Youth apathy. When I saw this topic, the first thing that came to my mind was the political activeness of the youths in both China and USA, a topic that we have been focusing for almost half of term 1. From the lessons, I came to realize that there are many factors which tend to affect the interests of the youth in politics.
I do not really know of how far I am interested in politics. However, I am definitely less apathetic than the Chinese youths today, who are totally uninterested in politics. However, if you consider not watching the rallies live and staying up late for the results of general elections as apathetic, then I am an apathetic youth indeed, and I believe that more than half of the youths in Singapore today are very much like me too.
Many for instance, would point their fingers at education for this situation. They would argue that education made the youths today believe less in politics, and have less faith in it. However, to be frank, education has taught me a lot about the political situation in Singapore, at least through it I know that Singapore’s political leaders need to be able to persist with policies which are for the greater good of the country even if it is greatly criticized by the public and many more. Through education, I got to learn more about politics and through it get engaged in politics where we need to conduct research and learn more about politics.
I believe that the most important factor which results in the youth apathy in Singapore is due to the political situation in Singapore herself, which is pretty much similar to the case for China. In China, the youths have no interest in politics as China is a communists country, where the people play no part in choosing who they want to serve them, as ultimately, even though it may seem that they are given the chance to vote, things are always done in the back scene with money, where the ultimate winner is the person who offers the highest price for the position. The ruling party also has a very big say in it as they can deny someone his position if they feel like it. Hence, the people see no need to participate in politics.
Similarly in Singapore, the People’s Action Party (PAP) has been in power since Singapore’s independence. Singapore is a democratic country, where the people are given a chance to vote for who they think should be in government. The people are forced to participate in the general elections and if they do not turn up for the voting, they will be unable to vote again in future elections and if they wish to vote gain, they will have to pay a fine of $50. To me, I personally feel that when you impose a rule, it is because you know that something bad is happening and you need to stop it. For example, late-comers in school will be punished because people tend to come late to school; robbery is a crime and will be punished for; drink driving is illegal and one will be jailed for it and so on. All these laws are put in place because all these tend to happen and hence there is a need to stop these things from happening. One does not simply pluck an apple for fun, he plucks it to eat it or sell it. Nothing is done for no reason. All these show us that there is this political apathy in Singapore and hence this law is passed to make people show up and vote.
Also like China, Singapore’s economy is also in a very stable state and the majority of the people are living a life of comfort. Hence, there is nothing that they desperately needs to see a change in hence unlike the youths in USA who are faced with high unemployment rates, the Singapore youth have not much to worry about as the government is doing a good job in ensuring that they have a bright future which contributes to the apathy of the youth in Singapore. The youths in Singapore are able to receive good education since young, where all are given an equal chance to primary schools, secondary schools and then to their pre-university studies. The government is doing a good job in crafting the lives of the youths and hence they see no need in changing the government which results in the apathy.
In conclusion, I do not think that I am an apathetic youth when it comes to politics as I do watch out for political news when general election comes.
Hi Terry,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your highly informative blog post and would like to express some of my thoughts on the issue of political apathy amongst youths.
Firstly, I would like to point out that the question is about youth apathy, and although your post is very informative on the reasons for political apathy, it should focus more on youths rather than people in general.
I agree with your points that the economy of a country and its political state plays an important part in causing youth apathy.
I would like to expand on your point about the political state of a country causing youth apathy. I feel that the reason that the Chinese are so much more apathetic than their counterparts in the US and Singapore is that not only is the corruption in elections a cause for political apathy amongst youths, another important reason would be the fact that the Chinese don't even get a say in the appointment of the majority of leaders, for example the President of China is elected by the Communist Party, and the Chinese do not have a say in the matter. This leads to political apathy, as "the youths do not see a need to participate in politics."
However, I would like to disagree with your point that the rules that force Singaporeans to vote is in place because of the problem of apathy. Singapore forces its people to vote because Singapore has a very small population, and for the elections to be successful, and not because of apathy amongst Singaporeans.
Cheers,
Jin Lin
Hi Terry,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I like your humour when you describe yourself as an apathetic youth. I had a good time reading your post and I would like to share with you some of my opinions.
First of all, I agree with you that economic stability is a huge factor in causing youth apathy in Singapore. Singapore youths are generally happy about their living standard and way of live and they do not wish to disrupt it. Status-co is more preferred in Singapore.
I do agree with the point you made about education has taught you a lot about the political situation in Singapore. However, I do not think this has made students to be less political apathetic. No doubt that education has provided students with more knowledge about the politics in Singapore but many students still treat it as a chore, as a form of homework which it is forced by the school. For example, the Moot parliaments programme. How many students actually volunteer to take part in it? There will be those few minorities who are already interested in politics, but it does not represent the masses. As a result, interest of the students will not be developed, and they will remain to be uninterested about politics.
That’s all for now.
WenHan
Hi Chung Xian,
ReplyDeleteFirstly I would like to thank you for your comment on my blog. It is very interesting - though not unexpected - to note that MPs do not usually respond personally to their emails. However, I do feel your point is valid. Where there's a will, there's a way. If youths want to be heard, the onus is on them to speak.
You present a very practical but idealistic view - that once we put our minds to it, anything can happen. This is true, but the disconnect between the reality and the dream lies in "once we put our minds to it". A boy born into a broken family and dire straits, for example, is perfectly able to pull himself out of his sordid circumstances and fulfill his potential. But he doesn't, because his mind has not been nurtured to think: "I can do it, I must believe in myself". Similarly, our minds have been conditioned to think "politics is not for me". On social networking platforms such as Facebook, I frequently witness greatly exaggerated and overblown portrayals of the supposed "draconian" nature of Singapore's political system, an example being the almost laughable "Demon-cratic Singapore" comic strip series. Many youth are so bombarded by these anti-establishment messages that it is no wonder they cannot find the will to even attempt to participate.
Otherwise, I enjoyed reading your comment. It was very piercing, if you catch my drift.
On your journal itself, I find your second paragraph rather ambivalent. Instead of clearly defining “youth apathy” you left the definition to the reader imagination. Personally this left me quite confused as to whether youth – and you – were apathetic or not.
Regarding your point that education has whittled away at your apathy rather than contributed to it, I am partially in agreement. Various facets of our education here in Hwa Chong – for example, current affairs and debate assessment – encourage critical thinking about politics. However, I encourage you to look at both sides of the coin. Consider the other 90-odd % of students not in IP schools, where the curriculum is far more rigid. Or perhaps consider the argument that our Integrated Humanities Core lessons, meant to educate about politics, focus on force-feeding facts, deadening any curiousity we might have toward politics.
Finally I would like to commend Jin Lin on his astute observations regarding the reason for mandatory voting in Singapore, and correct Wenhan’s spelling of “status quo”.
All in all, not to nitpick, but your language and phrasing need work. All things considered, though, not a bad attempts.
Keep it up!
Regards,
Joel
Hi Terry,
ReplyDeleteIt was a good post by you overall as you managed to list out different factors regarding why the youths in Singapore are politically apathetic. However, there are some points which I would like to state my views on.
Firstly, you said in your post that “more than half the youths in Singapore are very much like me too”. You were trying to show that many youths were also politically apathetic, just like you. I personally feel that even though youths attending rallies might not be a clear indicator on whether they are politically apathetic or not, it goes to show that at least they have the interest to learn more about the politics of Singapore, to know more about what is happening in the political field, and thus have better understanding in Singapore. Based on a report done by Trisha T.C. Lin, a professor from NTU, in the 2011 General Elections of Singapore, about 30% of youths attended more than one rally, which is about 6.4% more than the rest of the population. It was an increase from the previous elections. This goes to show that many youths are becoming more and more interested about the politics in Singapore, and it could be said that they are not politically apathetic. If they were, they would not have taken time out of their schedules to go for not only one, but more than one rally.
Also, regarding your point about the Chinese youths being politically apathetic due to the political situation of China, I would also like to add on that even thought they do not participate directly in the voting process, they tend to use media platforms to discuss their views about the Chinese political situation. Many Chinese youths use the weibo to discuss with others about the politics in China. However, majority of Chinese youths might still be politically apathetic due to the situation that they are living in. China is now facing constant growth in its economy and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with its GDP having about a 8.7% increase in 2011. Thus more and more youths are becoming richer and richer. With more youths being richer, their standard of livings will then also increase, and they see no need in participating or being involved in politics. They feel that the Chinese government is doing a good job in maintaining the growth of the economy, thus they have no need to cause a major uproar against the government.
Lastly, I would like to suggest that for you to make your entry better, you could elaborate on why you do not consider yourself an apathetic youth. What are the differences between one who is politically apathetic and one that is not? And is only reading political news a way of showing that one is politically apathetic?
In conclusion, it was a good post but lacked some statistics, and the entry would be better if you could answer the questions I have posted to you.
Cheers,
Si Jian