Charter for Compassion

As extracted from here.


Charter for Compassion

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others - even our enemies - is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings, even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

November 12th 2009 -- Charter for Compassion

Charter for Compassion

"Remember, remember the 5th of November"

"Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologise for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration - whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone's death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday - I thought we could mark this November the fifth, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.

There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?

Cruelty and injustice; intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance, coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.

I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War. Terror. Disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you and in your panic, you turned to the now High Chancellor Adam Sutler. He promised you order. He promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.

Last night, I sought to end that silence. Last night, I destroyed the Old Bailey to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago, a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words - they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you, then I would suggest that you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me, one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament. And together, we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever, be forgot!"

Say No to (Marital) Rape -- "Let's get heard"

Petition ends on 30th November 2009

Quick thoughts on PAP Party Convention 2009

If you all have been paying attention to local news, you all should be aware that the People's Action Party (PAP) recently held their 2009 Party Convention.

And to an observer of local politics such as me, one of the most interesting announcements that came out of the Convention would evidently be Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong's announcement that the PAP has already identified a slate of new electoral candidates who are mainly in their 30s and 40s and of whom some have the potential to become office-holders or Cabinet ministers.

This announcement by PM Lee is interesting on two levels.

Firstly, in light of how the PAP leaders have repeatedly said that the PAP's next candidate for Prime Minister after PM Lee will ideally be an individual in his/her 30s during the next election, it is highly likely that someone in the abovementioned slate of new candidates will be groomed as the PAP's next candidate for Prime Minister.

Hence, I suppose that when they are revealed to the public, Singaporeans, the media and political observers will again indulge in a guessing game to guess who amongst this slate of new candidates will become the PAP's next candidate for Prime Minister. Of course, I too will most likely participate in such a guessing game when the time comes.

Secondly, although the next election can be held latest by 2012, this announcement by PM Lee regarding a slate of new candidates can arguably be interpreted as a suggestion that the next election may be held earlier than 2012.

Indeed, combining this announcement by PM Lee together with his remark about PAP party activists having to be prepared for more contests during the next election, it does appear as though an election will be occurring soon and the PAP is already getting ready for it.

Hence, seen in this light, the prominent utilisation of the new media during the Convention can arguably be interpreted as a "dress rehearsal" by the PAP to employ the new media as part of their campaign strategy during the next election.

[Aside: Talking about the PAP's use of new media, I must say that while I acknowledge the effort put in by the Young PAP team to produce their recruitment video, the video still nonetheless, in my opinion, seem to be an unimpressive adaptation, if not mimicking, of the original video.]

Finally, PM Lee's remark about the "symbiotic" relationship between the PAP and the NTUC, as reported in this 《联合早报》/Lianhe Zaobao article, also got me raising my eyebrows as I read it, especially since I have doing some reading up on state-union relations in Singapore for a term paper I have been working on.

Specifically, in translation, this was what PM Lee reportedly said:

"If one closes one eyes, it is virtually impossible to distinguish between whether it is NTUC delegates or PAP members who are speaking. This is because the PAP and NTUC speak in one voice."

"A lot of those who are in the PAP are also in NTUC. Eventually, many of those who are in NTUC will also become PAP members."

[Note: In his original remarks, PM Lee referred to NTUC delegates as "those wearing 'U' polo tees", with 'U' being the logo of NTUC, and PAP members as "those wearing all white attire", with an all white ensemble being the standard "uniform" of the PAP.]

Evidently, while the above remarks by PM Lee may be benignly interpreted as just PM Lee enthusing about the closeness of relationship between the PAP and NTUC, I cannot help but wonder if it is healthy that one cannot differentiate between the voice of the PAP and NTUC if one closes one's eyes...