Sunday, July 1, 2007
Racial Harmony Blog Entry
Singer believes that freedom of expression is essential to any democracy and therefore should not be limited. On the other hand, Szilagyi believe that more focus should be placed on social responsibility. In the context of Singapore's multi-racial society, where there is cultural and religious pluralism, which author's view do you think should be adopted?
In my opinion, i feel that Szilagyi's view should be adopted. In Singapore's multi-racial context, Moral Education and religious ethics are important aspects of education. Within its multi-racial context, it is vital for Singaporeans to begin learning from a tender age how to live harmoniously with others of varying social and racial backgrounds. They must develop the ability to cooperate with others of different races and cope during times of uncertainty and change. Like what we have learnt, a single racist opinion made could cause tragic events between races. If freedom of expression is allowed in Singapore, chances are that some insensitive people will misuse it. We have to admit that our country has not reached the stage where everyone is mature and cultivated enough.
There is an advantage about freedom of expression which can be undeniable, that is, without that freedom, human progress will always run up against a basic roadblock. It can be argued that humans will be unable to improve without accepting others’ criticism and from there change for the better. However, if freedom of expression in applied to religion, it will cause and uproar. Racial, religious and ethnical issues are issues which third-parties are in no position to comment, because it is a kind of teaching or practice that have been passed down through generations, and it is impossible for outsiders to know the whole hidden meaning of these practices, because each individual is born to a different religion. Therefore, who are we to be given the freedom to criticize other races and give suggestions, when we are not even born to the kind of environment they are exposed to?
Citing an example from the article about the Danish and Norwegian newspapers that published the cartoon about Prophet Mohammad, the cartoon originally had no intentions of setting off mass demonstrations, diplomatic rows and economic boycotts of Danish products in the Middle East. They insisted that they were protected under the freedom of speech principles. However, shouldn’t have the newspaper editors been aware, that in a world of global information flow there is an insurmountable contradiction between traditional free speech values and public discussion about Islam? In our networked world, existing societal and political tensions can be inflamed instantly through the transfer of messages from one context to another.
In conclusion, I feel that if freedom of expression is capable of causing so much social destruction, it will be better not to implement it to the society. The main idea is that we do not live independently in this world, and because we are so dependent on each other, social responsibility should have more focus placed on it.
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you are a beautiful mistake:) ;
Friday, April 27, 2007
Prejudice is a disease we can never get rid of. Discuss.
Prejudice is a biased opinion against someone or a group which may be considered unreasonable. There are different kinds of prejudice: racism, linguicism, ageism, heterosexism, prejudice based on differing political stances, and classism or elitism based on ones' socioeconomic status. If prejudice is referred to as a disease that cannot be gotten rid of, it means that it possesses hate and fear which is permanent throughout our lives.
I agree to the statement that prejudice is a disease that we can never get rid of. In my opinion, we can never totally stop people from being prejudice, but we are able to change the perception that they have. The main reasons prejudice is what most people will have, is due to the strong emphasis and coverage we have in the media, the treatment to some races that is passed on from parents and children, and painful history. These causes to prejudice can never be eradicated due some reasons. For example, we cannot rewrite history, nor able to totally correct the “values” that parents educate in their children.
Prejudice is indeed a disease which makes people hate and fear. It is also like a plague, something that is widespread and causes side effects. Those who fall in the category of being prejudice against, will fear for the rest of their life, until one great leader stands out and bring them out of their misery. They are very vulnerable to attacks, and often many surrender to the bullying because they feel that they are born to lead this life. Anger, frustration and depression grow deep within them, and when it gets out of control, they turn around for revenge. One recent example is the mass killing in Virginia Tech. The media coverage on it has been intensive, more importantly specifying the nationality of the student in a foreign country; a South Korean student in the United States. We cannot deny that in a fast globalizing world, there is still the idea of inferiority complex which has not died down since the colonial days. No matter how well developed an Asian country is, it is still not comparable to those in the States and Europe. Through this murder, we can clearly see that the emphasis made by the media and use of internet, are a great influence in our technologically advancing society.
Everyone has their own fears and bad experiences and coincidentally, they might be done by those groups or individuals, whom we dislike. In these cases, it further aggravates the hatred we have for them. Hence, prejudice is like a disease, almost permanent and cannot be removed, regardless of right or wrong.
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you are a beautiful mistake:) ;
Saturday, April 14, 2007
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Let’s make dreams come true and hopes unfurl!!! Please give AGATHA, CHERYL and WILSON your greatest support on STUDENTS' COUNCIL POLLING DAY. Be assured that we will do our best in making your journey in AJC an enjoyable one. -
you are a beautiful mistake:) ;
“YouTube is a popular free video sharing website which lets users upload, view, and share video clips. Videos can be rated, and the average rating and the number of times a video has been watched are both published.” This is the definition of YouTube quoted from Wikipedia. The access to free video sharing has earned a lot of popularity for Youtube, and this has also resulted in the abuse of such free services.
I disagree to a large extent to the statement that YouTube has been created for the sole purpose of entertainment and money, neglecting ethics. In my opinion, I feel that it was the users who was responsible for misusing the service, and therefore trying to create trouble through their ignorance towards world and religious issues. A 44-second film showing graffiti over the Thai king's face which was aired on YouTube, showed a good example of insensitivity. The contentious film also shows feet being placed over the king's face - an offensive act to Thais, who consider feet dirty. Hence, it is not surprising that the Thai authorities banned YouTube in Thailand. The video clip should have been immediately removed from YouTube, but Google declined. Realising that is was a mistake, they are currently looking into the matter. Although YouTube was wrong in declining to remove the video clip, it does not justify that the company has no ethics. It is obvious that most of us have benefited a lot from YouTube. The wide range of video clips not only provides us with a source of entertainment, but also as an important site for sharing and retrieving sources for research purposes.
Everyone needs to make a living, but if the activity involved causes more good than harm, then it there should not be a problem doing it. Also, it is hard to imagine a world without entertainment, and worst still, without free online entertainment.
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you are a beautiful mistake:) ;
I'm one of the youngest among my cousins. BUT LOOK!! Don't I look fortunate with so many sisters who care for me? I think the Seow girls simply rocks :))
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you are a beautiful mistake:) ;
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Hello! This is my first time setting up a blog, and I did this just for my GP assignment. I think my school has an interesting way of helping us improve our GP, isn’t it? It says here “Practice makes perfect”.
Anyway, here is the first piece of instruction for my assignment-- write an introduction about myself.
Hi again! I’m just a simple and ordinary girl, by the name of Agatha. My world revolves around music and I also have a great passion for French. I am totally in love with dancing, since I was the age of 5. While I was in primary school, I was a rhythmic gymnast, dancer and singer. Later, I quit singing and rhythmic gymnastics in secondary school due to the lack of time. However, my passion for the two hasn’t died down till now, and I will watch top-school's choir concerts and Olympic gymnastics routines whenever I have the time to. I will never allow myself to lose the chances of watching these good shows. Due to a knee injury, I have since stop dancing for about ½ a year, and I really hate this feeling. Therefore, I’m joining dance lessons again this May to continue with what I have always love doing. Apart from dancing and singing, my piano is the instrument that has accompanied me for the past 11 years. I have passed my grade 8 for practical and am doing my grade 8 theory now.
I’m not extremely academically inclined, just an average student in a good college. I have a great interest in History, but didn’t include it in my combination, because it isn’t very relevant to my ambition. Economics would be a more suitable choice. I hope to major in business administration and venture into the hotel industry. Hotel management is a course that interests me a lot. I have a dream… and that’s “a secret” (quoted from Hui Wen).
Let me share a little about my family. My father is working as an IDM in A*star, my mum a housewife and I have a younger sister. I treasure kinship a lot and am very close to my extended family. Although most of them are in Malaysia, some in London and Taiwan, everybody is very supportive of each other. This is what makes a family beautiful. Friendship is important to me too, just like to everyone else. My best buddy is studying in another college, but we take the same train to school together as far as we can. We shared wonderful crazy moments together in our previous school and I thank her for being there all those times. Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes at times, but whatever it is, those were the times that made friendship a significant thing in our lives. I’m not particular about who and what kind of friends I prefer to mix with. Anyone who is harmless is welcomed. One thing bad about me is, I need quite a long time to remember names, so if one day u come along and I happen to forget your name, please pardon me.
That's all for this post. Have a good night and God bless=)
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you are a beautiful mistake:) ;
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Let’s make dreams come true and hopes unfurl!!! Please give AGATHA, CHERYL and WILSON your greatest support on STUDENTS' COUNCIL POLLING DAY. Be assured that we will do our best in making your journey in AJC an enjoyable one.