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| Sunday, April 23, 2006 |
| 引导年轻人参与有意义的沟通 |
联合早报
● By Jeremy Cai
蔡自勉
You are trying to find your place in the world. You've just graduated, found a job, and achieved some form of financial independence and even a little success in your career. You believe that to be hostile is to be strong and to be anti-establishment is a sign of superior intellect and moral strength.
This is true for a group of 4th generation Singaporeans who engaged Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in a dialogue that has drawn much attention. It was an unpleasant awakening to what such a deluded psyche could signal about the future state of our country and society.
What appeared on the television was an appalling display of the participants lynching the Minister Mentor with a horde of well-gathered political rhetoric.
They were not there to quench a thirst for insight on issues that were close to their hearts.
They were not there to seek the opinion of someone who was in a unique position to give them a refreshing perspective; one that may potentially open up a new window for them to look out of, and to look down from the tower they had locked themselves in.
Their intention at the dialogue was stark - to carpet-bomb their target with carefully accumulated munitions and to make a statement with their new-found prowess.
It was particularly appalling because their target was an indomitable man who is held with the highest regard by people abroad, and at home, a man who is no less than a father who is concerned about the holistic growth and development of his children.
It is disturbing that some of his children had decided to make a statement for themselves by attempting to abuse him on national television.
Worse yet, these few children clamoured over each other to get a go at him even as the indulgent father stood by, tolerating his disrespectful children's tantrums and even humouring them.
Undeniably, our society is an Asian society that, for all its westernisation and modernisation, is Asian in heart and mind.
The respect we accord to our seniors and our parents, the moral values we hold dear and our economic and social development are not mutually exclusive. Recent experiences with the new generation have shown how much we have deviated from the fundamental cornerstones of polite society.
Is it an indication of something that we have overlooked in the education of our future generations?
Not according due respect to the chief engineer and father of modern Singapore is not an indication that we have reached a new level of media or political freedom.
It merely illustrates, essentially, how far we are away from grasping the essence of a mature society capable of engaging with matters that will influence and shape the country for generations to come.
The Minister Mentor's indulging of the unruliness during the dialogue highlights a new era that we have entered–an era where there is a clear attempt to guide young Singaporeans towards civil, well-meaning engagement that is aimed at furthering the growth of the country.
It is ironic that even as the participants tried their utmost best to show the country the way to political freedom and expression, it was the person they were attacking who showed the path through his calm, collected air of a veteran statesman.
It is time we reflect on the paths we've travelled over the past few years and where it is leading us. The dialogue could be a big step forward if we recognise what we have missed and take positive actions towards rectifying it, or a big step backwards if we become disappointed and despondent, yet carry on with what we have been doing as if the advancement of economy will result in the advancement of society and its people.
May the dialogue not be an indication of where we are heading. The consequences are unimaginable and yet so tangible - a prosperous country with all its sparkling splendour and gaudy glamour and the decadence of the heart that will slowly eat out the facade and finally leave us with a hollow shell that will crash to the ground like a pyramid of cards with its base knocked in.
The writer is a twenty-something English-educated graduate student.
引导年轻人参与有意义的沟通
你还在为自己的人生定位。你刚毕业，找到了工作，在经济上开始独立，在事业上也已经小有成就。你认为采取敌对的态度是坚强的表现，对现有体制表示不满则是具有过人智慧和道德勇气的表现。
最近同内阁资政李光耀进行了一场引人注目的对话会的十名第四代新加坡人，大概便有这样的想法。他们的这种心态，不禁让我们对国家和社会的未来感到担忧。
在电视上，我们看到这些早有准备的年轻人纷纷向李资政发问，用中听但不中用的政治语言提出看法。
他们并不是要对自己关心的课题有更深刻的了解，也不是要聆听一名具备独特经验的智者为他们提出看待问题的独特视角。这视角可能为他们开启一个新窗口，让他们往外看，或者从他们把自己深锁在内的塔里往下看。
他们的用意很明显——用小心储存的弹药对目标进行地毯式轰炸，和刚获得的机会发表他们自己的意见。
他们的做法让人感到吃惊，因为他们的目标是具大无畏勇气，在海外备受推崇的李资政。在新加坡，李资政就像个慈父一样关心国家和国人的发展。一些人为了表达自己的看法不惜在电视上对他出言不敬，确实让人感到不安。
更糟的是，这些人争相与他交锋。对于他们无礼的态度，李资政却非常宽宏和包容。
尽管受到西化和现代化的影响，我们的社会终究还是个亚洲社会。我们对长者和父母应有的尊敬和我们的道德观，同我们的经济和社会发展并不是相互对立的。
对话会让我们看到我们乖离礼仪之邦这个社会基石有多远。在教育新一代国人时，我们是不是忽略了什么？
没有给现代新加坡的创造者和奠基人应有的尊敬，并不表示我们已经享有更多的媒体和政治自由。它基本上只是显示了，一个能够讨论影响和塑造国家未来的课题的成熟社会要具备什么素质，我们的理解还远远不足。
李资政对于对话会出现的无礼行为的包容，凸显了我们已经进入一个新的时代——政府努力尝试引导年轻人，为国家取得进一步的繁荣，同政府进行诚恳和有意义的沟通。
讽刺的是，虽然参与对话的年轻人尽全力尝试向国人展示通往政治和言论自由的途径，面对来势汹汹的问题的李资政，却以平和及泰然的政治家风范，让人们了解政治到底是什么。
我们现在应该反思我们过去几年所走的路，和它将把我们带往何处。如果我们认识到过去所忽略的，并采取积极的补救行动，那对话会可能让我们向前跨出一大步。
相反的，如果我们因此感到失望和沮丧，却依然固我，以为经济上的成就会带来社会和人民的进步，那我们可能会向后退一大步。
希望最近的这场对谈并不代表着我们未来要走的方向。因为其结果将是难以想象却又非常真实的——一个耀眼辉煌的繁荣国家，内部的衰败慢慢地腐蚀了亮丽的外表，最终只剩下一个空壳，一旦基础被打破，就会像叠成金字塔形的纸牌一样，彻底的倒下。
·作者是一名20多岁，受英文教育的高级学位学生。叶琦保译。 |
posted by Nobody @ 12:19 AM  |
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