Term 3 Wk 6 - Justice & Mercy

Justice & Mercy in our Present World --- Can they co-exist?

In my point of view, justice and mercy can co-exist.

Firstly, what is justice & mercy? O.o

Justice is

1. the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause.

2. rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason: to complain with justice.

3. the moral principle determining just conduct.

4. conformity to this principle, as manifested in conduct; just conduct, dealing, or treatment.

5. the administering of deserved punishment or reward.

 

Mercy is

1. compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence: Have mercy on the poor sinner.

2. the disposition to be compassionate or forbearing: an adversary wholly without mercy.

3. the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than invoke the death penalty.

4. an act of kindness, compassion, or favor: She has performed countless small mercies for her friends and neighbors.

5. something that gives evidence of divine favor; blessing: It was just a mercy we had our seat belts on when it happened.

 

So now, why can Justice & Mercy co-exist?

 

Many people say that when there is justice, there will be no mercy. This is because they misunderstand the word justice. They thought that justice means an eye-for-an-eye, a-tooth-for-a-tooth but these are forms of REVENGE, not justice. People also believe that when there is mercy, justice will be compromised as the offender will get lesser than what he deserved. Does that mean that one must suffer the same fate as the victim then is counted as justice is served?

 

Those people that harbour the mindset above are all wrong. They perceive the Justice & Mercy as very superficial. The purpose of justice is not to seek revenge, but to secure well being of the society as a whole and the purpose of mercy is to forgive. In a court, when the judge sentence the offender to a certain form of punishment, justice is served. However, if the victim is willing to show mercy and to forgive the offender, choosing rehabilitation over retribution, the offender might get a lighter sentence or even be accquitted. This does not mean that there is no justice. The court has already announced him guilty and sentence him to the punishment he deserve. However, is beacuse that the victim shows mercy that the offender gets a lighter sentence. In this way, there is both justice and mercy.

 

Mercy can be more effective in certain cases. The act of forgiving gives the offender an opportunity to change and turn over a new leaf, instead of condeming the offender immediately, without giving him a chance to reform and improve. When one shows mercy, one also gets mental peace and is able to let go.

 

However, there are some cases when mercy can't help to resolve the problem. Some people are basically unrepetant. In such cases, we can't afford to show mercy as this might give those people a chance to harm our society. Hence, we ought to deal him with the harshest punishment, to secure the well being of the people in our present world.

 

In conclusion, I conclude that justice & mercy can co-exist as long as the situation allows.

Term 3 Wk5 - Anti Semitism

I think Shakespear's intention of creating Shylock in The Merchant Of Vernice is to show the theme "anti-semitism". Anti-semitism refers to the discrimination against the Jews. Hence, in The Merchant Of Vernice, Shylock is a Jew and the story tallks about how the Christians treat the Jews.

First Example:
I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.

Explanation:
This is a speech made by Shylock. He reasons that a Jew is equipped with the same faculties as a Christian, and is therefore subject to feeling the same pains and comforts and emotions. This shows that the Christians do not treat the Jews as humans as they discriminate against them. This also shows the grievances that the Jews had so much that Shylock say that he will take revenge and will be even more ruthless than them.

More Examples:
1. " You called me a heathen, a dirty dog, and you spit on my Jewish clothes" Shylock said this to Antonio (Act One, Scene 3). This shows that Antonio insulted Shylock and spat on his clothes because its Jewish.
2. " He hath disgraced me and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies - and why? Because I’m a Jew" Shylock said this to Salerio (Act Three, Scene 1). This shows that Antonio insulted him, cost him half a million ducats, laughed at his losses, made fun of his earnings, humiliated his race, thwarted his deals, turned his friends against him and riled up his enemies just because he is a Jew.

Term 3 Wk 4 - Global Kids

Jim Rogers feel that it is no longer enough to raise children who are brave, curious, hardworking, and compassionate nor is it sufficient to steer them toward the right sports, the right tutors, the right internships, and thus engineer their admittance to their dream college. He is trying to prepare his children for the future, for the 21st century and he sees the future in Asia. He wants his children to master both languages, English & Chinese so that in future, they are able to achieve a comfort level with foreign people, foreign languages, and foreign lands, this argument goes, America’s competitive position in the world will continue to erode, and their future livelihood and that of subsequent generations will be in jeopardy. Jim Rogers sees an America in decline, and his solution has been to immerse himself in the countries and cultures that are ascendant.

I agree with Jim Roger's point of view. In the past, people always harbour a very narrow mindset. They insist that their children must do well in their studies, if not when they grow up, they will be useless. They wont be able to find a good job with a reasonable income to support their family. Parents nowadays manage to realise that holistic development is very important for their children too. They force their children to enroll in music, dance, sport courses so as to equip them with a skill which could be a bonus point when they wish to get into their dream school. However, these type of thinking are too shortsighted. The ability to LOOK FAR, thats what people are lacking of today and thats what Jim Roger is doing. He forsee that Asia will  be the emerging power in the world economics in the future. He feels that in order for his children to remain competitive, they have to be billingual. Therefore, he sends his children to Singapore for them to undergo billingual education, to learn CHINESE so that they are able to communicate with Asians. Sending children abroad to study will give them skills that can never be taught. It touches them in places that being in a familiar place doesn’t. It requires versatility, flexibility. It’s a different culture and it’s pressing on kids in different ways. Even though global kids are important, but we dont raise our kids so that they can be global kids. I mean is best if they can become global kids, however, if they aren't suitable to be, then so be it. It's ok. Life can still go on, just maybe not in your favour most of the times. Hence, I still feel that parents should raise their kids as global kids so that they can have a better and more comfortable life in the future.

Term 3 Wk 3 - Education

First of all, I agree with what Janelle Lee says to an extent. Our education system apparently places much emphasis on memorising, memorising and memorising. What teachers in school will tell you to do is to memorise, memorise and memorise. This way of studying is very much "dead". Is memorising facts all you need to attain an A1 in school examinations? Will this kind of 'top to down' method help us students to become a knowledgable person? The reason why china universities' standards are still lower than Harvard, Oxford, etc is because China universities uses the 'top to down' teaching method while Harvard, Oxford uses the inquiry and discussion method. This means that students in China universities only get to listen to what the teacher says and not express their own opinons and thoughts. Teachers teach and they listen. However, in Harvard, thats not the case. The teachers there encourages students to engage actively in discussions and express their own thoughts and ideas and the teachers comment on that and help them improve. This is much more effective than letting the students just memorising facts. In this manner, students get to acquire critical thinking skills and gain self confidence.

I also agree that moulding one's character is more important than getting good grades. In chinese there is a saying, "品学兼优“ which means good in both character and studies. Notice the word "品" comes first. This means that character is more important than studies. Schools teaching us moral values through textbooks. However, such moral values cant be taught through in a teacher to student way. It must be nutured within the student himself, through real life examples and practice. 

An ideal education is somewhat possible. The current education system in Singapore now is slowly moving its emphasis away from just memorising facts and start ecncouraging students to ask 'why". A baby step is all it takes. I believe that gradually, Singapore will be able to teach each and every student how to ask 'why' instead of just memorising the facts. Still, it takes time as Singapore's education system is used to just memorise memorise and memorise. Parents are also influenced and only teach their children to memorise. Hence, it will take some time to change the mindset that they harbour.

Religon of Water - Term 3 Wk 2

There is a difference between treating water as a human right and as a commodity. Treating water as a human right means to give water the freedom to choose where it wants to go. Example, if the water flows here, means is mine. Treating water as a commodity means that we can buy water when we need it. Thats what Singapore is doing now. Singapore has not enough water to supply the whole country, hence Singapore buys water from Malaysia. However, if water is treated as a human right, how can Singapore still buy water?

I also feel that water should be treated as a commodity. In this way, everyone can buy water. Water will be made affordable to everyone. If water got the right to choose, then are we going to die without water? I agree with Singapore's government approach on this matter. Indeed, this will ensure that water will be supplied to every single household. In addition, even if water is a commodity and we can buy water whenever we want, we still have to conserve water. Water is a precious resource. We should not abuse it. Even if currently we have enough water to meet our needs, it does not mean that we can waste water. Think about our future generations when we run out of water. Therefore, we should still play a part in helping to conserve water.

In your opinion, should the giving of weekly days off be legislated in Singapore?

I feel that the giving of weekly days off should not be legislated in Singapore. This is because I feel that the main reason maids come all the way here to Singapore is to work and earn money so they can remmit money back to their home country. They are not here as tourists, to enjoy themselves. However, this does not mean that the maids do not get a chance to rest at all. At home, when they are done with their housework or if their employers are not at home, they get to rest. They can eat some snacks, take a quick nap to regenerate their energy. If any employer do not allow his maid to rest, the maid can lodge a complaint against him. Measures are already taken to prevent maids from being abused and get enough rest. Hence, why should the giving of weekly days off be legislated in Singapore? If weekly days off are legislated and maids get a day off, where will they go? They arent familiar with Singapore places. Hence, they will make friends without knowing their true identity and follow them wherever they go. Their friends might be bad company and therefore a bad influence. This will lead the maid astray. Maids might even become the prey of swindlers as they are gullible and cant resist temptations. If the maids are entitled to off-day, they will go out shopping and play. What is their main motive to come to Singapore? It is to work and earn money! If they have off day, they will bound to spend money. After having interactions with the outside world, can the maids resist the temptations? How will the government deal with the problem of maids running away? How will employers deal with the problems of maids getting pregnant outside? There are many problems which will arise if the maids are allowed to go out and have fun by themselves as they dont have self discipline to control themselves. Therefore, I feel that the giving of weekly days off should not be legislated in Singapore. However, if the employers feel that their maids are matured enough to handle things happening outside, then of course giving their maids a day off to relieve stress, talk to friends with be an ideal choice.

Task 2 - HBL

<!-       1. Point of View

The poet is trying to tell us about the children from the darkness from a religious point of view. These children have been living in fear all their lives. They were taught how to fight at such a young age. This can be seen from “Who someone will teach to fight”. These children also are deprived of what ordinary children are learning at their age. This can be seen from “Chalk and blackboards will not be”. The poet believe that children should be going to study to learn and gain knowledge at such an age and not taught how to fight and go to war.  This can be seen from “Could we teach them how to read”. The poet also feels that war is not a suitable place for the children as it is too violent and scary. This can be seen from “Will their life and blood be poured” and “Back into the darkness”.

<!-       2.  Situation and Setting

The current situation is that these children are taught how to fight and being forced to go to war at such a young age. This can be seen from “Who someone will teach to fight”. They might lose their lives anytime. The poet portrays the war as a cruel place and children had no freedom of choice at all. This can be seem from “Or will a war consume them” and “Into which there shines no light”.

     3. Language/Diction

The poet uses repetition of the word “could we” in the third stanza to emphasize on the fact that the children were not given a chance to live a life what a normal child should have and how much he yearned to give these children a chance to lead a normal life. The poet also uses personification. In the fourth stanza, the poet mentioned that “Or will a war consume them”, trying to show how scary war is. The word “darkness” also refers to the children living in constant fear and having no freedom at all. The word “light” refers to the hope of leading a carefree life just like any normal child.

4. Personal Response

Personally, I pity those children. They are so young and they have to learn how to fight and go to war? This is ridiculous. Even if the country is facing a war, sending children to war should be prohibited. What can these children possibly do? They will be digging their own graves if they go to war. So what's the point? These children should be studying and playing, enjoying their childhood, not living in the darkness and fighting in wars. This will deprive the children of their childhood. If the child survives, he will grow up to become a violent person as he was forced to be violent and is living in violence since young. After reading this poem, I realized that we should take things for granted. Many children are not as fortunate as us.