When I started writing about the political situation in Singapore on this blog 19 years ago (it was initially hosted on blogspot, then I migrated it to my own domain), I was criticised, chastised and circumcised (ok, the last bit is an exaggeration; I’m just looking for a word that rhymes) by many people, even “well-meaning” friends (probably with a prefix now).
It’s truly dogsbody work, but I persisted because something about the hypocrisy of our society bothered me – a society that seemingly cares only about appearances, where everything must sound good and optimistic, like some kind of perverse superficial positivity.
As time goes on, the nagging feeling that everything is in vain kept mounting. It is also one of the reasons why I’ve changed my profile photo to the current one since 2012.
Post GE2015, the light in me extinguished. You will probably notice that I’ve stopped writing about controversial political topics, even though at times the urge to do so can be hard to suppress.
I also find it hard to explain to my extended family members why I cannot bring myself to work for media companies like SPH and Mediacorp whenever they pressured me to look for a stable job with better prospects. Instead, I slogged with small-time publishers that struggled to compete. It’s a decision that limited my career options, but one which I made without regrets.
These days, I post book reviews on my blog and random updates on Facebook – oftentimes without context. Some people queried me about this: what are you trying to say? Those who know will know.
I’m just tired of explaining.
And I’m afraid that wherever you are on the political spectrum, when you put forth your opinion to the masses, you are basically preaching to the choir.
But kudos to those who have carried on the struggle far longer than I have. You are the unheralded heroes for our progress.
I wish you well for GE2020.