Winds of Change

"21st century fascism stands apart from "oppression". Fascism holds that the state is the ultimate entity, rather than the individual, and this is fundamentally true. The state can accomplish things individuals can not dream off. Could you build a rocket to the moon in your backyard? No.

The problem inherent is democracy is people. The majority of them are stupid. They vote for whoever celebrities tell them to vote for, regardless of ideas. Think about it. Your educated vote, your voice in government, amounts to the same as the guy who flipped a coin to decide who to vote for. An authoritarian government saves the country from ignorance. Those who know nothing on a topic do not get a voice in it. Opinions are not created equal.

Furthermore, the problem with populist politics is that it prevents politicians from doing their jobs. Many politicians are hesitant to raise taxes, because it will almost certainly cost them the election. Meanwhile, the infrastructure crumbles around them, and the city falls into disrepair, and then, bam!, a bridge collapses killing 200 people, because of cost cutting. Politicians, and civil servants, need a cushion between themselves and populist society in order to make the effective decisions fundamental to running a good government. People think in the short term, not the long term, and as such, their voice does not benefit the nation in the long term, and should be disregarded.

This lack of democracy, however, does not equate with oppression. While I have become disillusioned with democracy, I still believe in civil rights for individuals. The existence of an authoritarian state is not mutual with an oppressive one. In fact, an authoritarian state may have freedom of religion, press, speech, etc, while maintaining a government independent of the short-term populism of the ignorant masses."

- Moniker "M4NU", www.politicsforum.org

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The reason why I have put up moniker M4NU's post, is that the position put forth so uncannily resembles that of our dear leaders here, though not necessarily fascist in nature.

Fact is, the majority of us citizens are probably too apathetic about politics, and of major issues that concern their lives and the lives of their future generations. And that is just being mild in description. One can certainly even call ourselves political eunuchs, if you will! There is every real possibility that this can be read as being "stupid" on our part by our dear leaders, and it probably is!

I can not even begin to say just how disappointed I am with our own apathy, because it only serves to "embolden" our dear leaders even further. This is akin to the school or playground bully to whom the bullied fails to stand up against. It is if, and only if, you stand up personally against the bully, that the bully will back off. Return the power back to yourself. Period. Sounds simple right? Not!

You see, the odds are so stacked up against the dissenter, that the mere thought of it alone, is sufficient to make irrelevant any form of outright opposition. Be mindful, we are not talking about the common man's complaints on the drudgeries of life, but rather something else larger. It is about your stake in the process of nation building. It is about your future, and your children's future. It is about how you want your own society to prosper and grow in numbers.

We have bequeathed our sacred trust unquestioningly, in return for a common goal of Sovereignty, ie. mutual self preservation and prosperity. They key here is "unquestioningly". When you do just that, without any form of accountability, you get a situation, that of dis-trust and a divide. I fear this may have already befallen upon us. Just listen to the amount of negative murmuring on the ground in recent times and you'll begin to understand just what I mean.

You see, therein lies the "fix". Though enshrined in our Constitution that each and every citizen has various rights that he/she will be able to exercise, in reality the regime has made it arduous for the individual to exercise that right. This is like the common saying of "the mind is willing, but the body is not". The Constitution is part of the embodiment of our very own Sovereignty and to deny that is to literally chopping the very hands off its members. Bertrand Russell, a grandmaster of modern day philosophy said, and I quote that, "as soon as we abandon our own reason, and are content to rely upon authority, there is no end to our troubles". How so very true. I implore all to digest that!

Let not the "dumbing down" process, that our dear leaders so often do, continue AND detract you from doing what you must do as a Sovereign member of this country, in order that you be remembered as a Singaporean. Always remember that argument from intimidation is a confession of intellectual impotence (Ayn Rand). So let not impotence rule the day in our country.

In fact I would go a step further to say that it is indeed your solemn duty as a patriot of this great nation to do your bit in this time of change. And change we must, for it is only through real change that we can ever hope for a meaningful difference made to our lives, that of our children, and our children's children!

You will ask, "So how do we begin"?

The answer, in my opinion, is simple. Everything begins from the home. You are your own agent of change. And change is infectious. Once people realize that, it can never be stopped. All it takes then, will be The One. Will this happen in my lifetime? Probably. My children's time? Most definitely! Change is here. There's no denying, and there's no stopping. So fear not.