Dear The Real Singapore,
“The Competition is very fierce is very fierce in Singapore, if you don’t keep up you will be left to rot and die”
“Your competitors are studying when you are sleeping, study at least 6 hours a day”
“You will only get C5/C6, you won’t be able to go anywhere”
My name is Ariffin, I’ll be sitting for my O Levels this year and this are some of the things that I have been hearing very often from my teachers in the past couple of months.
Sometimes I wonder if I am the only one who is awake. The unfortunate truth is that as I look around my classroom most people are still fast asleep. I am not being literal here.
This whole Darwinian Dog-Eats-Dog Mentality has clearly been instilled in these youths.. To the extent that when test scores are flashed on the screen, students look at the scores of others instead of their own. And these competition that is clearly evident is anything but friendly, although on the surface it might seem otherwise.
I used to be one of them too, I used to be Top 5 in Express from Secondary 1 – Secondary 3. Then at the end of last year, I was awakened to the truth. I have tried to study hard since then and ignore whatever I had learnt but I guess things don’t work that way. I can’t lie to myself, ignorance is not bliss. This quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes sums up what I felt during that period of time.. Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.
Well you may ask, what exactly do I mean by ‘being awakened to the truth?’ I like the fact that you’re curious and you’re questioning. Allow me to explain.
Many students would simply fend off the question “What if everything you were taught was wrong?” They aren’t even willing to consider the possibility of that suggestion being true. Well. I don’t blame them. Their cognitive dissonance is kicking in. You see, we have been conditioned since young to think and behave in a certain manner. All of us. We have been mentally conditioned to become slaves of the elite. We may not be able to see the chains on our hands, but as far as the elite, the 1% are concerned, we are indeed slaves, simply a number. And what is the best way to create these slaves? The Education System.
I honestly feel disgusted when I look at my Social Studies and History Textbooks. These textbooks are full of lies and blatant Propaganda. From Lee Kuan Yew’s “greatness” to Gorbachev’s “failure”, it’s all lies and it is all aimed to make you think in a certain way. It’s no wonder that Social Studies is a compulsory subject in Secondary School. People have learnt not to trust Wikipedia to a large extent due to the fact that anyone can edit the information there. Well, it’s about time we learn that the Government can control what is in our textbooks too. So why should we trust it 100%? Just because it’s there? I don’t think so.
Not only did I realize the agenda of what is in our textbooks, but I also realize the truth about what is not in them. For example, in my four years of Science in Secondary School (I take 3 Pure Sciences) I have never came across the name of a man that I believe had single-handedly lit up the world. Yes, I am talking about Nikola Tesla. I bet most Secondary School students do not know him but every time we switch on a light in our rooms, we are able to do so due to his Alternating Current. He also founded the Radio, X-Ray, Neon Lamps, just to name a few. And don’t get me started on the brilliance of the Tesla Coil, a device capable of providing free energy to the planet from renewable sources of energy. This device posed a threat to the elite as they couldn’t profit from energy anymore so JP Morgan teamed up with Thomas Edision to stop Tesla. And I’m sure all secondary school students know who Edison was.
I just don’t get it. In this current age where the CEO of Wendy’s and Apple are school drop outs while taxi drivers are holding degrees. Does academic success translate into success in life? I beg to differ. I hate it when I see teachers scold my classmates and ask them questions like “Do you want to go to ITE?” They even say things like “If you fail your O Levels, you will have no future.”
Albert Einstein once said that “Everyone is a genius but if you judge a fish by it’s ability to climb a tree, you will spend your whole life thinking it is stupid.” I’m afraid that is what our current education system is doing.
How do we change this? No, we don’t need a revolution like Egypt. All we need is to use the greatest tool that lies in between our ears. Start Thinking, Singapore.
The Government is afraid of people who think and question everything. They don’t want people to think too much, as when we start questioning we will be led closer and closer to the truth. And my friends, the truth will piss you off at first but it will set you free. And the best place to start this habit of thinking is from young.
At first, when I was exposed to all these knowledge, I considered it a curse. I didn’t understand why I had to know all this at this age. I tried ignoring it, but ignorance is a great evil. I soon realized that everything happens for a reason and the reason I was awakened is so that I can awaken others too. But all I can do is show you the door, you have to be the one that walks through it.
I am a firm believer in the power of education but our current education system is more interested in indoctrination rather than education. They keep students busy memorizing chunks of information that is false or that most will not use as a distraction from them really analysing what is going on in the world around them. Television, Games, Movies, they all serve this same cause too. They distract, deceive and destroy.
Really, all you have to do is start questioning.
Why is Cannabis illegal although it is has not killed anyone and is proven to cure cancer?
Why did we not give our former President Ong Teng Cheong a state funeral?
Why did our former President Devan Nair live in Self Exile?
Why are Singaporean Kids being sent to tuition from a young age?
Start questioning and you’ll begin to see things in a different light.
For me, I believe the most important thing in life is happiness. Well you may say I don’t understand the real world, I say you don’t understand life. Most of my friends choose their Post Secondary Education not based on what they were passionate about but based on what would give them the best salary. Well maybe they are being practical, but it truly saddens me when I see someone give up their hopes and dreams and conform to society. I don’t think it is worth it. As the recent survey results has shown, Singapore is one of the least if not the least happiest nation in the world, yet we still have Ministers who are paid millions to smile on behalf of us to put on a good image to the rest of the world.
At the end of the day, you might ask me, so what if I know all this? I can’t do shit about it. Well, if you think you’re too small to make a difference, try spending one night with a mosquito.
Do not fear them, do not fear the truth. Fear is a mental illusion, a prison that we have got to break free from. They feed on your fear and your ignorance. Stop fueling them.
All around the world people are waking up, but most of Singapore is still asleep. But fret not, the signs are very positive. With Pages like The Real Singapore, DemonCratic Singapore, Singapore Cannabis Awareness sprouting up, along with recent protests on the White Paper and other issues, the government is starting to sweat. Behind our government’s camera friendly smiles is panic. Remember, whenever they give you something, do not be blinded by the benefits because they have a hidden agena. We need to show them that we are not the Singapore that was once under the iron fist of Dictator Lee, you can’t buy us over with goodies and cheap talk anymore. Fellow Singaporeans, start judging Politicians by their actions and not by their words.
I am doing my own part to wake my fellow Singaporeans up too, I have recently created a Facebook Page called Wake Up, Singapore to reach out to more people and spread the truth.
If Singapore is going to change, I have no doubt that our generation is the one that is going to be the catalysts of that change.
Thank you for reading this, it means a lot to me. I hope that you will start thinking for yourself.
“You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope one day you’ll join us and the world will live as one.” – John Lennon
Ariffin
TRS Junior Writer
Written by pipspiper
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