There are pros and cons for arranged marriages. There are arranged marriages due to several reasons. For example, in the olden days in China, the culture was such that the father is the person who decides who the child should marry and children had to no autonomy to decide who they want to choose as their life partner. A more recent example would be in India, where the caste system only allows people to marry within their “class” and restricts people from choosing who they truly love. Parents in some parts of India are afraid that their children would fall in love with a person from another class if they were to be allowed to freely select their partners. Many troubles would arise if their children falling in love with people from other “classes” as it would put the child in a dilemma whether to marry this person or to stick to the custom and break up. It would also make the parents worry because if the child eventually decides to continue with the relationship, the child would be considered as a “criminal” in the society. Parents, who would naturally not want that to happen, have to find all means to break their relationship, and this could result in devastating effects such as the souring of parent-child relationship due to the child blaming the parents, or the child not being able to get over the separation. Hence decide their spouse for them to avoid the potential problems that could arise from their children freely choosing their spouse. We can also conclude that arranged marriages are done partly due to the parents’ love for the child as they want to save their child from the problems that could potentially be faced in the process of a “free marriage”, and need not necessarily be a bad thing.
However, arranged marriages could result in an unstable relationship. The two parties of the marriage might not love each other as the marriage was not the choice of the bride and the groom but that of the parents. Parents would usually pick the spouse for their children based on social status and family background rather than how much they love each other and how compatible they are. If the two parties happen not to love each other, their relationship will be very shaky and might not last for long.
In summary, arranged marriages is not the best way to decide the life partner of a person. Although there are advantages to arranged marriages, the disadvantages make it difficult to implement in today’s society. Parents should guide their children along the way when their children are finding a life partner, teach them how to make an informed decision, but give the final say to their children .
Monday, August 8, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
North Korea
North Korea is a secluded communist country, which did not have much interaction with the outside world ever since its founding. The Korean War, which ended in 1953, saw the split of Korea into two countries - North Korea and South Korea. Ever since, the Communist North has isolated itself and cutting away foreign interactions. The exceptions are when the leaders of the North attend talks and meetings with other countries.
North Korea is a place where propaganda spreads. Having shut its doors from the world till the present day, North Korea is one of the countries who can successfully propagandize its citizens. North Koreans do not have phone lines, need less to say access to the internet. The only media and source of information that they are exposed to is the state media, in which propaganda is rampant. For example, the North Korean media speaks well of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, and Kim Jung-Il, his son and the current leader of North Korea and condemns countries like South Korea, its arch enemy. As a result of not having an alternative source of information, North Koreans belief what is said by the media and hence get brainwashed. They have a positive impression of the North Korean leaders and belief that they are great leaders, and that North Korea is a great country to live in. To others, the impression of a backward state(whose leader has extra-marital affairs) where people get no freedom is formed when the words “North Korea” are said. This is the reality. North Koreans, on the other hand, do not have the faintest idea of how the outside world is like, and the state of their country as compared to others. They are living under constant deception, under a veil of ignorance. These explain why there have been no protests in North Korea despite the hardship citizens are facing. It is also the reason why North Korea can still remain as a Communist state until today, with no plans for revolution.
The way out of their predicament, to flee the country, need not ensure them a steady future ahead. Many of the defectors cross the border separating North Korea and China, a place where there are loopholes in security and those with the intention of slipping away can do so if the necessary measures are taken. However, in most cases, the defectors face more problems after crossing the border. The Chinese police has worked with North Korea, agreeing to send back the arrested defectors from North Korea. These defectors would then have to face punishments such as years of hard labour back home. Besides the need to constantly be on the lookout for the Chinese authorities to evade arrest, these refugees also face the problem of finding a job. Often, the owners of indecent businesses would take advantage of these people and once they enter the industry, it is difficult for them to get out of it.
In some cases, these defectors do manage to escape to South Korea or America, places that are considered their “sanctuary”, with the help of some volunteer organisations. The journey that they will have to undergo is both physically and mentally demanding. Not only would they have to evade detection as they cross borders to Thailand, where they could be given a permit to travel to these countries, they also have to bear with the cramp and dirty conditions of the detention room in which they will be placed in while they await getting the permit and for their flight.
Even after managing to clear these procedures and travelling to their “sanctuary”, not all is easy-going. Most of these defectors face the problem of cultural shock. The gap between the development of North Korea and these countries is huge and they could possibly encounter difficulties adapting to the pace and style of life in their new homeland. Moreover, the society might not accept them. Citizens from these countries might look upon these defectors as their competitors for jobs. Moreover, since the defectors come from North Korea, a country enemy to many others (including South Korea and US), the people there might have difficulty accepting the North Koreans. This creates the problem of difficulty integrating into the new society for North Korean defectors.
North Korea is a place where propaganda spreads. Having shut its doors from the world till the present day, North Korea is one of the countries who can successfully propagandize its citizens. North Koreans do not have phone lines, need less to say access to the internet. The only media and source of information that they are exposed to is the state media, in which propaganda is rampant. For example, the North Korean media speaks well of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, and Kim Jung-Il, his son and the current leader of North Korea and condemns countries like South Korea, its arch enemy. As a result of not having an alternative source of information, North Koreans belief what is said by the media and hence get brainwashed. They have a positive impression of the North Korean leaders and belief that they are great leaders, and that North Korea is a great country to live in. To others, the impression of a backward state(whose leader has extra-marital affairs) where people get no freedom is formed when the words “North Korea” are said. This is the reality. North Koreans, on the other hand, do not have the faintest idea of how the outside world is like, and the state of their country as compared to others. They are living under constant deception, under a veil of ignorance. These explain why there have been no protests in North Korea despite the hardship citizens are facing. It is also the reason why North Korea can still remain as a Communist state until today, with no plans for revolution.
The way out of their predicament, to flee the country, need not ensure them a steady future ahead. Many of the defectors cross the border separating North Korea and China, a place where there are loopholes in security and those with the intention of slipping away can do so if the necessary measures are taken. However, in most cases, the defectors face more problems after crossing the border. The Chinese police has worked with North Korea, agreeing to send back the arrested defectors from North Korea. These defectors would then have to face punishments such as years of hard labour back home. Besides the need to constantly be on the lookout for the Chinese authorities to evade arrest, these refugees also face the problem of finding a job. Often, the owners of indecent businesses would take advantage of these people and once they enter the industry, it is difficult for them to get out of it.
In some cases, these defectors do manage to escape to South Korea or America, places that are considered their “sanctuary”, with the help of some volunteer organisations. The journey that they will have to undergo is both physically and mentally demanding. Not only would they have to evade detection as they cross borders to Thailand, where they could be given a permit to travel to these countries, they also have to bear with the cramp and dirty conditions of the detention room in which they will be placed in while they await getting the permit and for their flight.
Even after managing to clear these procedures and travelling to their “sanctuary”, not all is easy-going. Most of these defectors face the problem of cultural shock. The gap between the development of North Korea and these countries is huge and they could possibly encounter difficulties adapting to the pace and style of life in their new homeland. Moreover, the society might not accept them. Citizens from these countries might look upon these defectors as their competitors for jobs. Moreover, since the defectors come from North Korea, a country enemy to many others (including South Korea and US), the people there might have difficulty accepting the North Koreans. This creates the problem of difficulty integrating into the new society for North Korean defectors.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Is Shylock a villain or a victim?
In Merchant of Venice, Shylock is both a victim and a villain. Shylock is a victim he is the subject of discrimination and bully by the citizens of Venice. For example, Antonio often insults him by calling him names like "cut-throat dog" and "misbeliever". Another incident when Shylock is being bullied is when the beggars on the street mock at him when his daughter, Jessica, fled with Lorenzo and even took away with her Shylock's hard-earned ducats and his gems. A large portion of Shylock's business of usury has also been snatched away by Antonio. Antonio, like most of the Venetians, disapprove of the usury, the business of lending money and getting it back with an interest. To show disapproval of Shylock, Antonio lends money to others gratis (without interest), a sign of open competition to Shylock's business. This would make people who want to borrow money to go to Antonio instead of Shylock as it is a more lucrative and money-saving option, and therefore Shylock's business is being stolen by Antonio (note that Shylock did not be an moneylender because he wanted to be one, but because he cannot find other jobs in Venice as he is a Jew and no one wants to employ him).
However, Shylock is not a an innocent victim. He, too, is guilty of offending others and doing heinous acts. For example, the entire plot to get the pound of Antonio's flesh (with the intention of taking away is life as well) was planned by Shylock under the facade of justice. Shylock makes use of Antonio's willingness to help Bassanio and his confidence that he have much more than enough money at hand than the amount he has to pay by the time the bond is due to make him sign the bond which states that Antonio will have to forfeit a pound of flesh if he fails to pays Shylock the stated amount in the bond when the bond expires. To make Antonio unsuspecting of his intentions, Shylock says that "in a merry spot", Antonio would have to forfeit a pound of flesh if he fails to repay Shylock the sum of money on time. When Antonio eventually could not pay Shylock the money as his money was put in his ships and his ships did not return on time, Shylock mocked at Antonio and promised that he would have his bond. Moreover, when Antonio and his friends try to convince Shylock to give Antonio more time and not be so cruel, Shylock insisted that he would have the pound of Antonio's flesh and justified his action by the fact that Antonio has bullied and humiliated him previously, and now he would have the right do it back on Antonio. In this case, Shylock's argument shows that he is a hypocritical person as he expects others to show kindness to him and not to insult him, while he does not have the same expectation for himself. These show that Shylock is exacting revenge by attempting to take away the life of his enemy under the facade of justice.
However, Shylock is not a an innocent victim. He, too, is guilty of offending others and doing heinous acts. For example, the entire plot to get the pound of Antonio's flesh (with the intention of taking away is life as well) was planned by Shylock under the facade of justice. Shylock makes use of Antonio's willingness to help Bassanio and his confidence that he have much more than enough money at hand than the amount he has to pay by the time the bond is due to make him sign the bond which states that Antonio will have to forfeit a pound of flesh if he fails to pays Shylock the stated amount in the bond when the bond expires. To make Antonio unsuspecting of his intentions, Shylock says that "in a merry spot", Antonio would have to forfeit a pound of flesh if he fails to repay Shylock the sum of money on time. When Antonio eventually could not pay Shylock the money as his money was put in his ships and his ships did not return on time, Shylock mocked at Antonio and promised that he would have his bond. Moreover, when Antonio and his friends try to convince Shylock to give Antonio more time and not be so cruel, Shylock insisted that he would have the pound of Antonio's flesh and justified his action by the fact that Antonio has bullied and humiliated him previously, and now he would have the right do it back on Antonio. In this case, Shylock's argument shows that he is a hypocritical person as he expects others to show kindness to him and not to insult him, while he does not have the same expectation for himself. These show that Shylock is exacting revenge by attempting to take away the life of his enemy under the facade of justice.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Should US have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan?
The US should have dropped on the atomic bomb on Japan. Since the start of World War 2, Japan has been invaded many Asian countries, some of which were much bigger than itself. This caused the Allied forces to see Japan as a major threat, for fears that the war would spread to their countries. The US had taken steps to stop the war. They include the extensive bombing of major Japanese cities, which destroyed more than 40 percent of these places on avcerage. Despite the severe loss, Japan stubbornly refused to surrender. Japan's allies, Germany and Italy, had also come under attack by the Allied forces but they surrenderred by the end of April 1945. In an effort to force Japan to surrender, the US gave Japan the Potsdam Ultimatum, which stated that if Japan did not not surrender, it would result in "the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitably the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland". Despite the previous bombings and the ultimatum, Japan still decided to carry on with the war. This proved the conventional bombing that the US had carried out ineffective as it did not bring Japan anywhere near surrenderring despite the great amount of damages done to major cities. Hence, the US decided to drop the atomic bomb, the bomb that could wipe out an entire city.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Logical fallacy in comments regarding current GE
There are certain logical fallacies in speeches of certain contestants of the upcoming GE. For example, The Straits Times wrote that Wong Kan Seng stated "during all his neighbourhood visit, nobody had asked him about Mas Selamat". However, this has no link to the question whether he is responsible for Mas Selamat's escape and why voters should support him even after the Mas Selamat incident.
The opposition candidate for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Chiam See Tong, also had logical fallacy in his speech when he rebutted the claim that he only made one comment throughout the parliament meetings discussing about Mas Selamat's escape from the Whitley Road Detention Centre. Chiam See Tong said that he asked "whether heads would roll over the issue of Mas Selamat. The PAP did not give me a good answer. The reason I didn't ask more question was that we were waiting for the elections, and we believe in accountability". Firstly, Chiam See Tong only stated the the PAP MPs did not give him a good answer. However, he did not state what were their answers. Hence, without even hearing what the PAP MPs said, we cannot assume that their answers were not good. Moreover, his statement that "the reason I didn't ask more questions was that we were waiting for the elections, and we believe in accountability" is also flawed. There is no link in the sentence "the reason I didn't ask more question was that we were waiting for the elections". It would not make a difference whether Wong Kan Seng is accountable for Mas Selemat's escape whether the questions were asked then or when the elections come.
The opposition candidate for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Chiam See Tong, also had logical fallacy in his speech when he rebutted the claim that he only made one comment throughout the parliament meetings discussing about Mas Selamat's escape from the Whitley Road Detention Centre. Chiam See Tong said that he asked "whether heads would roll over the issue of Mas Selamat. The PAP did not give me a good answer. The reason I didn't ask more question was that we were waiting for the elections, and we believe in accountability". Firstly, Chiam See Tong only stated the the PAP MPs did not give him a good answer. However, he did not state what were their answers. Hence, without even hearing what the PAP MPs said, we cannot assume that their answers were not good. Moreover, his statement that "the reason I didn't ask more questions was that we were waiting for the elections, and we believe in accountability" is also flawed. There is no link in the sentence "the reason I didn't ask more question was that we were waiting for the elections". It would not make a difference whether Wong Kan Seng is accountable for Mas Selemat's escape whether the questions were asked then or when the elections come.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Can students be given the autonomy to develop their own curriculum?
Students should not be given the autonomy to develop their own curriculum. If they are allowed to develop their curriculum, education would not be as effective, to the extent that they might not even learn anything.
Students definitely would not know what is needed to succeed in life, or they would not even need education. Hence, they will not be able to come up with proper plans for their curriculum. Moreover, students of lower levels, being immature people, may just end up adding things that they prefer doing rather than things that can aid in self-improvement into the curriculum. Teachers, having gone through enough experiences in life, would understand better what is needed to succeed in life, and can plan the curriculum such that students can learn these skills.
While some may argue that we school should be an enjoyable experience, joy should not be compromised with the goals of education. The purpose of education is to equip students with the necessary skills that can come in useful in life, whether at that point in time or at a later stage of life. Education also aims to instill a good sense of self-awareness, a sound moral compass for pupils. Education also aims to groom responsible and confident people, as well as self-directed learners. If students were to come up with the curriculum, will they be able to come up with an apt one that can satisfy the goals stated?
Hence, I feel that students should not be given the autonomy to develop their own curriculum.
Students definitely would not know what is needed to succeed in life, or they would not even need education. Hence, they will not be able to come up with proper plans for their curriculum. Moreover, students of lower levels, being immature people, may just end up adding things that they prefer doing rather than things that can aid in self-improvement into the curriculum. Teachers, having gone through enough experiences in life, would understand better what is needed to succeed in life, and can plan the curriculum such that students can learn these skills.
While some may argue that we school should be an enjoyable experience, joy should not be compromised with the goals of education. The purpose of education is to equip students with the necessary skills that can come in useful in life, whether at that point in time or at a later stage of life. Education also aims to instill a good sense of self-awareness, a sound moral compass for pupils. Education also aims to groom responsible and confident people, as well as self-directed learners. If students were to come up with the curriculum, will they be able to come up with an apt one that can satisfy the goals stated?
Hence, I feel that students should not be given the autonomy to develop their own curriculum.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Why should we bother about things happening far away from us?
In whichever aspect, a country would definitely be affected by an event happening in another. Nowadays, the world is getting increasingly connected, and we will have to be aware of the things happening far away from us, things occurring in faraway foreign places.
Events occurring in faraway places can affect our economy. For example, in the recent earthquake that shook Japan that started on March 11 2011, the economy of the areas affected by the earthquake came near to a standstill, causing a decrease in the overall Japanese produce. As Japan is the third-largest economy and exports large amounts of goods, many countries are dependent on the goods produced by Japan. A decline in Japanese produce would result in an increase in the prices of the products of Japan. Another example, which has caused mass economic devastation worldwide, would be the 2008 US recession. Although the sub-prime mortgage only occured in the US, the crisis resulted in many economies around the world to plunge into recession. Therefore, no matter how far away the event is from us, it would still affect us economically.
Knowing about and caring about events happening in countries far away from us would allow us to react to them on time. Perhaps, knowing about the things happening far away from us could even save our lives. Take the 2004 Asian tsunami for example. The epicentre of the tsunami was off Aceh, Indonesia. Although the epicentre of the quake was hundreds of kilometres away from countries like India, tha Maldives and Thailand, these countries, which have coasts facing the Indian Ocean, were not spared from the huge waves. If these people were had kept up with the news, had known that a tsunami had hit the west coast of Sumatra, and had some knowledge about tsunami, they could have escaped on time before the tsunami whipped the shores of these countries. From the above example, we can tell that being aware of events happening in other countries would allow us to react on time.
Being aware of things happening in other countries can also help improve political relationship between countries. When a country experiences trouble, other countries who are aware of the situation can offer help. When the troubled countries would be thankful to those who rendered assistance, and this will improve ties between these countries. For example, during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Japan was one of the first countries to offer help in rescue services. China appreciated the help to a certain extent and during the recent Japan earthquake, China sent a rescue team to Japan to reciprocate their previous assistance.
Events occurring in faraway places can affect our economy. For example, in the recent earthquake that shook Japan that started on March 11 2011, the economy of the areas affected by the earthquake came near to a standstill, causing a decrease in the overall Japanese produce. As Japan is the third-largest economy and exports large amounts of goods, many countries are dependent on the goods produced by Japan. A decline in Japanese produce would result in an increase in the prices of the products of Japan. Another example, which has caused mass economic devastation worldwide, would be the 2008 US recession. Although the sub-prime mortgage only occured in the US, the crisis resulted in many economies around the world to plunge into recession. Therefore, no matter how far away the event is from us, it would still affect us economically.
Knowing about and caring about events happening in countries far away from us would allow us to react to them on time. Perhaps, knowing about the things happening far away from us could even save our lives. Take the 2004 Asian tsunami for example. The epicentre of the tsunami was off Aceh, Indonesia. Although the epicentre of the quake was hundreds of kilometres away from countries like India, tha Maldives and Thailand, these countries, which have coasts facing the Indian Ocean, were not spared from the huge waves. If these people were had kept up with the news, had known that a tsunami had hit the west coast of Sumatra, and had some knowledge about tsunami, they could have escaped on time before the tsunami whipped the shores of these countries. From the above example, we can tell that being aware of events happening in other countries would allow us to react on time.
Being aware of things happening in other countries can also help improve political relationship between countries. When a country experiences trouble, other countries who are aware of the situation can offer help. When the troubled countries would be thankful to those who rendered assistance, and this will improve ties between these countries. For example, during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Japan was one of the first countries to offer help in rescue services. China appreciated the help to a certain extent and during the recent Japan earthquake, China sent a rescue team to Japan to reciprocate their previous assistance.
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