as i sit here in my cosy apartment trying to write my mid-term paper on regionalism in central eurasia, my thoughts endlessly drift beyond my laptop keyboard and my notes that have created a periphery around me.
the problems of climate change, energy diversification and security have plagued my mind (and hopefully, yours) constantly. having lived in two ang moh countries which are conscientious about the 3R's (reduce, reuse and recycle), it makes one want to improve the situation back home. okok, singaporen weather isn't the best to be cycling around in, but little effort has been put in to even separate glass and paper from trash; batteries to be disposed off in a different manner.
firstly, as idealistic as it could sound, where's our green party? wait wait, could we even have a green party? having turned a blind eye towards local politics for far too long, perhaps our (up and coming) generation should look into this. people need to be pro-active.
sometimes, i doubt the the fabric of our nation to come together not only in times of complaint(s) or joy, but the ability to self-regulate our own society seems somewhat unreachable at this point in time. sure, we have organisations and (a) union, and are forced to join a sport/group/activity as part of our character-building in schools; but we lack a certain quality that makes up a democracy.
civil society. emerging from soviet iron rule, the lack of a concrete national identity in central eurasian (as well as eastern european) states has led to much tension and distrust in their area and the failure of regionalism. US foreign policy backs regime change (as seen in Iraq and Afghanistan) whereas EU's soft approach by not needing democracy in order to engage with a state. somehow these two approaches are apparent in our local society: top-down order, coupled with reorganisation according to the tip of the pyramid.
therein lies the problem to create social trust, social capital and ultimately, a civil society.
all this from thinking about energy consumption.
the problems of climate change, energy diversification and security have plagued my mind (and hopefully, yours) constantly. having lived in two ang moh countries which are conscientious about the 3R's (reduce, reuse and recycle), it makes one want to improve the situation back home. okok, singaporen weather isn't the best to be cycling around in, but little effort has been put in to even separate glass and paper from trash; batteries to be disposed off in a different manner.
firstly, as idealistic as it could sound, where's our green party? wait wait, could we even have a green party? having turned a blind eye towards local politics for far too long, perhaps our (up and coming) generation should look into this. people need to be pro-active.
sometimes, i doubt the the fabric of our nation to come together not only in times of complaint(s) or joy, but the ability to self-regulate our own society seems somewhat unreachable at this point in time. sure, we have organisations and (a) union, and are forced to join a sport/group/activity as part of our character-building in schools; but we lack a certain quality that makes up a democracy.
civil society. emerging from soviet iron rule, the lack of a concrete national identity in central eurasian (as well as eastern european) states has led to much tension and distrust in their area and the failure of regionalism. US foreign policy backs regime change (as seen in Iraq and Afghanistan) whereas EU's soft approach by not needing democracy in order to engage with a state. somehow these two approaches are apparent in our local society: top-down order, coupled with reorganisation according to the tip of the pyramid.
therein lies the problem to create social trust, social capital and ultimately, a civil society.
all this from thinking about energy consumption.
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