November 19, 2007
Freedom of speech in Singapore is only but a dream of a dead man. As the Minister Mentor once mentioned many years ago, that Singapore cannot afford to have freedom of expression due to its multicultural society and various religious views. Well, I was wondering if we could take these words spoken from an old man. Although there is this saying that old men are wise, I would also stress that old men are also stubborn. While young people like us are learning, we strive to uphold critical thinking and independent thoughts, as well as freedom of expression in our everyday lives. Freedom of expression does not give us the privilege to abuse our rights of speaking without constructive reasoning. I think the Minister Mentor is afraid of the public's stupidity or ignorance regarding such matters, and I'm concerned if he is ever too worried to allow people to speak their minds in the media or allow friendly debates on sensitive issues like politics and religion. Maybe he is right after all, that much of the Singaporean public is ignorant of so many things.
Firstly, they don't read much, because all they ever care is earning enough for themselves, feeding themselves and their families, and finally dying in their grave without even knowing that the prices have gone twice as high as when they were once alive and kicking. This is what I call the "
bo-chap" (couldn't be bothered) attitude.
Secondly, they don't care much about the world as long as they themselves are happy. I'm not against such attitude, but thinking of this makes me feel that something is indeed amiss. If one is selfishly involved with themselves without a thought of making a difference, then seriously, what difference would it make if one dies? The only difference is the lack of inhalation. There are many ways of making a difference. One way is to realise one's worth in a society. How much are you worth? It doesn't matter what you are doing, where you are working, or what position are you holding, but rather, how are you determined to excel in the things you do that matters. And the first step to excellence is the realization of your worth and importance to the people around you. Surely, you do make a difference no matter how insignificant you may be. Hence, your identity and dignity must both be guarded.
Thirdly, they are narrow-minded. Probably because of the religion they embrace. Heck, every religion is the same. They all have potentials for shaping narrow-minded people, and people who are less tolerant. Some very good examples would be the intolerance between the Christians and Muslims in Lebanon, the Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem, and the Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. Being narrow-minded also involves viewing people in a judgmental light, for instance, judging them based on their biological characteristics such as their race or cultural heritage. Everyone of us are guilty of having a certain amount of narrow-mindedness. I am also guilty of being a little judgmental at times, regarding the way I perceive other races like the Bangladeshis or the Caucasians. The way we perceive objects, others and situations are determined by the knowledge we gained over years and years of education. Our upbringing in the academic aspects of our lives strongly shapes the mentality that we possess. If we embrace cults, theologies, or religious dogmas, we are doomed to the tendency of thinking intolerantly of others based on their religious views, biological characteristics, or actions. Thus, such upbringing is only but an abuse of children and young minds, by simply taking away their naturally given ability to make their own independent decisions.
However, adults are too not spared from the poison of religions. Vulnerable adults such as those who are suffering from depression, anxiety, or disillusionment, are potential prey for religious fundamentalists or evangelicals. These fanatics would hunt their prey down, breaking their self-esteem before building them up again by making them feel good about themselves. They continue this process until their vulnerable targets become fully dependent on the assurance of that religious fanatic. As a result, everything he says becomes true to the poor minds of these individuals seeking help for the cure of their plights. Subsequently, instead of fully depending on the ability of advanced medication, GOD is all there is for their cure. Instead of going to see the psychiatrists or professional counselors for their mental instability, they leaned comfortably upon religious dogmas like a crutch to take their minds off their reality and into the world of gods and other delusions. Instead of seeking knowledge of this world by constantly improving their sense of reasoning, critical thinking, and inquisitiveness in order to learn how to discern and see the gray areas of life, these vulnerable targets have become mind slaves of religious dogmas that restrict their free thoughts and eventually hinder their ability to reason and make ethical judgments.
Sometimes, I wonder if society could be better off without religion or religious people.
Yes. Religion is said to guide our lives, help us make moral decisions, and provide the pathways to inner peace. On the other hand, what peace do we have if religious fundamentalists or fanatics are psychologically intolerant of others who are not like themselves? Morality plays the most part of religion if not for its master-servant doctrines that emphasize obedience for the sake of a higher invisible and supernatural authority. It provides a clear guide for doing something in order to enter the kingdom of God or heaven or paradise.. or, for some, in order to have 72 virgins in heaven after life. All these instructions, guides, and religious education teaches one to obey the laws of a supernatural deity(s) in order to get rewarded in many different ways, if not blessed, then it must be having the key to the gates of heaven, or having favour of that god or other people. All these struggles to gain access to a heavenly kingdom or blessings in rewards are perhaps the most fundamental reasons why most religious people believe and act out according to their religion or what their gods instruct them to do.
As I've mentioned before, loving people, being kind, showing mercy, practising honesty, or even donating to charity do not necessarily require God's motivations. It is true, however, that everyone of us has ulterior motives regardless of the things we choose to do. If we love others, we expect others to love us back. This is the law of the universe. If I scratch your back, I'd expect you to scratch mine, otherwise, we are not going to meet each other again. I would be thinking, "Darn, I'm not so stupid to be deceived by such rude behaving individual who doesn't reciprocate". Thus, my attention would be drawn elsewhere without a doubt. Such behaviour with personal ulterior motives is what makes us human, because it is in our innate nature to seek for returns or a two-way street in relationships.
It is hereditary for us to love others out of our willing heart, not because God tells us so, or because the scriptures say so, or even anybody who tells us to do so. Love is taught, not commanded, not through instructions or dogmas, but by how one shows it through actions and confessions. If a parent loves his or her child, that parent not only confesses his or her love to that child, but constantly opens him or herself to that child by being a gracious, kind, and loving parent. Because a child models after his or her parent, a parent's role and the way he or she conducts him or herself is very essential. Whereas for Jesus in the Bible, his commandment for every single one of his believers was to love one another as themselves. Is it necessary for such loving action to be commanded if they, as believers themselves, could just exercise simple loving kindness towards others who simply, do not believe in their god or religion? Surely, Jesus must have known that such believers are no better off than being unbelievers and not entering God's kingdom at all. Anyway, Jesus mentioned that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than one to enter God's kingdom. One similarity to Jesus' statement is that of Confucius who encouraged people to do unto others what they want others to do unto them. Sounds familiar? Well, I could give more examples, but all I'm trying to say is that all religion preaches almost the same things. They are all dogmatic, restrictive, fundamentalistic, biased, and utterly making extraordinary claims which constantly require extraordinary explanations. The only difference lies in the various gods involved, which are probably made up in the imaginative minds of people.
That said, it is such a plight for the people of Singapore to practice religion without first understanding its secret agenda or ulterior motives, which to me, are usually unethical. Not just that, it constraints free thinking to an extent whereby everyone is stripped from developing independent thoughts or opinions. It is something that the Singapore government encourages, thinking that it might boost tourism and improve the public's awareness of one another's religious practices, which also influence their own cultures and traditions. It is not a problem acknowledging that there are various strange religions around, but it is an imminent danger for not discerning the reality of life and superstitious mentality, traditions or way of life. The reason why religion remains as the source for primitive people is that it is so convincing to the point that it is convincingly wrong and people are not simply aware of it, or some are simply denying it. This is a tool, I suspect (correct me if I'm wrong), that the government uses to self-censor the media and everyone in Singapore.
Religion is contagious, for it destroys communication and meaningful dialogues between two individuals. If one says that God told him something, there is no longer any more another person has to say because the former has already made a statement that is too out of this world for anyone to believe. Besides, it is a communicative signal to the latter party that God, the supposedly highest of all authority, has made a supposedly important statement and that the conversation is indeed over. Then again, who could possibly outspeak God? It is unimaginable. Yes, and I mean unimaginable as in simply unbelievable.
Besides, religion restricts freedom of expression, especially those of Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, or Judaism alike. These religions constantly insist their absolute right in their beliefs in a certain fixed morality based only upon their scriptures and nothing else. This is what I call narrow-mindedness. And I am utterly disappointed to find Singapore engaging in much of these religious thinking such that it allows their minds to be conformed to a conforming mindset. As a result, many people here becomes a conformer and people who are afraid to speak up in a constructive manner of course.
Well, I cannot totally blame religion for its nastiness in our society, but rather, the blame goes to those who do not constantly seek knowledge for themselves instead of doing so for the sake of God. It is, nonetheless, our decision to make our lives better. If one thinks that God is everything and that free thought is secondary, which makes him a happy person, then let it be so. If one chooses free thought and scientific reasoning, which opens him up to a world of beauty and many possibilities, then, congratulations in understanding the wider concepts of morality and discovering reality! We all have the ability and freedom to choose what we want out of our lives. God can never decide for us, for we must take a stand for what we believe and live up to its standard. We are thinking individuals, not religious robots that depend solely on scriptures to rule our lives by faith alone. Faith is non-thinking, and a non-thinker is one that is dead.
