This upheaval is making a lot headlines in Singapore. There are basically two parties, the old guard and the new guard. I'm not going to elaborate about the situation, if you want to know the newspaper has aplenty. Personally, I don't support either side. I enjoy being a spectator, like most sociologists, without butting my head into every thing. However, I would like to give a whole new critical perspective.
This "war" is not just between both sides. In every conflict, there's always a third party to watch out for, usually very invisible, very subtle, but very influential. My "literature review" will just have one example, the idea of a romantic relationship. During a breakup, some people will blame the guy, some will blame the girl, those with a bit more experience and commonsense will say that both parties were at fault. Very few people will see the picture from a 3D perspective, and notice that God, the 3rd party and Sovereign Creator, has the biggest hand in it. And by understanding God, the breakup suddenly becomes very clear.
Likewise, using a politically critical perspective (which I love to do), I shall bring in the 3rd party, the Singaporeans themselves. Of course, if you're a Singaporean with no interest whatsoever in the entire upheaval, this perspective will have no relevance to you and you will not feel offended in any way. However, if you've been following, and have your own opinions, and are taking sides with one party or another, let me show you how you can be implicated in this entire issue.
Simply by being a typical Singaporean and not participating in such civil roles entitled to you e.g. sitting and having your vote in AWARE meetings, rightfully you have no say in this matter. Anyone can seem extremely politically correct, righteously defending one side, but don't forget that by accusing another party, you're indirectly defending yourself by taking a bystander view and taking yourself out of the picture. Art is not art unless it's has a context, a background. Likewise, a scandal erupts in certain places only because of the elements that constitute the "space" that it has occurred in. We are that space. There is no glory in self-righteous behavior by slinging mud when the matter is over. If you have something to say, the best way to do it is through a vote next year.
This is the cons of living in a "democratic" country. You have the right and responsibility to participate in civil affairs, especially urban social movements like AWARE that bring good feedback and improvement to the state-running of affairs. If you don't want to participate, then don't cry foul when it has been decided. Should this saga be a reflection of future Singapore, then this country is doomed to be like it's neighboring states with minorities creating an endless cycle of political uproars even after the votes have been tallied strongly against them again and again.
Now for a Marxist critique of what I've just wrote. Participation in civil movements is skewed to the upper-class, as you can see both the old and new guards are made up of highly educated civilians with strong ties one way or another to the state. It is also clear that Christians, even at 14% of the national population, constitute a majority of the upper-class professionals in Singapore. Thus this entire saga is simply a war between the elites of Singapore, especially with issues on lesbianism which are shown to be post-materialist concerns i.e. no one in dying Rwanda talks about lesbianism, they are issues that come up when societies achieve a certain amount of socio-economic development (scarcity hypothesis). What this will lead to is a marginalization of the Singaporean underclass women who need help out of their current situation with fundamental changes to policy development, and this will not be achieved by spending more than the appropriate amount of time debating on lesbianism issues, however important is it. Priority is for the poor and needy suffering from repression based on gender, which AWARE was initially set up for.
Thus in conclusion, I have constructed a defense for both parties involved, shifting the blame to the population and political context in Singapore in general (which includes myself), and then breaking it down again with a Marxian critique based on Christian elites in Singapore. Nonetheless, this "scandal" should bring about an opportunity for a good amount of self-reflection, if anything. And the solution, you ask. Let's just all learn to play our part in society by performing the roles and duties required of us to our very best, and most of all, not accuse one another in adolescent heat, but to love one another.
That's all I have to say regarding this entire event. +)
Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation for such a method is love. -Martin Luther King Jr.
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