A Follow-Up on Patriotism

First off, thanks to Steven McDermott for linking my previous post about "education for the youth" in his blog. There is a glowing sense of appreciation and gratitude to see someone else reading up on your work.

Secondly, I thought that since political apathy and the decline of patriotism has been a growing discussion these days, I decided to put up an article I've read some time ago and recommend giving a browse through. This is an academic essay so there's the presence of academic jargon and technical terms but for the most part, it's pretty layman-friendly and accessible. This can no doubt be attributed to the tongue-in-cheek mock dialogue session set up between the author (Daniel A. Bell) and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. The author has concocted this dialogue session to illustrate a relatively fair cross-cultural treatment of political affairs and ideology.

I should make it clear that this article, unlike the blanket critiques from outside observers which some people are displeased about, at least considers the socio-historical traditions and rationalities of different cultures and avoids, at its best, to apply abstract political ideals. Another reason I recommend the article is the position of communitarianism that is being contested against authoritarianism. It is conceivable that most Singaporeans do strive for a communitarian platform, meaning a society that refrains from supporting excessive individual rights and advocating communitaristic relations, so it would certainly give fruit for thought on how a society could fathom the switch from a authoritarian regime into a more communitarian society.

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