Free speech, blogging, the new media, and comments

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

In the short time that I've been on God's good earth, I've learnt one or two things. Not many, just one or two.

One, my mother taught me. Make sure that for everything you do and say, you are able to face the mirror in the morning and honestly say, "I did my best."

Two, actually flows on from one, be honest, but be compassionate. That, Allan taught me.

These two things rule my life, be it in my personal relationship with Allan or with my business and employees, or with my friends and family.

I must admit, that I don't succeed all the time. But it's the failure that has reminded me to constantly strive. Not the successes. All this in my more rational and lucid moments of course.

The newspapers today had a story about bloggers and how they're forming an association with the backing of the National Union of Journalists.

Then, I read in unkaleong's blog, a very interesting entry on free speech. And then, I read what prompted it. Read the comments on that entry.

Together, they prompted this entry.

To summarise, the comments were a diatribe on our current system of racial governance and how the non-malays got the short end of the stick. And I believe one person who emigrated (purportedly) was trumpeting how the grass is truly greener on the "other side."

The invective spouting from those comments are nothing new. Most of us know the limitations of our system and we also know the flawed (my opinion) logic, that created that system. However, while not wishing to appear like an apologist for our present system, IMHO, we need to stand by our opinions whenever possible.

How do you do that?

Very simply, by appending your name to your opinion. If you choose to proffer an opinion on how things are run or should be run or done, then attach a name and a contact. Anonymity is not an option. You have been given an opportunity through SOMEONE ELSE'S BLOG (I found it reprehensible that they don't even want to make their profiles clickable so that there is an opportunity to refute them in private) to make your opinion known. At least have the balls to say who you are, where you're from, and how you can be reached, so that if people disagree with you, they can tell you!

Or is your opinion so fragile that it won't stand up to scrutiny or debate?

Belief is a powerful thing. Belief MAKES our reality. What we think and what we do and who we are as people and as loving family members and as partners and as business owners et al, is all predicated on how we CHOOSE to think.

If you feel that a glass of water is half full, it is. If you choose to believe that a glass of water is half empty, it also is true.

Furthermore, if you choose you have been hard done by, you will be. And so on.

I've lived in the UK and the US for 15 of my formative years from the time I was 12 going on 13. I returned home when I was 28 thinking that the West was the bees knees and that everything there was somehow better or more "developed."

It's not.

They have their issues and problems, just like we do. They have their everyday challenges in life like we do.

As far as I'm concerned, Allan and I know one thing. We've chosen to live in this country and by God I'm not going to live my life like some bitter, disillusioned, sad person who doesn't even take responsibility for what they say.

It's not that things couldn't be done better. But let me tell you firsthand, that that is true the world over. And if you choose to believe that the grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side, that, for you, will also be true.

Having said that, I also did a search for certain phrases in the comments. Using Google, I inserted a phrase in quotes in the search box and the EXACT same phrase came up on another blog. I did the same with another phrase from another similar comment and the same thing happened.

What you should choose to do, in case you get hit by people like that is up to you. But I for one am going to institute a rule which in all likelihood is going to get me branded as a Mini Napoleon. I will delete comments of a contentious nature IF you don't have a clickable profile which will lead to some contact information OR a blog of your own. I will ALSO delete comments which I consider to be spam. I will do what I did above to verify.

My blog is more a journal of a life and I certainly don't want to get myself OR my readers (limited though they may be) down over something that I do not believe THIS blog is equipped to handle. I may start another blog airing my opinions over other issues, but that is in the future and yet to be determined.