QotW8: Blogs = greater democracy in Sg??

Basic background about a blog on politics:
1) Blog’s Title: Singapore Politics, (URL): http://singaporegovt.blogspot.com/
2) Blogger’s name: Thrasymachus
3) Blogger’s occupation: Citizen blogger
4) Blog’s Date of Birth: June 27, 2005
5) Technorati Rank: 139, 300 (58 links from 31 blogs)

There are a number of posts that are attention grabbing in this blog which includes the NKF incident, building of casinos etc. However, I have chosen to read the blog post on Short stories of three emperors. The title caught my attention as it sounds interesting. The tone of the blog is friendly as well as critical. This can be seen in its content and the comments from its readers. Some of the content includes:

1) “Well, everyone is well acquainted with this blog writing on Singapore Politics (as suggested by the title of this blog…duh…)” (Thraymachus, 2007).

2) “Politically, Loong’s era was as strong, if not, stronger than the times of Emperor K & G” (Thraymachus, 2007).

3) “Emperor K was the longest reigning emperor in the country’s history” (Thraymachus, 2007).

4) “Emperor G was a tough but very hard-working ruler. G continued an era of continued peace and prosperity as he cracked down on corruption, waste, and reformed financial administration” (Thraymachus, 2007).

5) “Since his birth, Emperor K set his sights for Loong to ascend to the throne. Emperor G was merely the “seat-warmer” for 14 years, for Loong to attain maturity and prevent any accusations of going against traditions given his young age” (Thraymachus, 2007).

6) “Lovely story. Hope someone can do it into a movie. Sure can sell well particularly if some historic re-enactions of local incidents are shown.You are great as always T! –Scratcher” (Thraymachus, 2007).

From the above blog, we can see that people are voicing out their views and sharing with the public. Singapore is a democratic country and its citizens place great importance in the issue of democracy in modern political life. Therefore, do blogs allow for greater democracy in Singapore? Personally, I feel that it does.

Many groups on the Internet are actively promoting democracy. As quoted by Thornton, “virtual communities could help citizens revitalize democracy” (2002). In addition, “claims being made for the Internet as a global force for democracy have been ambitious, though with time they have become more realistic” (Thornton, 2002).

Why do I say that blogs allow for greater democracy in Singapore? As cited in Thornton (2002) article, the reasons are as follow:

(A) “The concept of democracy demands that all parties that might be affected must be included; that they can interact in a free, equal and easy manner; that there be no restrictions on topics; and that the outcomes can be revised” (Thornton, 2002).

--> As the concept of democracy has been defined, blogs definitely allows individuals to interact within online communities freely and at ease. The blogger and the public can exchange views and make themselves heard. Hence, democracy exists in blogs.


(B) “A democratic public sphere means that there must be opportunities for subordinate groups to convince dominant groups that their concerns are legitimate and worthy of debate. Democracy is dependent on citizens’ ability to act on the results of their debated and the information they gather” (Thornton, 2002).

--> Other than the public, government politicians can also view these political blogs. As long as blog entries and comments are added, opportunities are created for the blogger’s thoughts to be seen by people. This is also a way for citizens’ view to be communicated to the leaders, thus proving democracy existence in blogs as its definition is stated above.

(C) “Internet’s potential for democracy: (1) the anarchic nature of the Internet, (2) interactive features which allow direct feedback to individual articles and opinions, (3) the possibility for web sites to create content primarily through the contributions of its readers, and (4) longevity of materials” (Thornton, 2002).

--> Lastly, blogs are online dairies; hence its access is through the Internet. And as seen above, the characteristics of the Internet supports democracy in online communities like blogs. In blogs, people interact with each other via comments and its blog posts. Bloggers share their content while readers provide feedbacks. Also, such responses will be organized in reverse chronological order and will be always on the web site for as long as the site exists. Therefore, with the features of blogs matched with the potential benefits of the Internet, blogs does allow greater democracy in Singapore.

In conclusion, blogging is a channel for people (be it the majority or minority) to voice out and be heard. It is done without much restriction. Therefore, blogs create greater democracy in Singapore.

References:

Thornton, A. (2002, October). Does Internet Create Democracy. Retrieved March 23, 2007 from http://www.zip.com.au/%7Eathornto/thesis_2002_alinta_thornton.doc

Thrasymachus (2007, January). Short stories of three emperors. Singapore Politics. Retrieved March 23 from http://singaporegovt.blogspot.com/2007/01/short-story-of-three-emperors-well.html