Gender divides rather than unites in politics

So, the first female candidate to have made it so far and close to running (and assuming) American Presidency finally conceded defeat and threw in her support for a black horse in the race.

One year ago, Hiliary Clinton was literally a shoo-in for the Democrat choice for the White House. But a year later, she failed to live up to the promise and handed the candidacy to a(n almost unknown) first term senator politician.

The guy who is on the way to becoming the first (Black) President, if he were to be a little less careful with his words in the race against straight-talking John McCain.

So what went wrong with the power lady?

Much has been talked about how her charming hubby was more a liability than an asset in the race. Also, how she made the wrong choice to go for the bigger states than chasing the caucuses like Obama.

And her blips during campaigning (like her claims to coming under sniper fire during a 1996 visit to Bosnia).

As a member of the fairer sex, however, the singular question that I think really begs an answer is really this: Is America ready for a female president?

If the results of the primaries are anything to go by, the answer will be negative.

Further by virtue of the fact that a Black (male) has triumphed over a White (female) candidate, the next question that really begs answering is whether America is more ready for a President from an ethnic minority group than a female president.

But perhaps before we can jump to any conclusion, there is a third question that begs answering. That is, how far does American women identify themselves with Hiliary?

This is perhaps the very weakness of any political campaign (that is intentionally or unintentionally) underpinned by an overture on gender representation.

The idea of a lady president may be an appealing selling point to women voters. But this will only work if the candidate in question is able to find a voice that connects women across social and racial boundaries.

Unfortunately, Hiliary wasn’t able to get that universal endorsement from women voters. She was a polarising figure, attracting staunch support and dissidence at the same time.

Many were disappointed with how she handled Bill’s infidelity. Yet, there are also others who sympathsized with her and complimented her forbearance.

Her cold, businesslike demeanour won endorsement from some women but turned others off.

For female voters (see http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3129/why_women_hate_hillary/) have looked to an alternative representation of American politics with more feminine traits like a softer touch, more compassionate rather than rational stance towards international issues like the Iraq War.

But Hiliary failed to represent what these women are looking for. Neither did she win the men over with her political machoism.

What all these show, really, is that gender may be more a liability than an asset in the political battleground. Women continue to be judged (by both the same and opposite gender) on the basis of their gender in a field that is not traditionally feminine.

And there’s hardly any middle ground on those issues like how one should deal with marital infidelity. That will continue to divide the feminist movement throughout the history.

War works for no man

“The wars of the world don’t come from outer space. People create them, people who have a war within themselves. I want to create music that eases that war within.” – Kitaro

One more reason why I love the man and his music.

More often than not, the major wars in the 20th to 21st century are orchestrated by a few men, whose self agenda soon overtook that of the large majority.

But wars are mostly triggered off by the territorial nature of humankind. The survival instinct – to put it more kindly – to protect one’s turf and self-interests.

The argument works both ways for the attacker and the defender. The misplaced and the poor will have more motivation to attack others in order to strengthen their positions. The defender – being threatened with a loss of territory – will arguably have a more legitimate reason to fight the battle, and – in the event when they earn a victory – penalise the attacker.

Either way, it is a poison that would blind man’s conscience. To the extent which the majority is easily manipulated to support the agenda of the elite few. History will have a way of getting at these ruling elites, but before then, the damage would have been done.

War does not resolve differences. It only magnifies the problems. Victory of one party does not guarantee immunity to repercussions in the future. But self-interests at play continue the dictate the politics and economics of the post-modern world. And the majority will have to suffer but for the few who would raise war – and continue fighting a war – often in the name of nationhood and religion.

If only music is the universal cure to the poison in all men’s hearts.

Can man create [and destroy] life?

Scientists at J. Craig Venter Institute in Maryland in the United States have created a gene map for synthetic life, in a move that could re-define birth of life and the fundamentals of human civilisation.

The research is aimed at designing synthetic life form that could be used in medicine and for industrial purposes like the production of biofuels.

Before they embark on the venture to create what could be considered as a real-life Frankenstein, the god-fearing researchers are planning to seek guidance from religious and ethical experts.

Fact is if man indeed is able to or attempting to create life, is man not playing god or at least attempting to do so? Needless to say, such a ‘blasphemous’ act will be or have already been met by resistance from others who have held on to the established fundamentals of our current human civilisation.

But this is far from the first time humans have attempted to manipulate life, nor would it be the last. Stem cell research is the most recent human attempt to replicate lifeforms with the goal of extending rather than creating new [human] lives. However, the twist in the latest project undertaken at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Maryland is that the life of the synthetic lifeform could be sustained indefinitely depending on its use value for instance in helping biofuel production.

The premise of the new research on the synthetic lifeform then throws up a new challenge to human civilisation. How far can we humans tolerate the existence of Frankenstein lifeforms living and breeding among us, though the purpose of their beings is indeed to serve our ends throughout their lifetime?

New wise mother, good wife

Past – Wise mother, sweet wife, stay-at-home mom. Passive and obedient women were thought to be perfect wives.

Present – A wife who earns a lot of money, makes smart money investments, and looks gorgeous. She must be good at housekeeping, raising and educating children.

So the Korean series “Modern Housewives” also known as “New wise mother, good wife” begins running on national TV with a definition of an ideal wife and mother from the eyes of a jaded sole breadwinner and newsmaker.

The husband to a full-time housewife (part-time supermarket cashier) is now a disgruntled white collar, struggling to cope with the demands of a sandwiched middle class. The wife, for her lack of sophistication and economic independence, is a liability rather than an asset, her role as a homemaker is taken for granted, her daily struggles to cope with the required tasks are considered as signs of incompetency and her contributions never appreciated.

A situation that is typically facing most single income Asian families. What was once a slogan taken by the first wave Japanese feminists to empower the women with political will, ‘wise mother, good wife’ or ‘good mother, wise wife’ had been reinterpreted to serve the needs of chauvnistic societies. The good woman is one who will sacrifice herself for her family welfare, regardless of whether she is a full-time homemaker or co-breadwinner.

And so, modernity in Asia has ironically enslaved rather than free the modern women. Marriage remains a chauvnistic shackle for the modern woman, it would seem. But the modern housewives in ‘New wise mother, good wife’ would beg to differ. Divorce is not the only way out, nor is economic independence the only means to gain respect. The key is to free oneself from the ideology of a ‘wise mother, good wife’. The modern woman has to embrace her own individuality first, before her husband or her family.

She is not afraid to give and forgive, but her emotional generosity should not compromise her standing in the family or society.

‘New wise mother, good wife’ offers a fresh take on the dilemma facing the modern woman, man and family. Not only does it seek to break away from traditions that confines individuality, it also re-affirms the spirit of humanity.

Applauding a friend who dares to dream … and believe

Many changes during my two years away from home. But this friend appears to have held on to his dream, of carving a space in cyberland for music lovers to come together and share their creations online.

Applauding SK for his courage and perseverance, which have in turn, provided others who dare to venture out, a place to live their dreams. We need more sites like Be An Idol, not just another S-Pop contest.

Can we be made equal?

Race, sex/gender, age, appearance, nationality, wealth, intelligence.

Every man/woman is marked by traits, some in-borne, others acquired, but nonetheless traits that would define his/her standing in society, justified or unjustified.

Some of which are inherited by virtue of birth, not of personal choice or merit. But they have come to define us. We do not choose to be borne men or women. Neither do we have a choice on our parents or our siblings or the nation we are borne into, all factors which would come to shape the world’s perception of our being or our perceptions of the world.

Yet humans have attempted along the way to temper with their fates.

Education, (im)migration, plastic surgery, sex-change operation.

Social, scientific or plain blasphemous – human civilisation has picked up ways to take control of our own destinies.

Education is the key to wealth creation – ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for the day, teach him how to fish and you would feed him for a lifetime’.

If we are not happy with where we are – there is the option to uproot and leave in search for our next promising lands.

And if age, looks or gender get us down in our life options, we could look to plastic surgery or sex-change operations.

Humans have picked up the ropes, but not all these approaches work out flawlessly or at without any costs. For the idea that we are all citizens of the world remains an unattainable ideal. Despite what we would like to believe – that the world is everyone’s oyster – some will have a greater share than others. Not by virtue of who you will become, but by virtue of where you start from. And we remain slaves most part through our lives to our own self-interests. No one single human – save for the greatest ones in history perhaps – will forgo his or her own interests or the interests of his or her own tribe entirely for the greater good of everyone else.

And so we continue to judge and be judged by skin colour, race and nationalities.

And so we try harder to change the visible traits with which others judge us. Some choose to go under the knife of a plastic surgeon to correct the ‘flaws’ – to lighten up the skin tone so one could pass as a person of another race or even gender. Looks matter even more in modernised and capitalised societies where the first impressions count in passing the entrance exams to some jobs.

But are these indeed the answers to one’s prayers to be the every man and woman one wishes to be?

Sadly no. Despite the human efforts at transcending the boundaries – to play god for our own good – people remain judged by what they are borne with and not what they have become. People who go under the knives to improve their looks are considered plastics, those who change their gender are perceived as freaks.

Humans want to play god, but we don’t seem to be able to unload the burden of humanity.

So we question and challenge the rights of those who try to do so. But it doesn’t stop us from trying to test the boundary. Now we aren’t quite happy to stop at changing the physical attributes – we want to improve our genetic make-up, defy life and death.

Yet we remain trapped by our double standards. Dolly, the clone, will remain the Frankenstein, and never the sheep. Because Dolly is the first to re-write history and traditions long-held to be true and the guiding principles of morality. She could not be perfect as the first, and will always remain the sinner as the first.

Such is the dilemma of the human race – the want to be what one wants to be in the future held back by the want of being acceptable by the standards of the past.

No, we can’t be all equal, because there’s no equality in history.

*NB: Text should not be read as an unequivocal endorsement of plastic surgery, sex-change operation, stem cell research or cloning. Author remains a god-fearing human being who prefers to adhere to rather than challenge traditions. But this does not impede the author from applauding those who have the courage to try to do so.

Wealth is a relative concept, so is the value of life

Would you stick your head out for US$3,000? These men are about to lose their lives for US$3,000 worth of crude oil, or more specifically less than US$1,000 for each of their share. It makes me wonder about the concept of wealth and the value of life. About a year ago, an Indian course-mate was wondering aloud in class about how human lives in Australia seem to be valued more than those back home (in India). She was referring to the numerous accounts on victims dying from drunk driving accidents. In India, she said these will not warrant much of a mention in the news – well needless to say, the work volume would be too much for local press to handle. But it also speaks of the relative value of human lives in Australia – where population density is low, and in India – the second most populous nation in the world.

There is also the question of whose lives matter more? The lives of wealthier nationals/citizens, or those hovering above the poverty line. Granted the Chinese nationals should be aware of the harsh punishment, but is life worth living if everyday is a struggle to meet your most basic human needs? Greed is definitely a factor in the equation, yet in a nation where some are surviving on less than US$1 a day, US$3,000 is a lot of money indeed, and may just be worth risking your neck for.

Wealth is relative, but so is the value of life.

K-wave in, J-Pop wanes?

Signs of Korean wave raging through the world, looks J-Pop may not be all the craze for too long, original article on Chosun.

Tips for Koreans going on a Frugal Overseas Trip

College students who plan an overseas trip should take instant noodles, caramels, pictures of celebrities and shirts of the official football fan club the Red Devils. The items have at various times been proven to get Korean students out of a tight spot abroad.
Lee Kwang-chan (25), a senior at Dankook University, recently made a trip to Southeast Asia. There, he says he was able to get free meals in exchange for the instant ramen. Whenever Lee gave landlords at B&Bs some Korean ramen, they were so delighted they gave him free meals in return.

In Europe, Red Devils shirts can come in handy. Since Korean supporters were popular in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, many European football fans love the shirts. In the U.K., Korean cigarettes are popular since a pack there now costs some W10,000 (US$1=W922), four to five times more than in Korea. Several guesthouses in the U.K. reportedly offer a free night’s stay for 10 packs of Korean cigarettes.

One enterprising Korean who is studying in Paris is making some pocket money by selling Korean caramels. He says his French friends have been asking for Korean caramels since tasting them, so he is now selling them at twice the Korean price.

For college students thinking about trip to Japan, pictures of Korean Wave celebrities like as Bae Yong-joon, Song Seung-hun and Ryu Shi-won are a smart thing to bring. Especially in rural inns, the pictures will apparently get them first-class service.

Anal about pronounciation

Overheard on BBC the other day, a blip that a newscaster made when pronouncing the name of Singapore’s Prime Minister and ‘state fund manager’.

Dropping the ‘s’ in Lee Hsien Loong, he pronounced PM Lee’s name as Lee Hien Loong. Temasek – pronounced as Termasek – became Timasek.

Now in between his blips, the newcaster managed to interview an analyst (based in Singapore I think!), who to his credit, managed ‘Termasek’. Yet, he had stubbornly insisted on Timasek after the interview.

For all you know, one day the stubborn Brit may prevail, judging by how Asian newscasters have been tailoring their intonations to fit in with the west. On Channel News Asia, the news channel which prides itself on covering news in depth in Asia, Beijing is Beijing (jing as in jingle bell). And although I wasn’t in town to catch the CNA reportage on tsunamii, I’ve got an inkling these folks have also followed the western style in dropping the ‘t’ and pronounce the word as sunamii.

It’s not my intention to berate these newscasters for not pronouncing these words correctly. I’m quite sure the BBC newscaster wasn’t quite sure of the correct intonations for Lee Hsien Loong or Temasek. But it irks me to have to put up with how the CNA have intentionally customised their accents and intonations to fit the West (American).

When oh when could we have good old Beijing back without the jingle bells attached? Or the Japanese ‘tsu’ attached to ‘namii’? What’s the point of doing things the American or French way, when we are all in Asia afterall.

The invisible poor and disadvantaged

One year ago, a friend and I happened to drop by Tiong Bahru estate while on the way to the once famous and now revamped hawker centre for lunch. We chanced upon this old lady who’s busy stuffing some newspapers into a plastic bag. The sight of her shrivelled body in the slightly oversized New Paper Big Walk T-shirt made me wonder aloud about the plight of the poor and/or aged and misplaced Singaporeans. I couldn’t help but highlight an observation to my friend at that point in time, of the increasing number of ‘scavengers’ and people who seemed to be out of their mind I’ve come across ever since my return to Singapore from overseas studies. And this is in spite of our booming economy back home. My friend, who had just returned six months earlier than me to Singapore from overseas studies recounted an incident, which further disturbed me. Whilst she was hanging out at Holland Village – where the young, hip, trendy and some would say ‘atas’ people would congregate – an old lady was going around the tables to ask for two dollars to a buy a meal. No one really took notice of her, but when she approached my friend’s table, my friend did not hesitate to fork out a ten dollar bill and asked the old lady to keep the change even while she’s still unemployed at the moment. But the old lady did not take advantage of the entire situation. She took the ten, went to get a nasi lemak for two bucks and came back to return my friend the change. We were both appalled at how the yuppies in Holland V could turn away from a helpess old woman who is just seeking help to fill her stomach. What has become of our fellow Singaporeans?

* * * * *

A couple of weeks back, I came across a report about a local-run cleaning company being fined for housing four foreign employers in a public toilet located in Waterloo St.

The four foreign labourers had reportedly cooked, eaten and slept in the public toilet. But what is even worse is that 116 employers were found in breach of the foreign work permit conditions to provide suitable housing for their employees.

Food and shelter are the most basic in the Maslow hierachy of human needs. In Singapore where the government used to pride itself of providing housing for its citizens, it is unthinkable how a human being – regardless of his or her nationality – has to put up with living in public toilets. Lest we think every Singaporean does indeed have a roof over his or her head, let’s take a step back to reflect on the invisible homeless whom we hardly ever come across on the streets – save, perhaps the dubious beggars who tend to invoke more doubt and cynicism in the average Singaporean than sympathy. Here again I have to quote a news report which was published on Straits Times (I believe) in the distant past. The journalist took a stroll along the poorer quarters of Singapore one night with a bunch of law enforcers who were out to nab the homeless sleeping in the streets. He/she came across this lady who seemed out of her sorts and who had menstration stains on her clothes. Although there wasn’t any photo to accompany the story, it is not difficult to picture the very disturbing scene. Perhaps we should thank these law enforcers for cleaning our streets of the ‘vagrants’. But it also really begs the question whether they erased the average Singaporean’s consciousness of the plight of the poor and disadvantaged.

Of course, we still have the charity shows such as the now defunct NKF annual fund raising event or its successor, the Ren Ci Charity show to remain us of the importance to be kind towards the less privileged. What is worrying, however, is that the growing cynicism towards such charitable organisations and events – after the NKF saga – would have influenced our attitude towards the poor and the disadvantaged. How often do we walk past a street beggar ignoring his/her pleas for token sums of money? Indeed, some would say it is wise for us to do so, but what does it do to the moral health of our society? Should we rethink our approach towards poverty?

* * * * * *

A few days ago, the question of the poor in Singapore popped up again during my conversation with a fellow colleague. Both of us have spent extended period of time overseas – either working or studying or both. And both of us felt strangely insulated here by the bliss surrounding middle-class Singaporeans especially with the upturn of the economy. Armed with a decent degree, blessed with rather comfortable jobs and the pleasant company of friends leading similar lifestyles, we are so emersed in the self-indulgence of middle-class Singaporeans that it takes quite an effort to remind ourselves that we should not take what we have for granted.

Indeed, my colleague was sharing with me how she was reminded by her occasional direct or indirect encounters that the less fortunate do exist in Singapore. These are often the faces either of the old or disabled who usually reside in the one or two room public housing in the older estates (here I generalise). And she would only come across these people when she passed by these districts or on a very occasional news coverage – alas! she doesn’t read Chinese papers and so reduced her exposure.

The situation is made worse by the optimism of the economic upturn, which seems to inundate all our news coverage these days. Almost every other day if not everyday during the last week there were reports on private estate owners benefiting from enbloc sales – sales of a whole private residential development. The only news that seem to challenge the norm is of course, the climate change, which seems to dominate the global agenda. Granted climate change affects all human kind, but what about who will be the most effected? Are these going to be the swinging overnight millionaires or billionaires who just sold their condominiums for handsome sums of money? Or, should we be looking at the aged who can’t get decent-paying jobs to feed themselves, let alone going green and caring for the environment? Are they not affected by climate change? But of course they will be! These are the people who will lose the most when the crunch times come. But speak to them about climate change when they can’t even feed themselves? I think not.

Some will also argue the developed nations are looking to help the poor now, particularly in the Africa – now that is the pet agenda of the now ex-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. And it also merits a mention in the new UN Secretary’s Ban Ki Moon’s first address. However, I would also like to remind us, the Singaporeans who are enjoying the fruit of labour of our hardy ancestors, there are also some poor people (often old folks) around us, who have contributed their fair share of their lives to the building of our tiny red dot. They are now left behind in the rat race, struggling to catch up with the younger and more IT literate Singaporeans. And they are often ‘invisible in the public sphere’. Their sufferings often warrant insufficient coverage in the media vs the number of new condos we could be expecting or the number of plastic bags we should be cutting down in supermarkets. Is it not time to take a step back from our daily rush to reflect on how these people are and will be doing in the increasing frenzy for more personal wealth and well-being? The poor in the poorest country may be suffering, but the poor in the richest nations may not be any better if their compatriots choose to ignore their plight.