Thoughts

Today, I am exposed to a lot of information and views. Of these, the most significant was that of a NSF 2 LT posting a pic of 2-3 men dressed in Army uniform having bad bearing. There were a lot of uproar when he posted that, some even went to the extent of perosonal attack, some applauded him for his "bravery". Actually, I think for those who disagreed with him is is not totally Beng or unwise. Being a lowly NSF before, I know how garung and impractical some NSF officers can be. Still, I think once we don the army uniform, it is important to ensure we are dressed properly as you wouldn't dressed slopily if you are in your civilian clothes. Even if you hate army so much, you still need to respect yourself , now because of that, the three men are being 'caught' and being discussed knowingly and unknowingly.

I can understand why the opposers are so outraged, they undergo so much suffering and unfairness, yet they see such a comment by someone who treats his NS life with pride. They wll naturally be angry that they are not as lucky so they might feel that the 2LT is being cocky and unrealistic. Being in the service vocation for 2 years plus, I am lucky so I cannot really undestand the agony of the combatants in the operations units. To them, they suffered for 2 years for nothing, lowly paid and being treated like shit by the minority black sheeps in the organisation. There are no right or wrong in the issue, what I think is that in the first place, the officer should not post the picture as it contributes to some kind of voyeurism. He can mention about this issue, and not linked the incident to particular group of people or organisation. I agreed that we should respect the uniform as it also mean respecting oursleves. For those who say that it is alright to be sloppily dressed , I feel that they should ask would they dare to dress like this before even shooting the officer.

Indeed, the officer is only myopic, there is no need to use vulgarities and personal attacks. They could express it more subtlely. Some of the comments are really too bias, saying things like he should know where he stands and scolding him as being brainless. He must have earned his rank, and reflecting in this issue does not render him as brainless, he is myopia but not brainless, the thing he should not have done is to post the pic. It makes him a bit arrogant and naive, not brainless though. Both parties are wrong to some extent. Of course I can be a neutral party as neither am I an officer nor a combatant so I can be more focused, not too biased.

I focus more on respect on oneself and to be more fair rather than being bias and unrealistic. Next thing is about the gays issue, well, as long as they do not harm us, it is okay. It is weird and frustrating at times when you see one but they are humans too, imagine yourslef in their shoes, how would you feel if you are obstracized? It is their choice though they are abnormal, they are harmless. It is those that offer to have sex with you that makes you scared of them. One thing to clarfiy though is not most effeminate guys are gay, I am an effeminate guy but I do not have sexual urges with guys. There are many tyoes of people in this wold, I am one weird kind of person. There are those who think that downgarding is their ultuimate goal in NS life, they got it wrong. Being a clerk does not guarantee a bed of roses, they are unreasonable superiors at times and the workload can be tormenting at times. At the same time, you have to work with weirdos at times, it is physically relaxing but mentally stressed.

In the combatant life, it is usually as a group, but being a training clerk makes you be the few who stayed back for nothing at times. Is our NS really that negative and redundant? Of course, I am the majority of the lot who looks forward to ORD and now I ORD liao, with pleasant and bad memories but that is a part of me, like it or not, 2 years of your life are gone and it is just 2 years and then you are a civillain. I can understand there are really cocky NSF officers who treat not only combatants but also clerks and storeman with disrespect, that is why the opposers are so angry. Perhaps he is not one of them, you cannot judge a person by just one blog he posted, do they know him well?

I guess much as we hate to admit it, NS life is a period of time wasted to suffer, Singaopre will never go into war, we will always be this peaceful, and those who make it to being a clerk are much luckier. if everyone thinks this way, what will happen to our country in times of war. Fortunatley or unfortunatelt, there are people who really cherish the 2 years and see the real meaning behind their NS life. I guess if the one who post the blog was a RSM in a unit, there wouldn't be such a great amount of uproar. He is too young to make any comments on the uniform issues, as in civillain life, he has not met many people, at the age of 19, at most 21, what can he experience unless he is really unfortunate.

Another issues is about Undergrads doing essays for people in return for money, though I am not in the local U (much as I wanted to), I feel that they should not feel too poud about it. For those who pay them to do it for them, good luck to them , see whether they can find people to do it for them in the exams. I know I am prejudiced against those who seek easy ways to gain success in academic areas, but I seriously feel that since you are given a chance to study, somemore a chance to be in such a high level of institution, you should cherish the chance. There are many people who yearn to get in but cannot get in.

Be it my family upbringing or own discretion, I will never do this unless I am a really changed person of under dire straits, we should always remeber that in any learning, there is no short cut, only hands on and hardwork can guarantee you success. In fact, the people involved has committed plagiarism that is equivalent to the theft of intellectual property, like piracy, it is not something to be proud of nor to be widely publicised. I believe that there is no task that is so difficult that you have to ask someone to do on your behalf. Money is not everything, this time round, you pay people to do things for you, next thing are you paying someone to do a proposal for you for instance and claim that it is yours. I know there are people out there who do this, and it is really common. Once we reflect on this, we will feel that we have indeed breached the rules and live in guilt. Other people might think that I am exaggerating but for me, it is a totally no for people to do things for me for money, they can help me but not do it for me. I dare not claim that it is mine and will not as my conscience tell me that I have done soemthing wrong.

I might never experience the agony when you are forced to write an essay, and you are at wits end. There are always professors and friends that can help you. It is better getting a low grade than to get a high grade for an essay that is not written by you. My 2 brothers have never helped or asked people to do their work for them in their U life. Partly is because they are really intelligent, unlike me, they are also taught not to cheat. Whatever happened to the morals and integrity humans have? I know I am really prejudiced and myopic just like the 2LT earlier with respects to this issue but it is so sad that there are people who seek the easy way out to gain success. Alright, I end here now.