Please Stop The War In Singapore!

The General Election (GE) 2015 is over. But the war between some keyboard warriors on both sides is still going on.

It’s time we stop the war or stop the addiction to being on a warpath. It will hurt our country and our people.

In the heat of the campaign, both sides have on occasions been guilty of propagating lies, half truths and misinformation. Both sides have used nasty words in the past.

Both sides are waiting for the other side to stop before they lay down their “bombs, guns and bullets.” Both sides blame each other for a misfire and for restarting the war.

The truth is we are on the same side.

We pledged to be “one united people” so as to achieve “happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.”

If you will, I like to suggest 10 ways to help us move forward:

1. Check your heart.

The heart of any problem is very often a problem of the heart.

Is your heart in the right place? Are you fighting because you believe you are absolutely right and the other party is absolutely wrong?

Are you fighting to make the other party looks bad and to be converted to be on your side?

2. Fight for peace too.

You can’t be fighting a good war if you are not fighting for sustainable peace too.

There must be a desire for peace and for being a peace-maker. Without such a commitment, there will not be peace in Singapore.

Are you a peace-maker?

3. Manage your ego.

The challenge for most people is managing their ego.

The ego is in essence an over-confidence in and an over-consciousness of your being and an unhealthy attachment to it.

The ego has a tendency to make you think and feel that you are bigger and better than who you really are and better than many of the others around you. Therefore, most people believe that their position and proposal should be better than that of the other party.

The ego needs to be fed but it will never be satisfied. In fact, if it is not effectively managed, it will become hungrier and it will grow until it becomes bigger than you.

Is your ego in check?

4. Have a proper perspective.

It is important to have a proper perspective of the people and the world around you.

If you hold on to an ethnocentric perspective and insist that you are always right, you can never resolve any challenge. You can never build a closer relationship with others.

Is your perspective of politics and the GE standing in the way of truth?

5. Believe that you can be wrong.

If you want peace and progress, you must stop believing you are always
right.

Stop the desire to criticize, control, and insist that others must buy into your belief and go your way.

Do you need to be accepted, approved, and affirmed at all times?

6. Take responsibility for being wrong and making it right.

Breakthrough in achieving peace and success very often happens when you dare to say that you have been wrong before and therefore, you can be wrong again.

There are always better ways to achieve better results and you must be open to accept them. Or perhaps, there are lesser evil that you need to adopt because we live in an imperfect world.

The better ways are sometimes brought up and directed by others.

Are you open to the idea that the other party can be right and has a better perspective than you?

7. Stretch out to others while letting others stretch out to you.

Do not just expect others to understand us. Seek to understand them first.

Stretch out your hands and build better bridges with the other party while allowing the other party to do the same to you.

Do you seek to understand the other party?

8. Keep your cool.

In whatever situation you are in, don’t  lose your cool. It will affect your reasoning and mindset.

Focus on principle not not on personality, the subject matter and not subject each other to any form of negativity.

As fellow members of the human race, don’t attack or seek to harm one other. Avoid taking things personally and calling each other names.

How can you control your emotions in the heat of the moment?

9. Speak the truth in love.

Verify the evidence and rationale of your argument. Ensure that your views are well substantiated and justified.

Do not partake in lies, half-truths, and misinformation. Seek to achieve outcomes that are positive, rational, and beneficial.

Don’t start or perpetuate untruths, especially about candidates who are offering themselves to serve in public offices.

Such negativity may prevent good people from offering their talents and contributions to the country. We will then be none the wiser or better off as a community and country.

Will you pursue the truth and debate based on the truth?

10. Pursue a positive outcome.

During a conflict, if you throw mud at one another, both of you will become muddy.

Worst, if you spew poison in response to the other party’s poison, in the end, both of you may be inflicted by the emotional poison.

Therefore, seek to offer solution and recommendation.

Pursue objective, meaningful and fulfilling outcomes. Outcomes that will not only value-add to one another but also to the community and country.

Life is already too short for enjoying love, joy and peace.

Why waste more time on unhealthy conflicts?

Why not pursue peace and help bring about a more peaceful world?

Peace is priceless. It begins with each and every one of us.

Majulah Singapura!