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In My Words "Don't ever lose faith in who you are, for that's what makes you different. Don't try to turn yourself into someone everyone else is, for if that happens, the world is a poorer place." - Sept 2005 Flying Fingers of
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Thursday, May 05, 2005
To she who listens to Qing Tian daily : We stumble and we fall on our journey, but if we get up and run faster and harder than ever before, we still have a chance to feel like a winner. But never forget, we don't always have to be first to be a winner.---------------------------------------------------- I was told that there might have been some misunderstandings and misinterpretation with regard to the piece on 2 may so I thought it might be a good idea to put up the original submission here, if anything else, to view it in its completeness -------------------- Blogging into a spot My existence of late, at least to my friends and family, has somewhat been limited to the number of times I pop up on MSN Messenger or when I post an entry on my blog. Given the logistical impossibility of a perfect alignment of schedules for an online chat, the blog happens to be the most convenient way of sharing my life with my friends. However, recent events have left me slightly puzzled : What exactly is a blog meant to be? In the space of two days, two blogs authored by Singaporean youths have been the subject of immense scrutiny. One was reported but the other will be known amongst the circles. The reason: contentious and controversial entries about race and religion respectively. It leads me to wonder, what is the essence of a blog? To me, a blog is a diary, where I record my everyday life to remind myself of what I was doing at a particular time in a particular year. And as the author of the second blog mentions, it is something that no one can ever throw away. A diary records my thoughts, feelings and opinions, and I am the king of my diary, I write what I want, when I want and the way I want to. Be it religion, race, sexism, criticism of an acquaintance, I am free to write it down and express myself. However, blogging introduces a new element into writing a diary. The very fact that it is hosted on a public domain, i.e. the world-wide web, means that this diary is no longer private. If one were to enter the correct keywords into a search engine, I am sure that you will find my blog, and with it, all my thoughts, opinions and secrets. Setting an access password does not provide the guarantee of privacy a diary in my drawer will give. Thus, given that your thoughts will potentially be read by anyone in the world with an internet connection, does it not entail some degree of care with what you write? This is a very fine line to draw and a very fine balance to strike, and I think the onus is on a mutual recognition on both sides of respect for each other. For the reader, it must be to understand that what we are reading is a diary, and to accord it the respect we would like for our own diary. Would we enjoy it if our parents open up our diaries, read it and leave unsavoury comments in red ink at the side margin? I doubt it. It being on the internet also means that if we do not agree with what it says, like an objectionable publication, we do not have to continue reading it, the choice is ours. It is simply akin to no longer reading a magazine that no longer appeals to us. For the writer, we must understand that what we post on our blog will subject us to considerable scrutiny. Blogger uses the term “publish” for a good reason, blogging is like writing an article for an e-newspaper. More importantly, what one writes about will always be inferred from readers as a reflection of oneself, and we are all too aware of the fact that words are always open to misinterpretation and misrepresentation. While I am still strongly in favour of a freedom to write what I want on my blog, more care with what one actually writes is called for. The above is also somewhat a reflection of the notion that Singaporeans are still not prepared for a liberty of free speech. We do not have the general maturity to listen to and to consider a wide array of opinions and to consider them with a rational mind. The response to various entries on the second blog leaves me disappointed with what people term as “feedback”. A wide array of expletives, derogatory language and a bitter lack of respect of the opinions of the writer litter the comments. As the first century Roman playwright Terence once said, “There are as many opinions as there are people: each has his own correct way.” In the same vein, there is a difference between “I do not agree with you” and “You are wrong”. I study in a country where the liberty of free speech and expression prevails, but there is also a corresponding maturity of the audience. The true mark of a developed country is its people, in this respect, and with all due respect, I think we still have some way more to go. The writer is a second-year law undergraduate at the London School of Economics ---------------------------------------- kelvin was inspired at 2:44 AM |
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