让我国加速迈向理想的社会。我国政府 为了加强小贩中心的社会功能，在去年 设立了小贩中心3.0委员会。委员会通 过和公众以及小贩交流在不久前交出了 对新一代小贩中心发展方向的建议书。 其中提到的四个重点，延续小贩行业和 支持新入行者、提高小贩中心生产力、 加强小贩中心的活力和打造为社交空间 以及推广小贩中心用餐文化，反映出新 一代小贩中心的整体目的是让小贩行业 能长期发展下去，并肩负符合社会与时 代需求的新功能和角色。
新一代小贩中心的社会功 能包括以下几点： 第一，新一代小贩中心能提供就业 机会。截至去年底，本地共有109个小 贩中心，未来十年将建多20个，而经
营摊位的各族人士超过1万4000个，养 活了许多家庭，可说是本地贴近民生， 举足轻重的一个行业。再说，小贩中心 也特别照顾弱势群体，让他们优先租到 摊位，为他们提供工作机会以及社会认 同。 新一代小贩中心也设置“培育摊 位”，让想创业的人士或中途转业者有 机会尝试经营。委员会建议在个别小贩 中心腾出一些摊位，让新手小贩尝试经 营一年半载，或由老经验的小贩从旁提 供指导，从中吸取经营的经验和强化 烹饪的手艺。比如义顺公园小贩中心保 留了两个摊位作为“培育摊位”，让新 手小贩有最长一年的时间尝试经营生 意。“培育摊位”的小贩只需付租金和 水电费，而可以免除其他费用如洗碗费 用。另一个在武吉班让的小贩中心则有 由有经验的小贩指导新手的摊位。如果 培育摊位和2014年试行的小贩学徒计 划能齐步进行，为新手小贩拉低入行门 槛和风险，吸引力必然加大，相信就能 鼓励更多人从事小贩行业。 第二，小贩中心对绝大多数组屋区 居民而言是个重要的社交空间，也是必 要的社区设施。随着时代的改变，国人 因生活素质提高，对小贩中心的要求也 有所改变。政府为了因应国人的要求，
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在新一代小贩中心内外建设了更多社区 空间，举办各类活动来吸引人潮，进一 步打造成为一个更富有活力并能增进社 区凝聚力的邻里设施。比如茨园小贩中 心就是建在茨园民众俱乐部里的设施， 这能让到小贩中心用餐的国人轻易到达 俱乐部中的其他设施，比如健身房以及 其他交流空间。另外，义顺公园小贩中 心有个park and play角落举办以家 庭 为主题的活动。这样一来，新一代小贩 中心能通过建设更多社区空间，增加举 行各类活动与演出的机会，有效为社区 增添活力以及加强社会凝聚力。 第三，新一代小贩中心代表了新加 坡的一种庶民饮食文化，因具有本地 餐饮特色和价格合理，是许多国人心中 对于国家感情与身份认同的重要组成部 分。我国巡回大使许通美教授曾在一本 介绍本地小贩美食书的序言中，提到小 贩中心的美食扮演的重要角色。小贩中 心烹饪的美味食品不但使在外国生活的 国人恋念新加坡美食，它也以食物的特 征体现出我国的多元种族文化社会。新 一代小贩中心将能以培养小贩接班人传 承小贩文化，让这个国家认同的重要载 体继续发挥功能。 第四，委员会想通过小贩中心提升 国人的优雅程度。这与小贩中心里国 人的行为与态度有关系。“自动归还碗 盘”的做法已普遍在全国各个角落的小 贩中心落实，但国人的“主动性”并没 有积极发挥。因此，满桌杯盘狼藉、 纸盘乱飞的现象仍是小贩中心的普遍写 照。这意味着国人在外用餐的优雅行为 指数并没有提高，当局用心良苦的碗盘 架如同虚设。当局希望通过宣传，提醒 公众为别人着想，用餐后把碗筷收拾干 净，放到碗盘架上。我们可以在新一代 小贩中心中期待硬体设施的出现，有利 于鼓励国人培养优雅的习惯。新一代小 贩中心如义顺公园小贩中心就采用了“
强化性”归还碗碟的折扣。国人在买食 物时需多付一元，在归还碗碟时取回。 这样，久而久之就会让他们养成归还碗 碟的好习惯。 用餐者不只可以照顾到桌椅干净， 也能表现出人与人之间的基本礼貌， 尤其是对于长者和残障人士更有礼让精 神。比如不久前发生的年轻人为了霸位 而欺负老人家的丑陋事件，虽是罕见例 子，但经网上媒体发酵之后，在社会上 产生一股震撼力，国人需引以为戒。 第五，小贩中心不仅是我国独特小 贩文化的载体，他们也一直是便宜可口 食物的来源，这是另一个非常重要的社 会功能。新一代小贩中心不会偏离它们 原本所扮演的角色，将继续为国人提供 日常生活饮食上的便利。新一代小贩中 心都由社会企业经营，宗旨就在于做到 有更好的管理、服务以及平抑物价，惠 及一般消费者。比如由富食客管理的新 一代小贩中心就规定每个摊位都必须提 供两道不超过2.80元的食物。在社会企 业的新理念经营下，新型小贩中心所扮 演的社会功能也会有所提升，食物的价 格会有更明显的差距。被打造成“优质 邻里设施”之后，新型小贩中心可以成 为有关组屋区的亮点。
总的来说，小贩中心是新加坡 的独特风景线，它们应进一步提升 为人文景观，成为外国人必到之 处。我们有米其林级别的小贩美 食，也应有五星级的公众举止，配 合卫生的环境，让我们的街头饮食 文化给我们带来更大的骄傲，同时 也加快走向具有包容性的社会。
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我 的 秘 密 花 园 庄巧宜 （17-A1）
“啪叽。啪叽。”我嫌恶地看着我的白鞋子一点 点，慢慢 的 ， 慢 慢 的 变 脏 ， 染 上 了 黑 褐 色 的 泥 污 。 忽明忽暗的。 洞外雷声巨大，可传到洞内却似乎没那么可怕。 沉沉闷闷 的 ， 一 道 道 的 响 雷 在 我 耳 边 响 起 。 “啧。”我有些不耐烦。 “啧，啧，啧……”立刻便有回音传来。 故事要从一个月前说起…… ****** “嘿，十一，我听说食堂后面有个地洞呢，我们 去看看吧 ？ ” 小 言 和 我 说 。 “啊……地洞啊，还是不要吧，怪恶心的……” “十一，你就当陪我去嘛......”小言拉着我的手 晃来晃去的，水汪汪的大眼睛眨巴眨巴地看着我，看 我似乎要拒绝的神色，她嘴巴一扁，一副快要哭出来 的样子。 我 的 心 顿 时 一 软 ， 略 一 迟 疑 ， 便 答 应 了 。 外面正下着绵绵细雨，温度让人舒服得很。天空 却极暗， 灰 灰 的 ， 宛 若 棉 花 上 洒 满 了 尘 。 我和小言撑着一把天蓝色的伞一起寻找地洞，不 一会儿就找到了那黑乎乎的洞口。从外面往里望进 去，只能见到至多两米，再往里面看也只是一片漆黑 了。我莫名地抖了抖，里头仿佛有什么令我不安的东 西在酝酿着似的。我踌躇不前，小言却拽着我直接走 进去了。 洞口很小，只能容纳一人，我和小言一前一后地 走着。脚下的泥土有些湿润，我深吸一口气，鼻尖满 是雨后泥土草地的芬芳。我慢慢地走着，以防弄脏鞋 子，小言却在前方兴奋地蹦蹦跳跳。那把小伞上的水 一点一点 地 往 下 滴 落 。 “滴，滴，滴。” 小言打开手机上的手电筒应用程序，在前方走 着，我在 后 面 亦 步 亦 趋 地 跟 着 。 突然，脚下不知踩了什么，竟瞬间空了，只能直 直地往下坠去。我试图抓住点什么，可是下降的速度 太快，手未抓牢，反而擦破了手。我疼得倒吸了一口 凉气，感觉有些发晕，趴在地上轻轻地喘着气，心跳 如惊雷在耳边响起。不知过了多久，我才回过神来， 忍着疼痛 缓 慢 地 坐 起 来 ， 缓 缓 地 睁 开 眼 睛 。 我揉了揉眼睛。 再揉了揉眼睛。
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眼前景象美得让人难以相信它是真实的，用任何 语言形容它都是一种玷污。我的旁边有个长凳，长凳 前面是个小池塘和一棵大树。一切看似平凡，但在这 里却又有它自己独特之处。不知为何我觉得心里平静 了下来，仿佛世间一切纷扰与我再无干系。这一小块 地方的周围尽是花海，锦花绣草，却不斗色争妍，整 体和谐 异 常 ， 有 一 种 说 不 出 的 完 美 。 我感动得差点忘了呼吸，躺下来仰望湛蓝的天空 时却无意间扯到了手臂上的伤口，疼得我龇牙咧嘴 的。池塘里的水清澈得可以见底，还有各种颜色的可 爱小鱼 。 我 走 入 池 塘 里 ， 将 一 身 脏 污 洗 去 。 池水温度适中，让人没来由地感觉心中特别宁 静、特别安心。抵御不住精神的疲倦，我最终沉沉地 睡了过 去 。 “噗 。 ” 是 什 么 没 入 了 血 肉 之 中 的 声 音 。 * ***** 我好像做了个很奇怪的梦，醒来时觉得胸口有些 不舒服，但是什么都记不清了。我晃了晃头，从池 塘中走出，随手摘了旁边的一朵小雏菊，在手里把玩 着。“ 如 果 可 以 有 小 笼 包 就 好 了 ” 我 喃 喃 自 语 道 。 顷刻间，我的眼前竟然真出现了一盘小笼包。我 有些吃 惊 。 这 是 怎 么 一 回 事 ？ 难 道 … … “……我想要一盘炸鸡。”我摘了另一朵花，略 带迟疑 地 说 。 一盘 炸 鸡 竟 又 不 知 如 何 从 天 而 降 。 我倒吸了一口凉气，若现在有一面镜子的话，其 倒映出 的 必 然 是 我 满 目 的 贪 婪 。 “… … 我 要 饮 料 ！ ” “我 的 天 哪 ！ 我 要 薯 条 ！ ” 我摘了一大把花塞进口袋里，朝着花海说：“我 想出去 。 ” 一阵失重的感觉袭来，我站着安安静静地缓了一 会儿。 我 回 到 了 地 洞 中 ， 小 言 正 望 着 我 。 我紧紧地握住双拳，这样一个奇幻的地方，这样 一个能满足我愿望的地方，只能归我所有！这是我的 秘密花 园 ！ * *****
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我开始使用那些花朵来获取我想要的东西。十朵 花自然很快就用完了，余下一朵用来回到那个“秘密 花园”。花园的气息让我莫名安心，我每次都会在那 里睡上一觉，醒来时只觉得很满 足 、 很 幸 福 。 **** * * “落霞，最近你怎么测验都考那么高分啊？有什 么小诀窍教教我嘛！” ”没什么，就……多学习就好了。”我有些心 虚，有些不安。小言不会知道我那天发生的事情吧？ 但我见她表现并无异常，便没多 放 在 心 上 。 初次进入地洞后的第三个星期，我的脾气变得越 来越暴躁，经常无意识中开始吼起小言。她往日卖萌 的泪眼汪汪不再让我觉得可爱，反而让我更加愤怒。 心中仿佛装了一个火把，这火把无时无刻不在燃烧着 我的理智，让我一直处于暴躁不安的状态之中。心口 感觉像装了一块大石头，无处发泄，压得我整个人都 变得阴郁起来，唯有在进入花园 时 才 有 片 刻 安 宁 。 **** * * 从第一次进入花园的一个月后，我又一次走入地 洞中。 “啪叽。啪叽。”天下着暴雨，我手上拿着一把 黑色的伞，走在地洞里。我的白鞋早已肮脏，但我却 顾不得了。 我拿出了一朵花，说：“我想回到花园中”。就 在此时，有人拽住了我的衣角。我一睁眼，发现小言 和我一起进入了花园，我的呼吸一时间变得粗重了起 来。 “是谁允许你跟着我来的！”我咬牙切齿地瞪着 她，握紧了拳头。 “落霞，你……你干嘛生气，我只是好奇你在做 什么而已。”小言有些委屈地说 。 我倏地一笑，揽着她的肩膀，说：“对不起嘛， 我不凶你了，只是……”我趁她不注意，迅速摘了一 朵菊花，小声地说：“给我一把匕首。”一把精致小 巧的匕首瞬间出现在我的手中。
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我捂着她的嘴巴迅速将刀刺向她的左胸，心中的 暴戾在 嘶 吼 ， 叫 嚣 着 逃 了 出 来 。 “噗 。 ” 是 匕 首 没 入 了 血 肉 之 中 的 声 音 。 小言倒在了地上，血染红了整片草地，看起来特 别妖异 。 小言 ， 无 言 地 躺 着 ， 她 无 法 再 发 出 任 何 言 语 。 “这是只属于我的秘密花园！我的！谁也不能夺 走，你，也不可以！”我目眦欲裂，声音嘶哑地，对 着小言说。她在抽搐中慢慢死亡，眼睛也没闭上，而 我看着 她 疯 狂 地 大 笑 ， 笑 得 瘫 倒 在 了 地 上 。 * ***** 当我回过神来时，花园已经变了。蓝的白的黄的 花朵全都变成了鲜红如血的曼陀罗。那颗大树也已 然枯萎，池里的水混浑浊不堪，食人鱼睁着猩红的眼 睛，朝我亮出两排白色的，尖利的牙齿。空气中有一 阵阵的 恶 臭 味 ， 我 皱 了 皱 眉 头 。 我将小言的尸体抛入了湖中，食人鱼一拥而上， 撕扯着她的身体。她瞬间变得面目全非，血染红了池 水，而她慢慢地消失，直至最后什么也不剩。我有些 怔愣，但是除掉了知道我秘密的人，我呼出了一口 气。 然而，在我惊恐之中，眼前景象开始破碎。一阵 风吹过，一切都变成了灰。我不敢相信，瞪大着眼睛 看着一切在我眼前消失。我张开嘴巴，却发不出声音 来。突 然 ， 有 人 拍 了 拍 我 的 肩 膀 。 “落霞，我听说学校咖啡厅后面有个地洞，我们 去看看吧！”她嫣然一笑，而我却觉得仿佛有什么掐 住了我 的 脖 子 。 我揉 了 揉 眼 睛 。 再揉 了 揉 眼 睛 。
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《药 》《一把青》
在 和 中， 夏 瑜 和郭 轸的死对小说的作用 曲剑昊（17-A5）
小说《药》与《一把青》中，夏瑜 和郭轸的死亡在整篇小说中具有重要的 作用。在《药》中，由夏瑜的死揭示了 人民的愚昧和革命者不被理解的牺牲。 在《一把青》中，作者用郭轸的死带 出了朱青天差地别的变化，引发读者对 今昔之比、生死之谜、灵肉之争展开深 思。 首先，郭轸和夏瑜的死对两篇小说 的故事结构起到了至关重要的作用。夏 瑜的死构成了《药》的双线结构，在小 说里，夏瑜为暗线，华家为明线。第一 场中，明线是华老栓去买药，暗线则是 革命者英勇就义；第二场中，明线是华 小栓吃药，暗线则是革命者的血被当成 药吃；第三场中，明线是在茶馆的众 人谈论夏瑜在牢狱中的行为，暗线则是 革命者夏瑜的行为不被人民所理解；最 后一场，明线是华大妈和夏四奶奶来上
坟，暗线则是革命者夏瑜死后的悲哀。 这样的双线结构，让读者看到了革命者 和群众之间的距离。作者从一开始到最 后，没有一处正面描写革命者夏瑜，他 的遭遇和形象都是从小说其他人物的眼 中、口中展现在读者面前。如作者写夏 瑜英勇就义，采用的是华老栓的视角来 叙事，这样的描写阐明了《药》的思想 意义，小说要传达的不单是老百姓的苦 难（华老栓夫妇要给儿子治病，结果被 刽子手剥削，买了无效的“药”，救不 了病重的儿子），更是要表达老百姓的 愚昧，以及对革命的疏离。辛亥时期的 中国，真正的病、真正需要被诊治的就 是老百姓的愚昧无知。 《一把青》中，郭轸的死是整篇小 说的关键转折，是小说上下两部分的重 要划分点。郭轸死后，朱青的“灵”彻 底死亡，肉身开始发展，师娘他们也由
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于国民党战败，不得不从南京迁到台 北，之前南京的“一派帝王气象”不复 存在。这些从南京迁到台北的“台北 人”，背井离乡，有的选择接受现在的 生活并坚强的过下去，而有的，似乎只 活在过去，可不管怎样，当缅怀过去的 时候，想起过去种种风光的时候，还是 会满怀伤感。这些感情，全从文章中的 转折“上”到“下”中体现出来，“ 上”可以理解为人生的上坡路，就当一 切都再往好的方向发展的时候，路突然 从“上”急转成了“下”，在命运的大 手的捉弄下，“小人物”没有与命运抗 衡的能力，只得在无限伤感的情怀中继 续活下去。 其次，郭轸和夏瑜的死为小说的情 节推动起着关键作用。小说《药》中， 夏瑜的死构成了小说的双重悲剧，小说 中，华家的悲剧和夏家的悲剧由人血馒 头串联起来，而人血馒头则是用夏瑜的 血制成的，华家悲剧和夏家悲剧被串联 到一起，变成整个“华夏”（即中国） 的悲剧。华老栓不再是一个死了孩子的 老人，而是一个精神上愚蠢麻木，被欺 骗干了蠢事还不自觉，欣然享受革命者 鲜血的可悲可哀之人；夏瑜也不再是一 个牺牲在敌人屠刀下的牺牲者，而是一 个在寂寞中牺牲而得不到普通民众理解 与同情的悲剧人物。 小说《一把青》中，郭轸的死让朱 青彻底的从“灵“变成“肉”，在形 象上形成了强烈的对比，朱青对于“郭 轸”和“小顾”的死有着天壤之别的态 度。当她听闻郭轸在徐州遇难，她“便 抱了一套郭轸的制服，往村外跑去，一 边跑一边嚎苦，口口声声要去找郭轸” 。郭轸死后，她的灵魂也死了，剩下 的，只是一具空壳。难怪她颤巍巍的冷 笑道：“他倒好，轰的一下便没了—我 也死了，可我还有知觉呢。”对于小顾 的死亡，朱青的反应截然不同，仿佛没 发生一样，正常的照常生活，她“穿了 一身粉红色的绸睡衣，捞起了裤管翘起
脚，在脚趾甲上涂蔻丹”还“炖了一大 锅糖醋蹄子，正愁没人来吃”。最后邀 请师娘来一起玩麻将，当谈论起小顾的 死亡时，她说的是那样的平淡无奇， 就好像日常发生的琐事一样。朱青对郭 轸和小顾的死，一浓一淡的强烈反差， 形成了鲜明的对比，深化了小说对与生 死、灵肉、今昔的探讨。 最后，郭轸和夏瑜的死凸显了两个 故事的主题。夏瑜的死，说明了要救中 国，就必须先要医治老百姓的愚昧与无 知。他的死还凸显了革命者和老百姓之 间的隔阂，老百姓非但没有因为他的 死去悼念，感激他，反而去侮辱他，认 为他该打，认为他疯了，就连至亲的亲 人都不理解他，革命者和人民的遥远距 离，从夏瑜的死强烈的表现了出来。 郭轸的死，点出了小说中爱情的悲 剧，朱青对郭轸一往情深，郭轸对朱青 也用情极深，两个互相爱恋的人最终却 因为郭轸的死而没有走到一起，最终朱 青为了走出失去恋人的悲伤，从“灵” 转变成了“肉”，从之前的用情专一变 得懒散放荡，变得爱吃空军“童子鸡” 。面对命运的无情，朱青无能为力， 只能妥协，并接受现实，其实其生命本 质已经“异性”。郭轸的死，也带出了 大时代的悲剧，由于出生在动荡不安的 年代，很多像郭轸一样的空军不得不奔 赴战场，为国捐躯，而他们的妻子，都 要承受撕心裂肺的丧夫之苦。小说中 的周太太，“已经改嫁了四次，她现在 这个丈夫和她前头的三个原来都是一个 小队的人。一个死了托一个，这么轮下 来的”而师娘也料到伟成不会有自己 活的久，却没料到“连他的尸骨也没收 着。”在大时代的悲剧下，小人物只能 向悲惨的命运低头，并带着悲伤继续活 下去。 郭轸和夏瑜的死为小说蒙上了悲伤 的色彩，同时，对小说的结构、情节和 主题都有着重要的作用及影响。
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时光心底 8765 4321 0
陈呈（17-A5）
0点的万籁，俱寂—— 新 生 的 幸 福 气 息 ， 随 着 哇 哇 的 呐 喊 满 溢 ； 这一秒，生命之钟起跑
1点，我就是那个小不 点 ， 稚 嫩 的 拳 头 猛 晃 ， 紧 紧 攫 着 那 第 一 口 气 ； 2点，决心以生命征服 光 阴 ， 蓄 势 着 所 有 的 待 发 ； 3点的手网住了辉煌， 对 光 芒 宣 示 着 成 长 的 主 权 ； 4点已经从巅峰俯视景 仰 的 崇 拜 者 ， 冷 眼 望 着 时 钟 的 终 点 ； 不惑以后的钟摆，开始 减 速
5点，隔岸观视前路， 踏 过 的 身 影 越 来 越 长 ； 6点的花开果结，继往 以 后 就 要 开 来 （ 啊 ， 什 么 都 有 了 ） 7点，回视大半行程中 的 岁 月 闪 烁 （ 驿 动 的 心 啊 ， 静 下 来 了 ） 8点的功成，身退了， 告 别 行 路 （ 疲 惫 的 身 影 啊 ， 慢 了 ） 轨迹 就此记下逗号
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12 11 10 9
9点，嘴角微扬，露出 的 微 笑 ， 连 亲 情 、 友 情 ， 都 不 留 白 了 ； 10点，夜终于深了静了。
11点 滴... 滴... 滴...复 归 平 静 。 12点 滴... 滴... 滴...复 归 平 静 . . .
新生的时光静静孕育 流逝 交替 交集； 只是，会有那么一个人 ， 消 失 在 世 上 却永远住进了时光的心 底
也许是 悄悄地来 也许是 悄悄地走
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生活 本来就是不公平的， 但它 依然精彩 黄余基 17-A1
每一个人一生下来，都带着他与生俱来的不 同——家世、外貌、智商——自然而然地，他也 被不同的命运所主宰。有的人是含着金钥匙出生 的，有的则从出生开始就过着贫困潦倒的日子。 生活本来就是不公平的。但是，人们依然能在这 不公平的环境中 活 得 精 彩 。 一个人长相是天生的，高矮肥瘦都会被基因 所左右。处于这个“看脸的时代”，长得越漂亮 的人在生活中的种种事情就会越顺利，而美貌不 及他人的，或者是长得丑的，就常常处于劣势。 因此，人们自然很注重自己的长相。然而，它并 不是所谓的真理。的确有些人单凭长相就当上了 模特儿，但长相 一 般 的 人 也 一 样 能 活 得 精 彩 。 中国有位名为“杨迪”的主持人，曾在主持 界获得一个奖项，但在领奖当天，主办方却没 有让他上台，就因为他“长得太丑了”。即使 如此，杨迪依然靠自己独特的主持方式，而出名 了。由此可见，只要自己有特点，就算没有“高 颜值”的优势，也依然可以成功。生活虽不公 平，但只要做一个独特的自己，仍然还是精彩 的。
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没有人能选择自己的身世，不管日后的成就 如何，有钱人总是先赢在起跑点上。“富二代” 和“穷小子”的差距莫过于自己父母的经济实 力。前者生下来就被他人羡慕，而后者生下来就 只能羡慕前者。然而，换位思考，就会发现一些 后者有而前者没有的东西，那就是“想变富有” 的渴望。 后者只需把这种看似如梦一般的渴望化作前 进的动力，努力刻苦地以前者为目标往上爬，终 究有一天，他便能与前者并肩，甚至超越前者。 在变富有的过程中，也会经历一些喜怒哀乐，酸 甜苦辣，从而累积丰富的人生经验，领悟宝贵的 人生道理，丰富自己的生活，使生活过得更精 彩，这是生下来就富有的人体会不到的。无论贫 富，一个人的生活 仍 然 能 因 不 同 的 方 式 而 精 彩 。 虽然目前仍未有科学证明，但有些小孩似乎 一出生就比别的小孩更聪明，或是体格占有优 势。例如在美国火箭队的姚明，身高两米三，在 篮球赛场上如巨人般的存在，红遍了全球。有的 人先天条件便已经超越凡人——有超人般体格的 运动员，具有天籁之音的歌手，这些优越的条件 让他们在自己的工作领域独树一帜。而不幸没能 得到“神的眷顾”的人们就未能像他们一样迅速 发光。但是，俗话说：“勤能补拙。”，只要一 般人愿意付出足够的努力，也能像他们一样过上 红红火火的生活。即使没能成功，但至少自己努 力过，认清自己的能力，也并非坏事。生活不一 定要出众才精彩，只要过得踏实，并且是自己想 要的，那又何尝不 也 是 一 种 精 彩 呢 ？ 生活本来就是不公平的，世上有些人能幸运 得到优势，而有些人则没有。但是，这又何妨 呢？中国著名歌手张宇曾说过：“歌手不能太 完美，要露出一点自己的缺点，才能独特，才能 吸引人。”这个道理也同样适用于没有先天优势 的人。把自己的缺点转为自己缺乏的优势，这是 那些“完美者”没有的条件。只要善于让自己独 特，活出自己，不 公 平 的 生 活 依 然 能 很 精 彩 。
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Hariharan 17-I5 Balamurugan Hariharan 17-A5கச��, க�றறபி அ�ேே இனி�� க�ைைகயி கிேவ
Balamurugan Hariharan 17-I5 கற்ககயில் கல்வி கசப்பு, கற்றபின் அதுவே இனிப்பு ‘’கேடில் விழுச்செல்வம் ேல்வி ஒருவருக்கு மாடல்ல மற்ற யவவ’’
ய��ெசிே� கிேய ஒ�ே��� மாடில ம�ற யைவ’’ எி� அிேற ே� என்று அன்கற வள்ளுவர் உவைத்தார். பழங்ோலத்தில் ஆதிமனிதன் பாமைைாய் விலங்கோடு விலங்ோேக் குவேேளிலும் பாவற அடிேளிலும் வாழ்ந்து வந்தான். இன்கறா மின்ொைம், ஆதயமனயதி றாமரரா� ேயல�ேகா� ேயல�காக� �ைககளய�� பாைற அ� சதாழில்நுட்பம் என்று நாேரீேம் சபற்று நவீன வாழ்வவ வாழ்கிறான். இதற்கு அடிப்பவடக் ா மயிசார�, ெதாழயி��ற� ெற�� நவீன ோைணம் ேல்விதான் என்று எி� திண்ணமாேக்நாகரீக� கூறலாம். செல்வத்துள் செல்வம் மனிதன் ோ�ைே ோ சபற்று விளங்குவகத ஆகும். எனினும், ேல்வி ேற்பவதத் தங்குதவடயற்ற ஒரு ண� கிேயதாிேல்வியறிவு எி� தய�ணமாக� �றலா�. ெசிே��� ெசிே� மன பாவத என்று கூறினால் அது முழுப் பூெணிக்ோவயச் கொற்றில் மவறப்பதாகும். இன்று ேத ஆ��. எனய��, க�றைத� ஒ� பாைத எி இவளயர்ேள் பலர்கிேய ேல்விவய ஒரு சுவமயாேக் ேருதி த��தைடக�ற அவதக் ேெப்புடன் கநாக்குகிறார்ேள். ேல்வி நம் அன்றாட வாழ்விற்கு இன்றியவமயாத ஒன்று என்று அறிந்து ைக� ேசா�றயிஆனால், மைற�றதா��. இி� இைளக�க� றல� கிேயைக ஒ� அவதப்கபால் இனிதாவது எங்கும் இல்வல என்ற கபருண்வமவய உணை கவண்டும். ி ேநா��கயறா�க�. ஆனாி, கிேய ந� அிறாட ோ�ேய�� இிறயகைம இன்வறய ேல்விமுவற சபரும்பாலும் மதிப்சபண்ேவளப் சபாறுத்கத விளங்குகிறது ாி இனயதாே� எ��� இிைல எிற ேற��ைமைக உணர ேே���. என்பது சவள்ளிவடமவல. அறிவவப் சபருவதற்ோே உருசவடுத்த ேல்வி, இன்று ஒருவரின் அறிவாற்றவல சவறும் இைண்டு மணி கநை கதர்வவ வவத்து முடிவு செய்ய துவணப்புரிகிறது. இவளயர்ேள் சிலருக்கு இது ஏமாற்றத்வதத் தருவகதாடு, இறுதியில் ேல்விவய சவறுத்து
கிேய�ைறஅவதப்ெற��றா�� ெறா��ேத ேயள� பாேற்ோவயவிட ேெப்பாே மதய�ெற�கைள� கநாக்ேவும் செய்கிறது. இவர்ேளின் சிந்தவனயில் எத்தவறும் இல்வல என்பதும் உண்வமதான். ஆனால், இவதத்தவிை ேடந்துகபாகும் பாவத அறயைே� ெற�ேத�காக உ�ெே��த கிேய, இி� ஒ�ேரயி அறய கவசறான்றும் இல்வல என்பதும் சமய்யாகும். ேல்வியின் ேைடுமுைடான பாவதவயப் பற்றி ேநர ேத�ைே மட்டும் ைே�� ெச�க �ைண��ரயகயற�. சிந்திக்ோமல்��� அக்ேல்வியினால் பிற்ோலத்தில் ஏற்படவிருக்கும் நன்வமேவளப் இைளக�க� பற்றியும் சிந்தித்துச் செயலாற்றகவண்டும் என்பது சபற்கறார் தங்ேள் பிள்வளேளுக்குக் �ேேதா�, இ�தயகயி கிேயைக ெே���பிற்ோலத்தில் அைத�அவர்ேளுக்குக் றாக�காைகேயட கச கூறகவண்டிய அறிவுவையாகும். ேல்வியினால் கிவடக்ேக்கூடிய எ�தே�� நல்ல கவவல வாய்ப்புேவளயும், இைசிக்ேக்கூடிய வாழ்வவயும் எண்ணி களயி சய�தைனகயி இிைல எிற�� உ�ைமதாி. ஆன இன்று மாணவர்ேள் தங்ேள் ேல்வியில் ேண்ணும் ேருத்துமாய் ேடவமயாற்றகவண்டும். ைத ேேெறாி�� இிைல எிற�� ெம�கா��. கிேயகயி கர��ரடான இனிப்பான இளநீர் கவண்டுசமன்றால் சதன்வனயில் ஏறத்தான் கவண்டும் அல்லவா? மி அ�கிேயகயனாி றய�கால�தயி ஏ�றடேய���� நிைமகைள� ற� ‘‘ஈதல் இவெப்பட வாழ்தல் அதுவல்ல �� எிற� ெற�ேறா� த�க�ஊதியம் இல்வல உயிர்க்கு’’ 1 �றேே��க அறய�ைரகா��. கிேயகயனாி றய�கால�தயி நில ேவைல ோ���கைள��, இரசய�க���க ோ�ைே�� எ�ணய இ 13 4 க��� க���மா� கடைமகா�றேே���. இனய�றான இளநீ�
என்று வள்ளுவர் அன்று உவைத்தது இன்வறய மாணவர்ேளுக்குப் சபாருந்தும். வாழ்ந்தால் புேழ் கிவடக்கும் அளவிற்கு வாழகவண்டும். அப்கபாதுதான் வாழ்வதற்கே ஓர் அவடயாளம் கிட்டும். பிறந்கதாம், வளர்ந்கதாம், இறந்கதாம் என்று இல்லாமல் படிப்பறிவு சபற்று ொதித்கதாம் என்ற குறிக்கோவள வவத்துக்சோண்டு முயற்சியினால் சிறந்கதாங்ே முடியும் எனச் ெரித்திைத்தில் பதிக்ேகவண்டும். சுருங்ேச் சொன்னால், ேெப்சபன்று எண்ணாமல் வரும் ெவால்ேவள
முயற்சியினால்
ஈடுபாட்டுடன்
இருந்தால்,
எதிர்சோண்டு அது
நமக்குப்
ேல்விவயக்
ேருவிழியாே
எண்ணி
முழு
பிற்ோலத்தில்
இனிப்பாே
அவமந்து,
பல
நன்வமேவள வகுத்து நம் வாழ்வுக்சேன ஓர் அவடயாளத்வதயும் கதடித் தருகிறது.
ேல்வி என்பது ஏட்டுக்ேல்விவய மட்டும் குறிக்ோது. வாழ்க்வேக் ேல்விவயயும் குறிக்கிறது. அதனால், நாம் அனுதினமும் ேற்கும் அனுபவங்ேளும் நமக்கு ஒரு பாடமாே விளங்குகிறது. சிலர் சபான்னான
அனுபவங்ேள்மூலம்
ேற்பார்ேள்.
பலகைா
ேெப்பான
அனுபவங்ேளின் வழித்தான் ேற்பார்ேள். உதாைணத்திற்கு, ஒழுக்ே சநறிேவளக் ேற்பிக்கும் பள்ளிேள் நல்ல நட்பு மற்றும் தீய நட்பின் முைண்பாட்வட விளக்கி மாணவர்ேளின் வாழ்வவ நல்வழியில் உருவாக்ே முயற்சி செய்கின்றன. ஆனால், இன்வறய இவளயர்ேளில் பலர் அவற்றிற்குச் செவிொய்க்ோமல் தீய நண்பர்ேளின் செல்வாக்கிற்கு அேப்பட்டு, பிறகு பல இன்னல்ேளால் அவதியுறுகின்றனர். அதற்குப் பின்தான், இது தவறு என்ற உண்வமவய உணர்ந்து, நல்ல நண்பர்ேவள நாடி வாழ்க்வேப் பாவதவய மாற்றிக்சோள்கிறார்ேள்.
வாய்ப்புேள் நமக்குத் தானாே அவமயாது. நாம்தான் அவற்வற அவமத்துக்சோள்ள கவண்டும். அவற்வற அவமப்பதற்குக் ேல்வி ஓர் இன்றியவமயாத ேருவியாகும். ‘எண்ணும் எழுத்தும் ேண்சணனத் தகும்’ என்பவதப் கபால ஏட்டுக்ேல்விவயக் ேற்று அகதாடு வாழ்க்வே
ேல்விவயயும்
கெர்க்ேகவண்டும்.
ஒழுக்ே
இந்தப்
சநறிேவளயும்
பாவத
நிச்ெயமாேக்
பயின்று
இந்த
உலகிற்குப்
ேடுவமயானதுதான்.
புேழ்
குவறவான
மதிப்சபண்ேள், மற்றவர்ேளின் கேலி, கிண்டல் எனப் பலவிதமான ேெப்பான விஷயங்ேவளக் சோண்டவமந்ததுதான் நம் ேல்வியும் வாழ்க்வேயும். ஆனால், அப்பாவதவயக் ேடந்த பின் நாம் ேற்ற ேல்வி நமக்கு அமிர்தத்வதத் கதடித் தரும். இன்று நாம் விவதக்கும் விவதேள் தாகன நாவள நமக்குக் ோய்க்ேனி சோடுக்கும் மைங்ேளாகும்!
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