The Myth of Political Apathy

It is the widespread belief and saying that youths in Singapore are politically apathetic. Think of the multiple surveys conducted (whether by our MSM or otherwise) indicating that young people in SIngapore can't tell between their Education Minister from their Defence Minister (not to mention not knowing the names of their MPs). Anecdotal evidence - from our political leaders - have also suggested that the young is a problematic demographic. From sexual bravadoes to Internet rebels to political radicals, these are some of the labels pinned upon the P75 or P80 generation.

So what is the problem?

Essentially we can reduce the political rhetoric that has spilled out over the past few years to several key elements:

1. Lack of identification with Singapore's history and past (think of all those letters published in the press about how it was necessary for the younger generation to remember the achievements of our forefathers like Dr Wee Kim Wee, Rajaratnam etc...)...not to forget the bloody riots of the Communist days.

2. Deviant behavior that defines the present... yup, we are the problematic lot (see para1). Other socially undesirable acts also include: teacher-bullying, handphone thefts and blogging...=)

3. Unwillingness to root oneself to the country's future...you've got bond-breakers, Kangaroo-land-immigrants and ordinary Singaporeans who just decide to go AWOL - with the occasional congratulatory NDP message through interviews with the newspaper.

In a nutshell: The past, present and future of Singapore are under siege from the young. A person who forgets his past loses his identity; a person who loses his future loses his hope; a man who loses his present loses his value.

Taken together, these three problems constitute the reason for the Govt's general poor impression of the youths as rebellious, roguish and perhaps - even rude. (of course, this does not mean that ALL youths are like that). Add in the fact that youths do not know who their MPs are (it takes two hands to clap though...), and you've got the point: that youths are politically - and socially - apathetic, not to mention, unknowledgable, shallow and only know how to SMS (again, I have to stress that there may be many out there who are knowledgable, articulate and can SMS... folks like Gayle Goh can put many a seasoned journalist to shame with their knowledge of political happenings)

Now any problem demands a solution (at least that's the Govt point), and if youths are politically apathetic and could not care less about the country, then surely such a problem would require drastic measures, or something to that effect.

Now the Govt's ready-made solution is education, education and more education. Their tools: textbooks, TV (esp. news) and the Straits Times.

But what if the problem isn't with us (the youths?) What if the problem is with the definition of politics - and what it means to be politically engaged or disengaged?

What do I mean?

While some folks may argue that "everything is political" (from baby-making to bak chor mee), others chose to narrowcast the definition of politics - preferring to locate it within the strata of party politics etc...

Our Govt unfortunately, has elected to take part of both arguments - through the politicising of seemingly trivial social affairs (think Mr Brown podcast) while putting across the mentality that party affairs are also political spaces (think of the recent Potong Pasir walkway saga...) . Imagine Condolezza Rice telling off a municipal governor over such matters.

The micro-managing then, of macro social issues coupled with the political macro-lization of micro issues lies at the heart of many of our current social problems.

Take another example, the current dearth of babies. The "stop at two" policy introduced in the eighties was clearly a mistake as the consequences that resulted from the slew of measures taken to restrict population growth have now returned to haunt our current generation. As Mr Wang astutely points out, generally, human beings do not breed for the sake of sustaining the economy. In other words, please do not poke your nose into areas where you are not needed.

On the other hand, not knowing one's MP name does not necessarily mean that youths are politically apathetic. There are thousands of reasons why youths do not know their MPs (the most obvious one being the MP's never around). Please do not extrapolate micro-phenomenon into macro-problems. There are other problems - like the shortage of taxis - that need more urgent looking into.

Perhaps then, despite our seemingly indifference, youths do have a stake in the country (think of the thousands who recited the national pledge during WP's Serangoon rally). Its just that we don't like what we are currently seeing.