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We must learn to be human again.

We have learnt through repetition and indoctrination how to function in the society our ancestors have created for us, without much of a clue why. The world is much more stagnant that we make it to be. Our technologies have advanced greatly, our definitions have changed, all that remains is our societies. They cannot keep up. They are left behind. The world is greatly divided. Not culturally, not humanely, but emotionally and tangibly.
What does it mean to be human? That’s up to the societies to decide.

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1. Suicide Being A Crime In Singapore

Chapter 16, Section 309 of the penal code attempted suicide to be decriminalised

Those found guilty of attempting to commit suicide is a seizable offence in Singapore, They can be fined and jailed up to a year

Eg. In 2012, The Straits Times reported that 18-year-old Kathleen Seah Pei Yi, was sentenced to eight weeks' jail after attempting suicide 13 times.

1. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/penal-code-review-committee-punishment-not-the-answer-for-people-attempting-suicide

1. Someone who attempts to commit suicide shldnt be categorised as a criminal but should be given social support and counselling.Treating people as criminals worsens their distress, rather than resolving the underlying difficulties that lead to suicide attempts

2. We should help those in need and not, discriminate them for their differences.

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GENDER EQUALITY – Has Feminism Done More Harm Than Help in Achieving Gender Equality?

https://www.vox.com/2018/4/5/17157240/me-too-movement-sexual-harassment-aziz-ansari-accusation

I feel that feminism has done more harm than help in achieving gender equality because of how irresponsibly the platform has been used. The MeToo movement for example, although it is supposed to be a movement that allows victims of sexual harassment to stand up for themselves and share their stories, it has also become a movement that targets men (usually) and in the process, instills fear of false accusations towards men which causes audiences to view them as lesser than women. As seen, in the article above women, especially mothers expressed their concerns of their loved ones who are men to be wrongfully accused. This defeats the purpose of gender equality and hence, when feminism is used irresponsibly it does more harm in achieving gender equality.

To achieve gender equality, through feminism, we always have to be wary of the consequences of our actions and use the mediums more responsibly, considering every party involved.

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Adopted Children finding their biological parents

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/magazine/i-found-my-biological-parents-and-wish-i-hadnt.html

https://www.todaysparent.com/family/parenting/why-adopted-kids-need-to-know-where-they-came-from/

It seems very unlikely that your friend is adopted and does not know his/ her biological parents. There are some foster parents who do not want their adopted kids to find their biological parents. However, I believe that they should be given the opportunity to find their roots.

Themes: family and blood ties

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Discrimination in Singapore

https://www.internations.org/singapore-expats/guide/29460-safety-security/discrimination-in-singapore-16090

Discrimination is quite evident in Singapore, and it comes in many forms. Racial discrimination, religious discrimination, discrimination against your sexual orientation, and even discrimination against education levels. There are so many class divides in Singapore, and it makes people feel excluded, unwanted even, for being the way they are. It causes conflicts and tension between the different classes. And for a country that treasures harmony so much, why does this divide even exist?

I believe that everyone should be treated equally, no matter their roots and beliefs.

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https://borgenproject.org/top-10-facts-about-poverty-in-singapore/

I feel that poverty in Singapore is still a very real issue which not many people care about enough to make a difference. There is still no clear poverty line established and the income gap between the rich and the poor is still widening every day. There are also stereotypes about poor people, which should not be present in the first place.

Poverty is an issue that is undermined in Singapore, not enough people care about this issue enough for action to be taken.

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Employment

Private booking apps are causing taxi drivers to lose their jobs.

More help should be given to people whose jobs have been taken over by new innovations/inventions.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/commuters-upbeat-but-is-it-downhill-for-taxicabs

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The Repeal of 377A

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/section-377a-unlike-courts-parliament-considers-public-views

As much as repealing 377A might be the progressive and liberal route Singapore should take, we must consider what is truly *progressive* for a country as conservative as Singapore. With an ever increasing ageing population and a declining birth rate, family ties are more important to ensure the nation's future population.

Refined: I don’t think 377A should be repealed. It’s not a matter of accepting the LGBT community, but considering what is the greater good for society.

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1. The class divide in Singapore

2. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-study-finds-class-divide-in-singapore and https://mothership.sg/2018/10/singaporeans-empathise-normal-tech-student/

3. I think it is undeniable that the class divide exists. I was from a neighbourhood school in secondary school and i was in the express stream. I had opportunities to interact with my normal (academic) and (technical) friends in school through school events and CCA. I even got along with my NA/ NT friends quite well, however, I did feel the difference between the two groups in school since a lot of school activities were catered purely for express students or just normal acad/tech students so we didnt get to have that kind of bonding experience and i wish everything was more equal so we could make friends :’)

4. equal opportunities should be given to students of all streams to bridge the class divide (e.g. same PE classes/ have events together)

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1.    Double standards against males

2.    https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/21/entertainment/rose-mcgowan-asia-argento/index.html

3.    As we push for equality for women, we cannot allow it to be taken advantage of and ignore men when they face the same / similar problems. Even though society wants to giving women equal footing to men, it still expects men to suck it up when faced with the same issues, and forgot .this when they try to come out with their own stories. Sometimes, they might even defend the female perpetrator. It would be hypocritical to allow this and it will very well damage the goals of feminism. It certainly won't attract the right to support feminism, if the influencers don't practise what they preach. Aren’t male victims people too, just like the women affected?

4.    We should push for equality for both sexes on all fronts, and not be hypocritical and disregard the victims of any issue simply because they are male or female.

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Class Divide in Singapore schools

[CNA Documentary Shows That The Class Divide Is Real In Singapore](https://mustsharenews.com/school-class-divide/)

[Commentary: The Government needs to do more to bridge the class divide, but so do we - Channel NewsAsia](https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/commentary-the-government-bridge-social-class-divide-singapore-9854588)

I feel that there shouldn’t be such a massive social class divide in schools especially at a time when students are still pliable and growing. Such cases can deeply impact a youth’s perception of the world and themselves negatively.

Theme:
Unifying as one society on equal grounds is more fulfilling than being divided.

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REPEAL OF 377A

2.https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/ready4repeal-section-377a-townhall-anti-gay-law-10773704

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/pergas-rejects-repeal-of-section-377a-says-it-can-cause-worrying-implications

3. I strongly support the repeal of 377A in Singapore. I think that those who are against the repeal do have their valid points, e.g worrying about Singapore’s future population growth. But there are other ways to maintain Singapore’s population growth, like surrogacy etc. People who are against normalising same sex marriage often come from traditional families or religious backgrounds. However, people need to understand that loving someone of the same sex is not wrong, nor isit abnormal. Everyone has equal rights to love whoever they want to love. By discouraging against same sex marriage, it’s dividing us and telling our children and family members that we cannot be who we want to be, and we need to conform to what society wants of us. It’s saying that love isn’t free, and we don’t actually have freedom to love the people we want to love. People are afraid of the consequences, but they don’t realise that their fear of people who are “different” will only encourage them to be bolder and fight for what they want. I don’t think it’s the right message to send across to our future generations, nor the correct moral values. People need to understand that their faith is just solely theirs, what they believe in might not be what others believe in. Stop imposing your faith onto other people’s lives and learn to accept others for who they are – start to practice what you preach.

4. I believe that everyone should have the freedom to love and the rights to lead whichever kind of life they want. We should learn to embrace the differences of others and not let it divide us.

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Wastage in Singapore

http://www.asiaone.com/business/singapore-households-throw-away-s200m-worth-of-food-and-beverage-a-year-according-to

Wastage in SG is something that isn’t talked about enough and should be addressed. There are a lot of ways that Singaporeans exhibit wasteful behaviour, from over-ordering food, to throwing out items like phones that are still usable, to getting rid of clothes that are out of style.

Theme - Ungratefulness and ignorance

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The Lack of Education for children.

I think that in many 2ndand 3rdworld countries where education is less prided upon only the rich are able to receive and education whereas the poor are unable to receive one, and immediately have the belief that they are born to be laborers and blue collar workers. Even in larger such as Malaysia, many people do not believe in the need to receive an education where they can continue their livelihoods with their skillsets rather than their intellect. The lack of education is one of the main causes of poverty – another issue which ties in with discrimination of different social classes.

I believe that the lack of education provided for children should be addressed for a better future and to advance globally. No one is equal to another, but there disparity between children due to their different social classes, despite not being able to choose their birthright. I think that education is something that should be available to everyone, and children whom are innocent. For a group of humans considered innocent, they're not treated as being innocent in this world state. zz

Education empowers people, and enables us to be less ignorant of the world around us. Yet, not everyone has access to it.

https://www.humanium.org/en/right-to-education/

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1. YOUTUBERS / MENTAL HEALTH

2. https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/22/18009010/youtuber-marzia-bisognin-quits-mental-health-youtube

3. I think that audiences need to understand the struggles Youtubers go through and stop putting them on a pedestal or treat them as a content making machine. They can be very tough on them to constantly come up with new content. Because of this, most Youtubers struggle with mental health issues from the stress and in this day and age when most people go onto Youtube, craving for more content. Despite them doing it for a living, they should be cut some slack especially since they have started it as a hobby and now suddenly, it becomes a job. Not to mention, how young a few of them are.

4. I believe that audiences should be more understanding towards Youtubers and to support their content no matter how it takes for them to create content.

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Corporal Punishment in Schools

[https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/when-caning-can-turn-into-outright-child-abuse]

I believe that corporal punishment should be abolished in schools because they do more harm than good. Many studies have proved this and it’s time we move on. It has a negative effect on children, breeds aggression and is a misuse of power/authority.  Discipline can be taught in other ways that won't have a negative effect on children.

Spare the rod, save a childhood.

Corporal punishment does not instil discipline, it is degrading and humiliating.

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1) Social Issue: Sweatshops

2) https://waronwant.org/sweatshops-bangladesh

3) Sweatshops should be closed down and proper factories with safe and clean working environments should be opened up for the workers. The workers should also get paid fairly for their jobs rather than the minimum wage only - or lesser.

4)More and more sweatshops are built to accommodate the exponential rise in consumerism. Even though there has been laws implemented to put a stop to it, there has been very little improvements in the lives of the workers working in sweatshops.

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1) lgbt issue in singapore - it is still not being accepted (377a)
2) https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/ready4repeal-section-377a-townhall-anti-gay-law-10773704
3) I feel that it should be repealed as society is progressing and we have to be more accepting to those who are diff from us. it is not their choice to be what they are, it is who they are, they were born like this and sexuality should not be a thing that people should be discriminated on. Judge people by character, everyone deserves equal rights to love. LGBT community should be more openly accepted by Singaporeans. They should have the freedom to love and be married, like heterosexual humans.
4) All humans deserve equal rights. Nobody should be discriminated, everyone should be judged by character.

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- Transgender Rights
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/22/wontbeerased-reports-us-trans-policy-shift-spark-protests
- The Trump Administration should stop taking away everyone’s rights. First of all, it’s scientifically proven that gender has a spectrum… Secondly, can the screwed up government leave them alone? They just want to be themselves, they want to feel comfortable in their own skin. What’s wrong with that? Imagine forcibly removing people’s identities—oh wait I forgot the whites have a lot of experience with that. America truly is going back in time.
- No one should have their identity erased.

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CHILD MARRIAGE – Should Child Marriage be banned?

11 and Married: Malaysia Spars Over and Age-Old Practice

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/29/world/asia/malaysia-child-marriage.html

3. I strongly believe Child Marriage should be banned. I know how common it is in the past for someone to get married as young as 15 years-old, however being married to a MIDDLE AGED man at 11 is outrageous. The young girl has a lot to live for and a lot to learn than to be tied down to a man. She is TOO YOUNG to be taking care of a fully-grown man. She is a child. This girl wouldn’t have the freedom she deserves. The possibility of being used as a sexual object or being sexually abused is high. What is the reason for this man to marry such a young woman and think it is acceptable? Why couldn’t he find a woman his age or a few years younger? Malaysia should stop and claim it to be an age-old practice as an excuse to satisfy their hormones.  Child marriage is not out of love but is an excuse to get out of slavery, abuse, or to support the family, but at times, their put in a worse situation when their married. A child needs her parent not a husband.

4. Child marriage is not sweet or love, it is paedophilia and abuse.

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Social Issue: mental health

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/many-still-steer-clear-of-people-with-mental-illness-poll

There’s insufficient people properly educated about mental illnesses, instead the uneducated shun and assume the conditions and symptoms. And today there is a rising number of people with mental illness especially within the elderly and youths.

Theme: The misunderstanding and societal stigma of the mentally ill

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1. The differences in the education capabilities of those from the same age group

2.  https://youtu.be/SctXXCRHt8Q

3. I believe that those of higher education capabilities should not express hate or discrimination towards those with lower education capabilities. I believe that more emphasise should be placed on other skills and interests which are unique to each individual, regardless of education capabilities.

4. Along with Education, Skills and Values should be given equal importance to as well.

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anti-lgbtq sentiment in singapore

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/ready4repeal-section-377a-townhall-anti-gay-law-10773704

it should not be up to the government to criminalise ‘deviant’ forms of love. People should be free to love whoever they want

people should have the right to love freely without fear of being punished for their choice.

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Sexual assault

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/29-year-old-man-arrested-for-public-nuisance-after-woman-found-him-taking

In light of recent events (#metoo) I feel that women shouldn't be afraid to speak up about sexual assault or things that make them feel uncomfortable. Additionally, people who are aware of these injustices should be willing to lend a helping hand or listening ear.

Don't be afraid to speak up.