Reflective Journal 4

Reflective Journal 4: Reflect on youth apathy. You may choose reflect on how far you deem yourself to be an apathetic youth by referring to examples from China, the United States and/or Singapore.

Apathetic youths have become an increasingly worrying phenomenon in China, and possibly Singapore. There has been much debate on the causes as well as the consequences of such a predicament that these countries are faced with. In this journal entry, I would also be including America as well as my personal experiences as a youth in Singapore. The past few lessons of the term were dedicated to this topic and it has broadened my perspectives and knowledge on this issue. Youth apathy towards politics is indifference and lack of interest in politics or just plain ignorance with regards to the youths’ attitude towards politics. This simple definition shall be what I base my arguments on.

This phenomenon is especially prominent in China. China’s new and upcoming generation live in an age of economic success and prosperity in China. People are generally contented and satisfied with their lives. This is similar to the situation in Singapore as well. In Singapore, society is stable and Singaporeans generally enjoy high living standards with excellent public transport system and good education. Unemployment rates are low at 2.2% in 2010 and people are becoming increasingly affluent. In 2007, 33 percent of employed households earned a monthly income of at least 7,000 Singapore dollars. In 2008, 39 percent of employed households earned a monthly income of at least 7,000 Singapore dollars. In China, the economic growth far surpasses Singapore and many Chinese are becoming richer. Hence, this would be one factor that led to youths nowadays being politically apathetic. They are satisfied, contented and saw no need to change the status quo through politics. Adversely, in the US, the country is heavy in debt and youths are feeling the immense pressure of this national debt that would be handed down to them. Hence, they would involve themselves in politics in order to improve their current situation.

Besides satisfaction levels, one factor that is unique to China alone is that China is a communist country and is governed solely by one party. The citizens feel that even if they participate in politics, it would be futile as they are not able to change anything.

I would consider myself an apathetic youth, though not completely, to a large extent. I have little knowledge on the political systems of both China and the US, neither do I possess an in depth understanding of Singapore’s political system. I recall Mr. Karplus bringing up the House of Representatives and I was totally clueless about the operations of it. I merely knew the existence of such an organisation. Similarly, other than the Minister of Education and a few others, I am unaware of even the name of others in the cabinet. I do not attend rallies nor do I know the objectives of various different political parties in Singapore. Unfortunately, I believe I am not the only one. Findings from the TNP Young Voters 2011 survey found that if voting was not compulsory, two in five Singaporeans aged between 21 and 35 would not bother to vote. Personally, I think that in Singapore’s case, the education system plays a large part in this. Singapore is a meritocratic society whereby those in the workforce or students alike are rewarded based on their hard work and results. This is of course a good system to adopt, however the competition that stems from it is undeniable. With much emphasis placed on standardized tests and rigorous curriculums, youths have their hands full tackling those tests and exams as well as homework. Thus, they would choose to neglect politics that does not affect them directly such as academics.

The consequences of such are dire. Our generation would be the ones governing and ruling the country in the future, be it China, Singapore or the US. The youths would have to take over. Without proper knowledge about politics, they would not be ready to receive the heavy responsibility of governing a country. This is indeed worrying as apathetic youths could very possibly lead the country down a path of destruction should they have insufficient knowledge about politics and how to govern a country. Although those selected for the cabinet are supposed to be a selected few, youth apathy is still a problem as they would not know who to vote for and the party that would best represent their interests. However, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said we should not worry too much. According to him, it’s perfectly normal for youths to feel this way as they only pursue what is ahead of them. The situation should change when they have a career, family and mouths to feed.

In conclusion, the main reason for youth apathy is still satisfaction levels of the citizens that affects their participation in politics. Contented youths are too comfortable to care about politics.