Cde reflective journal one

Reflective Journal 1

1. Reflect on youth apathy towards politics. Draw on examples from China, the United States and Singapore in your reflections.

Today’s youths’ disengagement with politics is indisputable, but how much of a problem is this, really? The young’s attitude and bearing towards politics today is veering towards “so what” outlook which many claim to be lackadaisical. My question is: so what?
From a small colony, Singapore has now expanded into a bustling city filled with economic and social activities, while the ruling party’s capability, efficiency and fiscal policies has placed us at greater heights in the global arena. However, at the pinnacle of peace and prosperity, we have seemed to take all these for granted and become apathetic. Youths in Singapore have falsely assumed that our leaders always have our interests constantly at heart and that whatever they do is to their utmost efforts. To put it simply across, the level of political apathy in Singapore directly corresponds to the stability and welfare of it. Singaporeans believe that as long as our standard of living does not decline too much, there isn’t a need for us to poke our noses into the business of politics. As a youth in Singapore, I strongly believe this is true. I am just one out of many who is guilty of being apathetic towards political affairs. As a vibrant and energetic youngster, there are just way too many commitments and distractions of paramount importance out there for me to even spend time reading the papers to widen my knowledge on politics. I do see politics as something largely annoying. It is something too profound and complex for youths like me to understand. For youths, “enjoyment of activity” is a prime factor in motivating them. However, I do feel that we will play our part in politics in the near future, to challenge our government as to whether they can give us a better and sustainable future, or it will be too late.

In US, the voting age is 18 – many youths below this age are uninterested in politics as they feel they cannot alter anything without a vote. Many youths feel disengaged with politics and hence, they would rather spend more time showering themselves with gifts and discuss the latest showbiz’s affairs. Also, there is little or no political education for the youths. In addition, we have to know that political understand has to be acquired through interactions with friends and family, personal experience or from elite schools with the capability to offer subjects outside the scope of regular curriculum. In appreciating all these facts, it is only fair for us not to blame the youths for their apathy towards politics. Being apolitical is just part and parcel of a maturation process. As a youth, as a student, we have yet to fully integrate ourselves into the political system; therefore it is perfectly fine for youths to be relatively apathetic towards politics before their entry into adult life. As statistics have shown, under the segment of political engagement and voting, 80% of the youths (aged 15-25) are unlikely to work for the government, 34% see voting as a choice versus 20% a responsibility and only 9% a duty. Youths are often disillusioned about and disconnected from the political system. More than 85% of the youths surveyed easily agreed that volunteering in the community is easier than volunteering in politics.

In China, politics is a taboo, a big ‘no’ ‘no’. Any forms of discussion about political leaders or reforms made by the authorities would have to be kept behind the scenes. I personally feel that China youths aren’t that apathetic, after all, I can still sense that bit of enthusiasm and knowledge when it comes to political issues, and it is due to the limited freedom and lack of democracy which deter China youths from standing up to their own views. Tiananmen Massacre would have been the best historical example to remind youths to think twice before articulating their thoughts about political issues. The fact that young Chinese netizens create so many proxy websites to bypass the ‘filters’ in Internet Explorer gives us an idea how determined they are in advocating and propagating their rights.

Though it may seem alright for youths to be disengaged when it comes to political affairs, it is not. Politics intertwine with the entire social system, politics determine how the country will be run, and politics will inevitably coalesce with the standard the living citizens can attain. To put it simply, it affects our life. There is an absolute need for youths, known to be the future leaders of a country, to etch politics into their young minds, otherwise, who could ever picture the state our country would be in without wise and politically savvy leaders?