I went to a discussion forum yesterday. It started out with my thinking that the talk would not go anywhere, and that we would be left to the usual silence of a room full of students who would not want to talk, and ended with my feeling incredibly foolish that I had even allowed myself to think that way. And why? Simply because, far from being confronted by concrete silence, I had met plenty of vibrant, young and like-minded people who had just as many ideas in their heads as I did. Unfortunately, not everyone felt inclined to break their silence and talk, and thus, I felt wasted their time by even coming to something boldly titled discussion forum. These people simply sat in their seats, barely moving and not contributing. However, there were also many others who were simply bursting to be heard, and they, of course made the discussion all the more interesting.

After a slightly hesitant start by our hostess, Sarah from the Ministry of Community Development and Sports, we launched into a spirited discussion on how to involve youngsters in community service more. It was quite alarming, really, to see how low the figures of Singaporeans doing voluntary work were compared to other Asian countries such as Taiwan or even Japan. Considering that the Japanese are just as busy and pressured as we are, or even more so, about nineteen percent of them volunteered, compared to Singapore’s measly fourteen percent.

We also talked about citizenship, and agreed that it was rather sad when, it is only on National Day that a mental switch is flicked on and we start proclaiming that we love Singapore; but have you ever wondered how many people would readily die for Singapore or stay and defend her if she truly was attacked? And have you ever noticed (you must have, because you probably do it yourself) that when it is flag-raising, hardly anyone sings the National Anthem? And how, in Singapore Chinese Girls’, and many other schools, if our pre-recorded tape refuses to play, hardly a whisper is heard from a one thousand strong crowd? Sometimes I feel that all these drilled messages (i.e. the Pledge) never work, because if you repeat something so many times in your life, it loses its meaning; they just become words that you say automatically every morning. Then, what is the purpose of the Pledge if most secondary school students couldn’t care less?

However, it wasn’t all serious talk; we had a good laugh over how the Speaker’s Corner was gathering dust, and on girl even asked what the Speaker’s Corner was! There were also a few jokes about the silly trends that many teenagers were following these days, such as jeans worn so low that one could see half their backsides, or the Heelys that have sent (as I have personally witnessed) many a young girl careening down the escalator because of their attempt to ‘skate’ down them, when my own two feet are firmly on the ground because I am wearing perfectly good, ordinary shoes.

It was a lovely session, and I certainly would not say no to more of such discussion forums.

A word of warning though; if one goes to such a forum, please, for god’s sake, talk! There isn’t any point in going if you don’t open your mouth and air your views!

Oh yes; one good point I discovered is that not everyone in Singapore is as complainant and yet silent as my peers. Indeed, a few more of such forums, and life in Singapore would be much more interesting.

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