Social Commentary 2

Where is the love? Today’s society is one where people help others as a result of mutual benefits. This change in societal opinion has even affected the way children treat their parents in the latter’s old age. Children who feel that their parents have not ‘cared’ for them are thus, more likely not to provide for their parents’ when these parents are in their old age. However, whose fault is it actually? I believe that even though both parties, parents and children, are at fault, it is the changing society that is to blame. I will explore the faults of parents, children and society’s contribution to this worrying trend.

Parents work hard trying to make ends meet or even save up extra money to lead a better life for both themselves and their children. However, even though their main aim was actually to provide the children, they have neglected the emotional requirements of a child in the process. This leads to children feeling emotionally detached to their parents and feeling “that the only things they shared with their parents were the same roof and surname.” An average worker in Singapore alone works eight hours a day, starts work early in the morning and returns home at around six in the evening. Counting that the average primary school child sleeps at around ten at night, there would only be four hours of time for interaction between the parents and their children. I myself see my father for barely minutes on weekdays. Parents work hard to earn money for their children’s education and leisure but in so doing, neglected the time needed to build emotional ties with the children. This contributes to the increasing trend of children refusing to take care of their parents because they do not feel that their parents have taken of them when they were younger.

However, children also exclude adults from their activities. In a research done by MTV and Microsoft, teens spend 34 hours a week on the internet. Another survey done in 2005 showed that teenage boys and girls spent an average of over two hours a day watching television. Also, American teens spend an average of four hours doing homework each week. The problem with all these activities is that they rarely include their parents. Children are busy keeping up with their social life and their own entertainment that they do not allow time for interaction with their parents and this has also caused the decline in relationship between the two parties. Working adults would have even less time with their parents as they are likely to not stay in the same house as their parents. The children themselves have excluded parents from their activities and contributed to the declining relationship with their parents as well.

Despite both parties’ fault in the matter, the responsibility has not been fully shared yet. There is a bigger factor behind this rift in relationship that had caused the trend of children abandoning their parents in the later stages. The society. Modern society is a fast paced one where competition is rife. This contributes to the parents having to work so hard just to make a living and even harder to support their children. The average living expenses in Singapore would amount to $2600 at the very least. Also, it is the same society that causes teenagers to spend their time online. Peer pressure is one of the strongest forces and teenagers stay online to keep connected and up to date with their peers. Society itself, has contributed much to the mindset of both parents and children and caused the rift between the two.

The fault of the divide between parents and their children is shared between both parties. However, the circumstances of society have forced it this way. Society is the motivating factor causing a chain reaction and has the most responsibility in causing the trend where children feel detached and thus treat their parents badly.

English ERP
Question 2a


“Cheng Sin! Slow down! Don’t run, it’s dangerous!” My mom exclaimed as she was walking with the group. We were walking up a mountain to a place known as ‘Lot’s cave’ in Israel. Israel was the place where the Bible speaks of as ‘Gods’ chosen nation’. However, long bus travels and lousy food did not seem very ‘special’ to me at the time.

As I continued rushing forward, stepping on stone after stone, I wished that time would follow in my footsteps. The trip was to last two weeks and we were only on the third day. A Chinese saying goes ‘if you do not heed elders’ advice, you will lose out’. It was fated for me to learn it the hard way.

My quickened footsteps were hindered by a menacing hole. The tip of my foot dug into the hole and I started to lose my balance. I found myself going down, my pulse increased. I tried a balancing act but to no avail, I prepared for impact, closed my eyes and prayed that it would not hurt that bad.

My shriek of pain was followed by footsteps and shouts of concern. I scraped my knees and they were bleeding, however, I was more concerned about being embarrassed. I put up a brave front, picked myself up, and continuing walking.

‘I told you so.’ What I dreaded the most came out from my mothers’ mouth.

After much walking, we reached the top to see Lot’s cave. It was a tiny cave dug into the mountain by about 5 meters. To me it looked empty and disappointing.

The tour guide started talking about the significance of the cave. Lot was a man mentioned in the Bible. He lived in a place known as Sodom and Gomorrah.

‘God wanted to destroy the place because the people were very evil. Lot was a righteous man and God told him to leave the place with his family.’

Yet another story from the tour guide. I groaned inwardly.

‘God told Lot and his family not to look back at the city after they left or else they would be destroyed too.’

After being given instructions from my mother, the thought of God giving instructions sickened me.

‘Lot’s wife disobeyed, and when she turned back to look, she was turned into a pillar of salt.’

I felt as though the cave was instantly filled. It started to make much sense to me.

God gave instructions to Lot because he loved Lot and wanted to protect him and his family. However, when instructions are disobeyed, things can go wrong. I realized that instructions are not there to limit what we do but they are there for our own benefit.

Even though the cave was empty, it held a lot of significance for me. I myself disobeyed and was lucky not to be turned into a pillar of salt.

We started our descent down the mountain. I smiled and took my time down, this time enjoying the scenery of the farms down the mountain and the magnificent view of the Dead Sea.

llamaed up intro!

Ever wondered what a human chicken would look like? The advancement of science has been so rapid that Man has been able to do so many things that were inconceivable years ago. Such examples include cloning and using stem cells to create new cells. The improvement of biomedical science, has indeed provided a glimpse of hope for curing chronic diseases however, there is a crash between the ethical values and the medical values of this scientific advancement. I believe that it is important for Man to draw a fine line between saving lives and playing God, therefore, Embryonic Stem Cell research should not be carried out. Embryonic Stem Cell research would logically require embryos, which means embryos would be sacrificed. Another research on stem cells involves combining animal and human eggs. This is immoral as it goes against the nature of mankind.

Commentary on Embryonic Stem Cell Research

The advancement of science has been so rapid that Man has been able to do so many things that were inconceivable years ago. Such examples include cloning and using stem cells to create new cells. The improvement of biomedical science, has indeed provided a glimpse of hope for curing chronic diseases however, there is a crash between the ethical values and the medical values of this scientific advancement. I believe that it is important for Man to draw a fine line between saving lives and playing God, therefore, Embryonic Stem Cell research should not be carried out. Embryonic Stem Cell research would logically require embryos, which means embryos would be sacrificed. Another research on stem cells involves combining animal and human eggs. This is immoral as it goes against the nature of mankind.

Embryonic Stem cells (ES cells) are obtained from an embryo about four to five days after fertilization. This is parallel to murder and therefore, should not be carried out. An embryo is a ball of cells multiplied from a zygote. This embryo would undergo implantation into the mother's uterus lining before becoming a fetus and finally becoming a newborn baby nine months after conception. When stem cells are obtained from this potential baby, the right of life has been taken away, and act of murder is carried out. The same way murder is frowned upon and illegal in most if not all societies, Embryonic Stem Cell Research should be banned.

Cybrids are animal eggs fused with human DNA. Scientists are working to create this so as to make up for a lack of human eggs. However, this is dissolving the nature of man and would spark chaos in ethical debates. Laws should be implemented to prevent such occurances. Humans and animals were created with a huge distinction. For example, even though we may be 97% genetically similar to an ape, we are the most intelligent and dominant species of the Earth. In a similar way beastality is banned, the ethical issues here should be considered the same as it interferes the ethical boundaries of Man. (into animal boundaries, I might add)

Yes, there might be positives to this controversial issue. The advances of this science may see many new discoveries and cures to what we know as 'incurable' diseases. Cancer would be a notable disease to be conquered. It is the sole cause of 25% of deaths in the US and this means the advancement would save many lives. Lets hold that thought for a moment. We have heard of many people dying of cancer, but yet again, have you heard stories of those who detected their cancer early and managed to win the poker game with death? Cancer can be cured through early detection and it is much safer this way than to wander off into unknown grounds. Who knows what deadly bacteria might be created in the process of searching for a saviour. After all, prevention is better than cure. We should not try to play God but do what we can already do.

Cells mutate, viruses mutate. For every cure we invent, viruses adapt. That is nature. If not, the common cold would not be so common after all. We are blessed with intelligence and dominance over animals. However, that does not mean that we should play God and altar the occurance of nature. A fine line should be drawn to determine what is acceptable and what is not acceptable to prevent any disasters from happening.