Wah lau eh....

Well dear friends, the above title does indeed illustrate how I feel right now. I just submitted a draft of my theory chapter, but I feel like it borders on a load of .... if you know what I mean. It's not that the content is very bad, I just am lacking direction on where to go. I need ideas desperately. Anyways, on another note, i'm going back to the US on 3 December for about 5 weeks. Maybe i'll do some interesting blogging there on life in the world's only remaining superpower haha, it's shocking!

I must admit to everyone i've been flipping through the channels a bit lately, and came upon this Channel 5 TV show called BlogTV. Pardon me for saying so, but it seems to me that the two hosts, at least from the ads, err a bit on the side of being too old school and repressive? For example, one certain host said something to the extent that 18 year olds shouldn't be allowed to make political comments because, ahem, they 'haven't lived yet.' Well let me tell you something Mr. Ang Moh, there are quite a few 18 year olds who are living every day in Iraq being shot at, and I assure you that they likely have life experiences which warrant their ability (which they have in the US) to participate in politics, experiences which might in fact surpass your own. Which one is more 'character building,' being in a foxhole for a year or spending 30 behind some desk or microphone?

That said, Singapore and Malaysia are members of a group of nations that have the voting age set at 21 instead of 18. These include such countries as the Central African Republic, Fiji, Gabon, Lebanon, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tokelau, and Tonga. The youth vote, which the aforementioned host claims are so unqualified to comment on the old men and women in office who can send them to war and die, might disagree with his assessment. And, despite the fact I think my home country is completely insane in terms of the refuse to which they submit their youth, does at least recognise that if one is able to bleed and be sent home in a coffin for the state, he or she has a right to determine who will determine whether they live or die.

I'm not saying that I have a problem with the 21 voting age; in fact, I think in America if we are going to continue with the 21 drinking age we should raise the entire age of majority to 21, including the ability to be conscripted. What I do have an issue with is the fact that someone of the older generation feels compelled to tell individuals they have no right to speak their opinions simply because they weren't born at the right year. Regardless of how old an individual is, every opinion matters, young or old. Besides, brains stagnate with age, and every country needs fresh ideas to survive. So, maybe young Singaporeans should be able to give their voice, otherwise the older generation might find the gains of the past erased by their own inability to let the youth have the opportunities they themselves enjoy.