Reflective Journal 4: Reflect on youth apathy. You may choose reflect on how far you deem yourself to be an apathetic youth by referring to examples from China, the United States and/or Singapore.
Political youth apathy varies from different societies. For
example, youths might be politically apathetic in one country while youths in
another country might be less politically apathetic. In this post, I would be
talking about the youth apathy in two societies; China and America. I would
also be sharing my views on political apathy of youths in Singapore.
Firstly, let us look at the political youth apathy in China.
In my opinion, the youths in China are apathetic about politics. Politics are
seldom a subject of discussion be it in classrooms or in a normal conversation.
I feel that them being apathetic about politics in their nation is due to a few
reasons. I feel that one reason is due to the economic success of China. China
has experienced economic success in the past decade and with this success, the
focus of youths of the country would change. They would not want to be involved
in politics as they are living a comfortable life, and they have become more
materialistic. This generation of youths in China are nicknamed the “Me”
generation. They do not feel that there is a need to be involved in politics as
their lives are currently good. Furthermore, they are more self-centered, which
I feel is due to the one-child policy whereby the attention of parents is
focused on them only. They are showered with love and care and I feel that this
led to them being self-centered. With them being more self-centered, they would
only care about their own well-being, they would only care about what is
happening to them, they would only care for their own rights. This led to them
being politically apathetic as they do not see a need to have a change in the
political scene. Another cause for political apathy in China would be of the
Tiananmen Square Incident. At that time, the government actually used weapons
that were meant to kill on civilians, which included youths when they tried to
fight for a change in the political scene in China. This incident happened in
the 1980s. Most of the youths involved in this incident are parents of the
current youths in China. Knowing what their parents have gone through might
have deterred them as they are afraid that if they tried to fight for a change
in the political scene in China, the government, which runs by a one-party
regime, would put down their protest yet again. Hence, I feel that this also
led to the youths of China being politically apathetic.
Secondly, let us look at the political apathy of youths in
America. In my opinion, I feel that the youths in America are rather involved in
politics. This can clearly be seen from statistics. One example would be that
of the number of youths who voted in the 2008 presidential elections. 23
million youths actually participated in the voting, a 3.4million increase from
the 2004 presidential elections. This was also the highest number of youths who
voted since 1978, which was the year whereby youths were first allowed to vote.
The youth turnout was also high at 59%. However, apart from raw data, the
involvement in politics of the youths in America can be attributed to societal
problems the youths in America face currently. These societal problems include
high unemployment rate amongst graduates, student loans and also medical
issues. The economic downturn has made a large impact on the youths of America,
and I feel that they have suffered the most from the economic downturn. They
are the ones who would have a problem finding jobs after graduating. They are
the ones who would lack the money to pay of student loans because of the
problems caused by the economic downturn, such as high unemployment rates. They
are the ones who have suffered the most from the economic downturn. I feel that
with these sufferings, they would certainly want change. I believe that they
would not want to suffer anymore. I feel that the hardships they face has
resulted in them being much more involved in politics as they would want
change. They would want to change the political scene so as to have a better
life. Hence, I feel that the youths of America are rather involved in politics
as they want change as they want to have a better life.
Lastly, I would like to talk about the political apathy of
youths in Singapore. In my opinion, I
feel that we are rather apathetic about politics. We seldom talk about
politics. Usual conversation topics include gaming and of course homework, but
seldom would be start talking and discussing about politics. One example would
be during the weekly level assembly we have. During one of the principal’s
dialogue, we were discussing about politics in Singapore. Apart from the panel
of speakers, whom I assume did some research beforehand, there were only a
handful of us who knew about the issue. Only a few of us dared to speak up in
the auditorium and I was of the many who just sat at our seat and kept quiet. One
simple reason would be that we are currently living a comfortable life. We have
all the things that can satisfy us, such as televisions, branded items. The
stable economy in Singapore has brought us a comfortable living environment.
Another reason I feel that has resulted in the apathy of youths in Singapore
would be that of the party dominance of PAP. They are the ruling party of
Singapore and throughout the past few decades, they have brought us stability
in both society and economy. Singapore has not suffered as badly as other
countries during the economic downturn and the government definitely has a part
to play in this. Not to say that the PAP are the best, but they have shown us
that they are able to maintain stability in the nation. And I believe that is
why we do not see a need to have a change in the political scene in Singapore.
In conclusion, the political apathy of youths in societies
differs from one another and I feel that the reasons to them are simply the
living standards they face. I personally feel that we should be involved in
politics as by doing so, we would not only understand the policies of the
government better, but we could also understand how we can look after the needs
of the nation in the future. This would
really give us valuable knowledge which would be useful in the future, for
example, in the area of people management. Hence, I feel that we should be
involved in politics.
1109 words
Hey Kuang Ian,
ReplyDeleteI believe it would be better if you managed to link your examples to how you relate to politics in Singapore as well. Is political dominance also a reason why you remain politically apathetic? Also,
American citizens have become increasingly politically engaged since the 2008 elections because they finally felt that they could be the difference. They saw a chance to actually alter the course of their country. Black citizens came out to vote against their white counterparts as well. Youths came out because they realised that if current crises could not be solved, they would suffer later in life. A survey conducted, found that 2 out of 5 young Singaporeans – aged between 21 and 35 years old – will not vote if it is not compulsory. Moreover, about 1 in 4 young voters feels “politically alienated” and lamented that they have little say in decision making on government policies. Unless citizens believe that they can actually control the country’s path, they will not feel encouraged to meddle in politics.
What I feel that is lacking amongst Singaporean youth, is the urgency to stay politically engaged. We need a wakeup call, and I hope that a drastic one is not necessary. I doubt youths will start to take more note of politics until a situation arises where they seek immediate change. The reason why youths should be politically active, is because it will ultimately benefit them. Many things can happen in the blink of an eye – an even worse financial crisis, war with a neighbouring country are all but just a few instances. When one loses jobs, and finds himself plummeting into desperation, then he would regret not knowing the proper channels to ask for help, or how the government functions, or what path the country is about to take.
Some Singaporeans have been unfortunate enough to experience such scenarios. An article I read, talked of how a man took over 30 years before he realised how important it was for him to take action. He lost his job in a day, and his family was suffering because of it. Only 33 at the time, I seeked help from the government, to find a job, for help. What he was told, was that they would need time to find a job. After a few months, he was contacted once more to attend an interview to clean toilets, for $300 a month. It was then that he realised how pressing it was for him to ensure that others do not undergo a similar fate. He concurred that the government might have neglected the poor and the jobless. And since then, he has actively campaigned for pay increases, and more channels whereby citizens can ask for help…etc
It will be hard for us to empathise, unless we are facing a similar situation. What schools could do to help, would be to provide more autobiographies that highlight how individuals alone have stood up for a cause, and succeeded in bringing about change. Youths will be inspired, encouraged and delighted that they too, can bring about a difference.
Good work anyway (:
Matt
Hi Kuang Ian,
ReplyDeleteI feel that you have done a good job on your journal again. It was well crafted and your points were well organized, hence the ease of understanding.
During my trip to Beijing for BSC, I experienced how youths in China are like and how they act. All of us in the BSC trip were allocated to a class for immersion, and we attended lessons and made friends with them. These 2 weeks allowed me to have a much better insight on Chinese youth’s lives. As we attended a top school in Beijing, it was not surprising to learn that they are extremely hardworking and academic-oriented. However, while conversing with them, I found out that most did not know much about China’s politics, and they even said they chose not to be politically active. They said that it will not make a difference in their lives even if they read about politics or participate themselves, and it is a waste of time. Additionally, they also mentioned that it is not a tested subject; hence they rather spend their time studying because it is so competitive in their country.
I also agree that Singapore youths are politically apathetic. Luxury goods and recreation are prioritized over politics. I also agree with the point about the principal’s dialogue where many remained quiet throughout. However, I would like to add on to this point. I vividly remember that during the dialogue with the high school council where they ask for our opinions, we would remain quiet. However, this was not the case in Secondary 1. During then, many students would participate enthusiastically, giving ideas to improve on our school, whether feasible or not. But after just 3 years, the situation changed drastically. Why is that so? In my opinion, this is because after going through 3 years in high school, many of us have not seen the school taking in our opinions, and little had been done. One example is the jamming room proposed, but was scraped in the end. Hence, we would have this perspective that nothing would be changed in school regardless, and lesser and lesser people give ideas during this dialogue. Similarly, for politics, youths feel that nothing would be changed even if they are politically active, especially with PAP making all the decisions since its independence. Therefore, I feel that one reason for apathy is when the person feels powerless to make any changes to the current situation.
Overall, I feel it is a good effort. Keep it up!
I feel that you could have tried to critic yourself as an apathetic youth. However, your empirical method in an attempt to compare the the three nations is commendable.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I felt that you should have attempted to go further by analyzing the causes behind the state of political involvement in these nations. You could have elaborated on politically defining moments. For example, the Civil Rights movement which signalled to the general public that they had access to rights and liberties such as freedom to speech. Or in China, the Tiananmen student riots, and how the CCP's crack down on the riots revealed simmering tensions between the populus and the government. You could have then went on to question deeper into why the population hasn't rebelled despite dismal economic disparities in certain areas. You could also talk about how the Singaporean government has defined itself as a 'trigger-happy' government that will not hesitate to sue reporters and journalists that speak badly of the Singaporean government. You can then talk about how this image formed by the government has led to political apathy.
But honestly, I don't agree that Singaporeans are politically apathetic (you needed to define this term). They are extremely active online, in forums and platforms such as the Online Citizen and the Temasek Review, just that these words don't translate into action.
However, still a commendable job.
Hey Kuang Ian,
ReplyDeleteYou have organized the points in your journal rather well. You dedicated a paragraph each to discuss about apathy in the US, China and Singapore, and proposed several reasons for this behaviour. This structure makes it easy for the reader to follow your points.
You said that one of the reasons youth in China are politically apathetic is due to their self-centeredness. I personally think that this is is not limited to China and that most youth, in developed countries at least, are more focused on their own interests. This goes the same for the situation in America. When the youth feel that the government has not adequately taken care of them or they are facing personal problems, they crave change; this is as you mentioned with the 2008 presidential elections and the financial problems youth faced at the time.
I also feel that you should have broadened your scope for the reflective journal. The definition of 'apathy' is not limited to political apathy. You could have also talked about social apathy or indifference to current affairs (which is closely linked to political apathy), as there are youth who have a limited perspective of the world around them.
Regards,
Marvin