Does crisis brings out the best in man?

  I don't feel that crisis brings out the best in man.Indeed,there are exceptions when humans' better self tend to shine through like in the case of Japan,but at the end of the day,the belief that crisis will bring out the best in man is nothing more than a Utopian notion,a naive and simplistic thought of humanity.Man,at his core,is greedy and selfish,and crisis only serves to bring out the darkest side of his nature,which we can see in many instances around the world.
  
  During a crisis,people tend to have the mindset of "every man for himself".Saving himself first is of much more priority then others.The need to survive drives man to do unimaginable things.His selfishness unleashes itself.People look at the grocery stall and think,"The stall owner is gone.I need to survive.Who cares about if he makes losses if it benefits me?"We do not need to look far for instances like this.For example,in the uprisings in the Middle East where many refugees started streaming out of Libya and Egypt into places in Europe and Africa like Italy and Tunisia. Another example will be the Haiti Earthquake,where a 7.0 magnitude earthquake left more than 200,000 dead and the capital Port-Au Prince in ruins.Widespread violence occurred as many fought for food and water and gunfire exchanges and fights  were widespread.This reflects how human beings tend to care about only themselves in a crisis,to save themselves instead of helping out,and their selfishness shows through.

  Greed is a part of every human.Their desire for money,for valuable items can be seen even in peaceful times.It turns for the worse in crisis as people resort to violence and cold-blooded methods to get what they want and desire.Take the case of Hurricane Katrina which struck the United States of America affecting causing more than 1,800 fatalities and causing more than US$90 Billion worth of damage,the costliest hurricane in US history.In affected areas like New Orleans,which was mostly submerged in water,looting was rife,with people sealing whatever they could as law enforcement agents struggled with rescue efforts and resuming law and order.People stole whatever they could get their hands on,including food, clothes, jewellery and appliances and gunfire broke out between policemen and looters.Many were making use of the confusion to steal whatever they could.Or the Chile 8.8 magnitude earthquake.A day after the earthquake, some affected cities were chaotic, with extensive looting of supermarkets.People stole not only food and other life necessities, but also electronic goods and other durable merchandise. In some areas, curfews were imposed to control the looting and public disorder. All these reflects how human beings can be truly greedy and despicable,making use of the confusion during a crisis to steal valuable items that they do not need but want.

  Of course there are exceptions,such as during the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan last month,causing a earthquake,tsunami and a still ongoing nuclear crisis.Their spirit,resilience,kindness and their civility had gained the awe and respect of the world.There have little looting,fights and violence.Many are helping one another cope with the crisis.A fisherman who have lost his family members on a Japanese island is ferrying residents to and fro the mainland even after losing his family members in the disaster.People are lining up in orderly lines to collect aid supplies and young students are helping to cook and care for the elderly in evacuation centres.The altruism of the 'Fukushima 50', a group of 50 nuclear plant workers risking their health and lives to solve the nuclear crisis.However,we must understand that this is only the minority,with the Japanese being one of the most civilised and well-respected people n earth with a good culture that have been nurtured in them since young,and there are only that few instances where such rare good sides of humans show.

  Crisis is a mirror of our nature.It shows how deplorable we are.The altruistic few that stand up to gain our respect in a crisis is admirable,but at the end of the day,we still have to face the reality that ultimately,crisis will bring out the worst in man.

Kids Rule!

  Playgrounds.Games.Fun,If  someone came up to you one fine day to tell you about which age group does these terms fits and classifies under,which will you choose?Will it be kids,children and the young?Now, to come to the main topic, how do you regard a student-leaded school?Have you ever wondered how it will turn out,what it will be like?Of course,now in America and Europe,some testing of a similarly-inspired system,which seems to have worked out well so far.But to clarify at the start,should students be given FULL freedom to run the school?That should be our focus point.So back to the point,if you hear of such a school where students are able to decide whatever they want to learn and do in the school, what comes to your mind? A peaceful environment where beneficial learning takes place or rather,utter chaos?
  The definition is that students are independent enough to know what is good for them,but with the adults ruling the roost,the school curriculum is boring,lacking of freedom and so on.This may seem like a stupid and generic question to state my point,but have your parents ever asked you to eat your vegetables because they are good for you when you are young?Or not to talk to strangers because they might be "baddies" that will harm you?Adults have gone through childhood themselves and the harsh world of society.They have the experience and knowledge to know what is good for us,and even though they may not be the most interesting and fun choices every time,and consider it from this point of view. Teachers have had years of experience teaching and knowing what a student needs and requires to do well in life.What about us students who don't even have any experience whatsoever and some can't even decide and know what is good for them,how will a school that has student-planned curriculum ever reap as much benefits(if it does) as one as opposed to one by teachers?
  Then there is the question of maturity.Are students mature enough to know what is good for them and follow that path?I am not questioning the maturity of all the students and kids in this world,but as a student myself,I have to admit that to be able to follow our mind instead of of our heart is not as easy as it seems for kids.Students that can't control their desire to play computer games in school is not a student who is mature enough to decide what should we learn.What will a student-planned curriculum of poor-disciplined students cause?A Maple story class,a Xbox competition,a PS3 introductory lecture?Do you think a school run by students who have not yet grasped the full meaning of self-control be a conducive learning environment?
  A school is not a cage.You are there for five days of the week, half to 3 quarters of a day.A bit of "torture" for your well-being and future is certainly not a waste of time,To respond to the criticism that schools are too boring,too bland,school curriculum had evolved over the years to become a more relaxed and interesting time with lessons teaching IT(Information Technology),PE(Physical Education)  and Home Economics that still let us learn but make our time in the "cage",the "concentration camp" the "prison more colourful.
  Schools are a place to learn skills and knowledge.There is no appearance of the word"fun"in the definition of a school,schools were not in the past,is not now and most likely will not in the future be ever fully led by students.
 

Politics Online

  Yes,the elction is coming.The newspapers have exploded in content about the upcoming General Elections.Relatives are talking about it, the taxi driver is talking about it,even the "uncles" at the coffee shop.
  The debates and caditates had also been streaming in.The PAP had released its next new batch of candidates, and which among them,the one that have attracted the most controversy could be unargumentably Tin Pei Ling.Recently,she had been popular online for all the wrong reasons.
  But first we need to know more about what happened..Tin Pei Ling,the youngest candidate for the election this year. she is the youngest candidate among the total of 9 new faces that had been introduced  to the public so far.At 27 years old.She is the youngest PAP candidate in three decades to feature in the political scene.However,many had criticized he online for being "too young",having not enough experience in the political scene,not fitting her estate's profile,Macpherson,helmed by SM Goh Chok Tong which happens to be one of the "old" estates in Singapore.Pictures from the Facebook account of the business consultant had shown her being"cute",such as showing her posing with a Kate Spade shopping bag or a teddy bear and had subsequently been posted on various websites and blogs.

Some had also accused her of being fielded was due to her husband's position as principal private secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

  I am utterly disgusted by what is happening online.I would like to quote Tessa Wong's article for The Straits Times. 'She is dismissed as a “gold-digging”, “sexy xiao mei mei” (Chinese for little sister) who is “act-cute” – to describe her in some terms used by netizens.'This is what I want to talk aout in my first point.Is this what SIngaporean netizens think.They had not only been sexist but also ageist.Do you look at a politician with your streotypical views towards young people and women?It is unfortunate how people rat on her on the ever so infamous "Temasek Review". I despise such people who only know how to look at politics on one side and do not dare to stand up to air their opinions but hide behind the protection of the internet.I cannot think of anything else apart from one being ignorant  that will motivate someone to launch a personal attack on someone.Shouldn't we be looking for the real qualities we look for in the leaders of the nation?
   I do not particularly care or fret about a MP's or a leader's private life.To quote Lee Kuan Yew in the book 'Hard Truths to Keep Singapore going',in response to the question
"Q: It took time for Singaporeans to be able to accept single women MPs. Do you see Singaporeans being able to accept a gay MP? It's already happening in a fairly widespread fashion in Europe."
He said:

A: As far as I'm concerned, if she does her work as an MP, she looks after her constituents, she makes sensible speeches, she's making a contribution, her private life is her life, that's that. There was a British minister, I shouldn't name him, a Conservative. He was out of office but he was hoping to become the leader of the party and we had dinner with a few friends. He thought he had to come out upfront that when he was at university at Oxford, he did get involved in same-sex activities. But he's married now with children, he's quite happy. So he came out with it. He didn't become leader of the party and that's Britain. He thought he had come out upfront and it'd protect him from investigative reporting. It did not help him. But had he kept quiet they would have dug it out, then it's worse for him. So there you are. You know, there are two standards. It's one thing the people at large, it's another thing, your minister or your prime minister being such a person. I mean Ted Heath was not married. I shouldn't say who the ministers were who said he's a suppressed homosexual. So the opposition party leaders were telling me because it's very strange. Here's a man in the prime of his life and getting on, 40, 50 still not married, and he was that way at Oxford. So they said, suppressed homosexual. That's the opposition talk by very reputable leaders who tell me that seriously. So? And with it of course is disapprobation, that he's unworthy to be a leader. But that was in the early 1970s."

  I would like to emphasize on this particular excerpt from his answer."As far as I'm concerned, if she does her work as an MP, she looks after her constituents, she makes sensible speeches, she's making a contribution, her private life is her life" A politician's life is his or her life.Who are we to judge them for what they do?Sadly to say,this has been what many had been viewing Tin Pei Ling with.Instead,we should be looking at her qualities,will she contribute to the nation?Will she be able to bring Singapore through the challenges it faces?

  We need to look at her  resilience,is she able to stand up strong and recover from any attacks and challenges she faces?I am glad to see that so far,she had been responding well and standing up strong in the face of criticism,She had shrugged off the criticisms,and I admire her for doing so.A 27-year-old that is able to do that seems to have a good political path ahead.For without resilience,where would Singapore and other nations in the world be?If Lee Kuan Yew sat down and quit after we were sepetrated from Malaysia,we wouldn't be here today.If the Japanese sat down after their calamity and thought the world had ended,they will never have survived and recovered,even stronger and courageous.I hope to see that in all future players in the political scene in Singapore.I have no wish and time to probe into a candidate's private life.
  All I can wish now is that the Singapore public see who have the merits and not judge Ms Tin on her private lifestyle.Let her learn and slowly but surely,she will gain more political experience over the years.To end off,I would like to use some excerpts from a excellently-written letter to TODAY by Siew Kum Hong 'to summarise my views.'She is a 27-year-old professional, not a nun.(On Tin Pei Ling'  and 'I would like politics in Singapore to be about the candidates and their views and their competency/suitability as MPs and office holders. I would not like politics in Singapore to become an exercise in gutter journalism. If and to the extent that a politician makes morality and virtue part of his/her platform or public persona, then that becomes fair game as well - but only then, and not before.'
  Because if this is really the way we view politicians and politics in Singapore, 'This is not what I want Singapore politics to be like'


To know more:
Tin Pei Ling's the one to watch-The Straits Times By Yen Feng
Mixed views on youngest PAP candidate in three decades-TODAY By Leong Wee Keat

Why should you take note of what is happening around the world?-Blog prompt (24-3-2011)

2011 had been a very event-filled year.Uprisings in the Middle East,the world's 7th largest earthquake happening in Japan and more incidents that the news-informed public should know and discuss about.
  Which brings us to our point.Why should we take note of what is happening around us?I think I shall first start with a not so proper but much more common sense answer.As I once heard someone said,"We Are Humans.How can we call ourselves citizens of this earth if we don't even know what is going on around us?"Which makes perfect sense.If you do not have the instinct to know what is happening to the people around you,not knowing that there are people such as in Japan that now lives a much more arduous and hard life,be thankful that we are not in a seismic-active region and be grateful for what we have,we should not be here.We do not deserve to be here.
  But of course there are more than one reason.Naturally,what many will ask is "Why do I need to know?It doesn't affect me"That is precisely why we need to know what is happening in the world.We live in a globalised world,where the prosperity of many lies on the whims and ways of the many regions around the world.What's more a Multi-National Company and trade reliant country of Singapore.Our economy sags and rises along with the ones of many neighbouring Asian countries and World Superpowers.Because of the uprisings in Libya,there had been a rise in oil prices,and the former and earthquake in Japan had sent shockwaves through the US,European and Asian markets with the STI(Straits Times Index)going down before climbing up due to bargain buying.We are at the mercy of many happenings around the world.The fear of radiation had sparked the banning of Japan's food import and certainly part of Singapore's electronics and manufacturing companies as well as our trading relationships between Japan had been badly affected by the incident.However,there is a silver lining in the dark cloud.Many companies are temporarily redeploying their employees to countries around the region,and Singapore had been one of their favoured destination,proving once again our business hub name and boosting the service industry.
  The impact of the news around the world on our Little Red Dot is not only confined to the economic scene.On the political front,we are certainly seeing political groups like the PAP finally understanding the power of influence of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook as we gradually see a change of campaign tactics moving online as well as younger faces entering the political scene as politicians finally understand the power of youngsters.
  Last but certainly not the least,the lessons to be learnt are too many.How will building a Nuclear Facility in the region affect us.What about our own nuclear plants.How are the Japanese able to stand cool and collected in the face of disaster and hold their integrity and kindness in such hard times.Lessons that will always let Singapore learn and work towards improving our lives and avoiding similar mistakes.
  News is a part of our lives.As we look at the news of Japan and Libya's struggle for recovery and averting nuclear meltdown and freedom respectively,perhaps we should stop and think,is this really their own business?