We have all been sucked and suckered into believing in the honour of our men dying for a larger cause - the courage and nobility and all, the whole macho sacrifice for a symbol that is a flag and for a people consisting many persons whom one may have never met before.
Additionally, we are steeped into believing that life consisted of rigid phases, every one of which marking a rites of passage to the next phase. For men, we see national service as a transition to their manhood, a very much coveted masculine position. If a boy complains, it would not be considered manly. The overall message delivered to and internalised by all Singaporean sons is "Be a man!", and this message effectively legitimises every decision, position, action and atrocity of the establishment.
The message is not a motivation for men to serve the nation, but a fear most of them harbour. Their mind and consciousness have filled and threatened them with the fear of ridicule, social disapproval and stigmatism. This disciplines their behaviour that is oriented towards the need of acting on behalf of the nation.
In this time of age, SAF and the Ministry of Defence are faced with many challenges they can do without. Thanks to our improved educational standards and the prevalence of media technologies, people are smarter. The hunger to know is greater now than before. Moreover, people know they have some rights they could exercise when aggrieved. Training-related deaths or deaths in camps and training grounds can now no longer be covered up.
At most, the authorities could impose legal sanctions and gag orders, implement more clauses, to do what it does probably most of the time: Covering one's behind.
There is no incentive in this society to do good, or "better than enough". There are only punishments and negative sanctions for doing less than enough. This is a punishment-punishment system, and not a reward-punishment system, where one is punished for doing something "wrong", but not rewarded for doing something "right".
The reason why Singaporeans are inclined to feel this way rather than feel a strong sense of belonging is because they have little say in how things are to be run in this tiny island-state. The growing apathy is both a welcome and at the same time a concern for our leaders. On the one hand, ordinary Singaporeans will not give two hoots and stand in their way. On the other hand, the same ordinary Singaporeans have to be bribed and threatened into conformity and action.
And for men who really love this country and serve as its soldiers, what has the government done to them? There is no war, yet they have died. Can peace be obtained if training-related deaths and suicides have reached a significant level?
I believe that it is time Singapore invested more in love than in instilling fear.
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4 comments:
I disagree with your assumption that men go through national service for fear of getting ridiculed by society. First and foremost, the government doesn't coax us into protecting the nation. And if we think logically, we do not have a choice, we are a small country, if we don't protect it, no one will.
I'm equally sad for those who have died while serving the nation. Blaming the army cannot bring them back, no one wants things to turn out like this. The army regards training safety as its top priority while ensuring that the most realistic training can be carried out. There are certainly instances when health related deaths do occur in the midst of training but I believe that the way to honor them is to give them the due respect for Dying for the Nation. They might be gone but their fighting spirit lives on.
National Service. At first, I didn't think very much for it. After my peers joined the forces, it made me have more admiration for them. My guy friends often joke about without them, we won't be able to sleep soundly at night. Which is true.
As compared to Malaysia, Singapore's super safe. Even with reference to NS. Malaysia's NS system involves females as well. And its a 3 month course. The course structure is not even 1% of our local NS.
For anyone to die is definitely saddening. I agree with Mark that blaming goes no where. To think about it, the US Marine Seals do experience such deaths too. Just that the CIA just covers it up really well.
Seriously, anyone can die at any moment. I believe that government "brags" so much about how safe NS is, that when a mishap happens, that trust and promise is immediately questioned.
Men shouldn't be afraid of NS. Shit happens. I personally disagree with NS is that its a waste of time for the guys. But then again, the world was never said to be fair.
"And for men who really love this country and serve as its soldiers, what has the government done to them? There is no war, yet they have died. Can peace be obtained if training-related deaths and suicides have reached a significant level?"
Actually, from experience, many soldiers would readily not serve NS, or be an NSF. It is not fair to say that those died loved their country, or vice versa for that matter. It is just a job, something they have to do. We are a conscript army after all.
As for the peace, it can never be obtained as long as there are deaths. All he same, it also doesnt mean that a couple of deaths have shattered the peace. The SAF needs to achieve in training what western countries achieve in experience; ie: WAR.
The only reason there even is an uproar is because Spore's defence force is not battle tested. Not that it reflects on their ability or capability. It's just to point out that if we were involved in regular wars; actual deaths in battle would also probably be better received by the public.
There are so many deaths of motorcyclists on the road; are there parents and the public complaining? Anyone suggesting that motorbikes be banned? It would definitely save more lives that National Service.
Back in those days when I was just a 19 yo fresh out from poly and waiting to enter the army, I dread the time when it came to entering the army as I thought it was simply a waste of my time when that 2 year plus could be put to better use such as getting my degree, etc.
There was this particular phrase that one of my senior officers mentioned as to why army training is important and how crucial it is for us a small country. He said, ' In times of an impending war, its not about protecting the whole country but ensuring the safety of the ones that you love'. That struck me on a personal note as to the horrific events that could ensue as a result of war.
Also, we are a small country but as small as we are we are but insignificant. As such, it is imperative to have our own fighting force to act as deterrence to any country who might be thinking of claiming us as their own.
Thus the need for realistic training and in training naturally there are apparent risks. I am sure the army has got its safety measures in places to prevent that from happening. But then again, one can never be too sure and we have got to understand that. Any death is definitely saddening.
There will be more deaths happening for sure and we can only hope that with more advance training methods and enhanced safety efforts, it will not be that frequent
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