Eunice/ To what extent should the Singapore government be responsible for taking care of the elderly?

The government may be expected to be responsible for the elderly who do not have families by building relevant infrastructure and promoting community involvement. This is to ensure the elderly can assimilate into the society effectively and be a part of it, rather than be seen as a source of hindrance or burden. It will also aid the elderly's emotional well-being, because they will not be isolated but instead, actively involved. For example, infrastructures such as exercise corners and elderly-friendly HDB flats have been implemented in Singapore to take care of the elderly. Community centres have also catered to the elderly by engaging them in different activities and by doing so, provide opportunities for the elderly to interact with each other. Hence, the Singapore government should continue providing these facilities and amenities because they are expected to be responsible for taking care of the elderly who do not have families.

Brian -- "The reality of sports today is that it is unsporting." How far do you agree with this view?

The intense competition and pressure from traditional rivalry between athletes or teams to win may lead to players demonstrating undesirable behavior such as foul play as players start to get personal. Players, often on the impulse, are driven by the desire to win and may result in succumbing to act undesirably and dishonestly. They only focus about winning and forget about their morals by intentionally injuring another player. Also, they do not respect the sport itself and display unsportsmanlike behavior. For example, during the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, Zinedine Zidane, a French player, committed a serious offence by intentionally hurting an Italian from the opposing team. He walked straight into the Italian and head-butted him in the chest. As a result, Zidane was given a red card for the offence and was sent off the playing field immediately. That was the end of his soccer career as he retired after that world cup. The once renowned French star player had ended his career in shame. However, most athletes are aware of their obligation to the team and usually self-govern their own behavior. For all sports, foul play is usually accompanied by very serious consequences such as the banning of players from entering the sport again and so on. Such consequences act as a deterrent to players to commit such offences. As such , there has only been very few cases of players being banned from the sport due to offences committed during game-play. Therefore since only a minority of sportsman demonstrate such unsporting behavior, the reality of sports today is still sporting.

Ivy, To what extent should the Singapore government be responsible for taking care of the elderly?

The government may be expected to be responsible in taking care of the elderly when they are not physically able to stay in the workforce and are unable to financially support themselves. As long as the government is able to afford it and does not strain the economy, the government should be responsible for the elderly.The elderly are generally people who have reached an age whereby their physically health is deteriorating. They are less physically fit as compared to the younger workers in the workforce, hence many often get retrenched or get a pay cut during an economic crisis and to lose or have a drop in their source of income. This problem is serious especially to elderly living on their on as others in their household to turn to, as a result, these elderly are unable to even afford the basic necessities such as rice or a fan. This is when the government's responsibility comes in aiding the elderly who are facing such financial difficulties. This is often done through the use of subsidies in healthcare treatment and in giving them monetary aid once in a while, for example during special events or festive celebrations .
However, should the implementation of subsidies be proven to have a strain on society's economy, the role of the government should be minimised as there are other stakeholders for example the community that should share the responsibility in taking care of the elderly. The community may help financially-disabled elderly through charitable organisations in grassroot organisations whereby a person basic necessities are given monthly which are financially supported by the public through donations. This is when the responsibility of the government is shifted to the community and public.

Amsyar; "The reality of sports today is that it is unsporting.How far do you agree with this view?"

I agree with the view stated in the question because athletes, driven by their desire to win, may resort to dishonourable means, such as cheating or taking performance enhancers. It is obvious that a sportsman would want to win his game. However, the extent to which a sportsman wants to win can differ greatly. The lines between the those who want to win fairly, and those who want to win at all costs are blurred. A prime example would be the american olympic sprinter, Marion Jones. She had previously won 5 medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics. However in 2007, she admitted to taking steroids before the 2000 Summer Olympics. She also acknowledged that she had continuously lied about her use of steroid to the press, various sports agencies and even two grand juries.Thus this shows that some athletes would do anything to win. However, although there still are athletes who use these methods to get ahead of their competitors, it is not allowed. Measures have been installed to try and wipe out the use of performance enhancers. For example, the governing bodies of different sports conduct stringent checks on their athletes to prevent them from taking those drugs. Therefore, although there are still athletes who cheat and take performance enhancers to win, these are just the minority of athletes as most athletes would not want to jeopardise their careers. Furthermore, cheating and taking these drugs are strictly not allowed, and there are stringent checks on the athletes to ensure that they do not use these underhand methods to win.

ALICIA "The reality of sports today is that it is unsporting." How far do you agree with this view?

As athletes take part in competitions, there is pressure for them to do well from their family, coaches and for some, their country. The pressure may be too overwhelming for them plus with the intense competition, it may lead to them demonstrating undesireble behavoiur during the competition. This is because they may feel very stressed and thus may not be able to control their emotions and temper in the midst of competiting. Serena Williams is famously known for her superb skills on the court. However, it is her bad sportsmanship displayed during competitions that lead to her appearing in news more often than her skills. Being the number one woman in professional tennis, she is often under much pressure to win every event she takes part in and thus, this leads to her emotional breakdown when she is losing to her opponent during a match. However, athletes representing their country in world class competitions know that they have an obligation to their country and thus will self govern their behaviour during competitions. They understand that as the world and their country watch them compete, they cannot afford to demonstrate unacceptable behaviour which may not only bring shame to them but to their country as well. They may then try to control their behaviour during competitions and thus, the reality of sports today is not unsporting.

Gracy. The reality of sports today is that it is unsporting. How far do you agree with this view?

Sports may be seen as increasingly unsporting when athletes, who are driven by desire to win, resort to dishonourable means such as taking physical enhancement drugs and bribery so that they will have an edge above the rest. They may choose to violate the rules of sports in order to obtain recognition and glory. Athletes commit bribery by making judges or referees of the game take their side such that they have a clear advantage compared to their opponent in winning. Similarly, taking physical enhancement drugs may allow them to have physical level that is higher than their usual standards. As an athlete will not be able to tell how well he will perform that day or if he will perform, taking such drugs to boost their performance will ensure that they perform well or exceedingly when competing. For example, at the expense of winning, Marion jones, a reknown athlete, took steroids at the sydney 2000 summer olympics. In conclusion, sports may be seen as increasingly unsporting as competitors no longer compete with their own genuine ability but with undesirable means by cheating.

Toby- To what extent should the Singapore government be responsible for taking care of the elderly?

The government should be responsible for taking care of the elderly in terms of ensuring that the societal infrastructure is friendly towards them in helping them to overcome their physical disabilities or difficulties. For example the construction of lifts, having handicap seats on buses and trains and giving the elderly priority in housing. This helps to improve the lives of the elderly by making it easy for them to move from one place to another. However, there must be a limit to the construction or the building of these elderly friendly construction such that it does not pose inconvenience to the rest of the community. This is because not only should the government consider the needs of the elderly, but the working adults and children too. For example, the construction of ramps instead of stairs will result in a longer time taken to get down a slope as people have to walk more to get down thus wasting time. In addition, the community must support the elderly in the use of the infrastructure. As some people will take advantage of the reserved seats in the MRT and sit on it even though an elderly is there. Thus the Singapore government should be responsible for taking care of the elderly by providing the relevant infrastructure as long as it does not pose inconvenience to the community and that the community supports such measures.