Be the Voice that Echoes
It’s Cancer season! You know what that means? A bunch of sensitive, overly emotional individuals-
Wait, scratch that. What was that all about? It seems like you don’t know them well enough, right? Well, let’s talk about the wonderful people that are Cancers. As of today, this may be your go-to guide to knowing people born between June 21 and July 22.
As July’s theme is Unity, we asked our writers the following prompt:
“What is the biggest sign of unity that you’ve seen in your life?”
Here’s what they had to say:
“I think the biggest sign of unity would be any form of protest in society. Like the Black Lives Matter movement. Or pride walks or any walk for women’s rights/equality. I just think it’s so incredible how people in this movement are together, and that they stand united no matter how violent it gets. Especially with the Black Lives Matter movement, I’ve seen how white people use themselves as shields against the police force to protect black protestors.”
Autumn 2050, the 14th Dalai Lama was finally returning back to his home country. He had lived all these years to see his country free again and now at 115 years old, he had come back. The frail old man could be seen on TV everywhere, as people all around the world witnessed this historical moment. Tibet was now a free country and this was a day to be remembered for many years to come.
The year is 2020 and we find ourselves grappling with two pandemics: COVID-19 and Racism. However, we’ve been dealing with the latter for a far longer time. Racism is a psychological phenomenon that we’ve co-existed with for centuries. It isn’t something we’re inherently born with, rather a system we’ve been inculcated with to the point where we almost constantly turn a blind eye to it in our daily lives.
If racism is learned, then we, as a society have the capability and responsibility to unlearn it.
The assuaging places that my mind loves to wander off to during these times of seclusion are the fictional worlds that present themselves as utopias. They manage to provide me with comfort and a momentary escape from the calamities that we are all focusing on. For a brief moment, I can visualise the magic of these worlds and somehow transfer them to my own reality, and our world suddenly appears fresh and new. Although it does not solve our adversities, it allows me to take a step back and have a more positive outlook on life, similar to that of a child’s perspective. We could all use a little imaginary adventure, so here are a few of my favourite fictional utopias.
“Oh. My. God. Al, you will not believe where he is taking me tonight.”
There was a long-suffering sigh from the other end of the phone line. “Let me guess. The Eiffel Tower?”
“Wh- no!” Lucy said indignantly, before pausing to consider the idea. “Although, now that I think about it, that would be the absolute dream-”
“Just spill it already.”
“In order to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive”- Jordan B Peterson.
Living in a world where anything and everything is deemed offensive and can spark retaliation from the so called “social justice warriors” of Twitter and Instagram, it is hard for most people to express opposing thoughts without being subjected to a virtual walk of shame. It is evident that many people have lost the ability to properly dissect statements or arguments that oppose their views without immediately reacting with slanderous emotions, fueled with attacks, instead of civil discourse. This is incredibly foolish, as wanting to change the mind of others is virtually impossible when you resort to shaming instead of listening and having intellectual dialogue.
hello? can you hear me?
i’ve been meaning to say something
even if the signal’s not pretty.
i don’t think i can do this anymore.
i’ve grown tired of the city
where my screams tend to evade me,
my confessional streams
poured all over the polished floors
until i ran out of dreams-
i need a getaway across the seas;
somewhere deep in the country
where i can still feel a breeze;
a breath of dying somewhere pretty
as if i carelessly ripped out a page
out of my half-written biography
that takes up too much of my head
until they all cooperate to collaborate
into my nameless anthology
but how can i craft such a thing
when i’m not even dead?
Prompt: If you could turn back time to before the MCO, what would you do?
As most of us are aware, classroom learning has been shifted to online learning (e-learning) ever since the MCO was in effect.
A benefit from this new learning style includes being able to wake up 30 minutes before classes instead of having to wake up at an ungodly hour just to avoid the morning traffic (also, to get a parking space in the basement). However, e-learning just doesn’t really feel the same as F2F learning. Take the jokes our lecturers share for instance, it feels especially less amusing.
– Joey Yap
“Citizens of the land, free from all forms of discrimination.” As if the constitution ever mattered. The welfare of the minorities amounted to nothing. They were difficult people to caucus with. An insane few even tabled a bill that identified every minority as a second class citizen, a breaking point for moderate senators across the country. Cracks within the ruling coalition presented an opportunity. Enough with enriching the elite, a revolution was due.
Even if it meant losing a loved one.