Keeping the young in touch with grassroots reality
Get our heads out of the clouds
HOW can tomorrow’s leaders be attuned to the grassroots community if many of us are confined to our privileged backgrounds and elite schools?
If all we fret over is getting first class honours or organising chi-chi parties, we will never understand how some struggle to put food on the table.
Many of us are fortunate enough to belong to families that live comfortably, rendering us unable to identify and empathise with the grievances of those who survive on a standard of living far below ours.
To bridge the gap, youth should engage in community work with a sincere intention to connect with the people, not just to score good publicity or chalk up points for a co-curricular activity.
Lend the elderly a listening ear to understand their struggles. Ask a disabled child about his hopes and aspirations.
What we need are not distant figure heads, but intimate listeners.
Chew Zhi Wen, 21, has survived his first year in law at the National University of Singapore.
Lessons on morality
HAVING worked and volunteered in grassroots organisations for close to five years, I have learnt many lessons on ethics and moral leadership.
When our committee organised an event with an external agency, we were entitled to special rates. This meant that we could save costs on the event which would then result in profits.
We had two options: to keep these profits or to redistribute them back to the community. We chose to do the latter.
The goal of grassroots organisations is less to be a profit-making outfit and more to promote bonding within the diverse community.
A few weeks ago, Professor Kenneth Paul Tan wrote about morality in pragmatism in this newspaper.
Such lessons apply to grassroots organisations as well: Earn enough to cover basic costs and redistribute the additional savings back to the community.
A pragmatic approach based on morality can be applied to almost any scenario, even with regard to the leadership of Singapore.
As for me, I will always keep such lessons in mind as a reminder not to take morality out of pragmatic decisions that I make in life.
Ephraim Loy, 27, is a final-year social science student at Singapore Management University. He is the chairman of the Punggol Community Club Youth Executive Committee.
Killing two birds with one stone
I HAVE always trusted my government to come up with solutions to national problems that my peers and I only have to abide by without much question.
I try to keep up with the latest debates in Parliament, but I usually do not bother to continue studying or understanding the implications of these policies.
All I am interested in is that they ensure my future – such as finding a decent job after I graduate from university – is well secured.
Ironically, the recent economic meltdown has made my peers and me even more preoccupied with sustaining our own abilities and securing a future rice bowl in a society that emphasises branding. Hence, we care little about others in society and the problems they face.
Instead of waiting to be spoon-fed by government aid, why not solve our own problems and care more about society at the same time?
Schools and non-profit organisations can hold sharing sessions with MPs and ministers that are organised and chaired by us. We can then pick up leadership skills and responsibility, and connect more with the grassroots at the same time.
These are values that are imperative when our time to lead Singapore comes.
Jonathan Liautrakul, 19, has a place to read Arts and Social Sciences at NUS.
To truly empathise, be proactive
THE comforts of everyday life have distanced the majority of youth here from the bread-and-butter issues of reality.
At the start of this year, with the aim of understanding Singapore’s socio-political system better and getting a feel of what issues really matter to Singaporeans, I took the proactive step and joined the Young PAP.
This has undoubtedly opened my eyes to the realm of politics and grassroot matters, which I previously had no interest in.
I have also been an active volunteer of self-help groups such as the Chinese Development Assistance Council, where I have been organising camps for needy children since November 2006.
Such small but significant steps have gone a long way in aiding me to not only understand the hardships of under-privileged Singaporeans but also to become a full-time volunteer and grassroots leader after I graduate.
I strongly urge youth to find their own incentives and impetus to be more involved in contributing to society, for personal growth, self-discovery and to be a truly valued member of society.
Nicholas Lim, 20, has a place at Nanyang Technological University’s Nanyang Business School.
Don’t just pander to the majority
I AM in tune with what my friends and people like me want: We are liberal, outward-looking and hold Singapore to the same standards as developed Western democracies.
It may mean that I’m not entirely in tune with the ‘grassroots majority’, but what’s wrong with that?
The very notion of a grassroots majority threatens to efface the many different groups of people in Singapore, each with its own unique aspirations.
I do not believe we are to ignore these groups and their dreams if we are to build a truly harmonious society; after all, shouldn’t everyone have a right to be represented in our democracy?
How better to serve the segment of community most immediate to you than by standing up for your personal views and for those of people like you?
Don’t fall into the typical trap of pandering to the interests of the majority.
Eef Gerard Van Emmerik, 20, will read law at SMU later this year.
Tags: Chew Zhi Wen, Eef Gerard Van Emmerik, Ephraim Loy, Jonathan Liautrakul, Nicholas Lim
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