AQ/Tan Ping Hao/10s403

The author in Passage 1 states that "The society operates on the assumption that they not only can be taught, but must be." I agree with the author that the society must be taught as without education on moral values and the culture of shame as without it, children would end up growing up not knowing how to lead their lives. We are not born with natural morally correct instincts, and have to be guided to the correct paths in life. There are many examples of such an education being implemented, such as the civics and moral education in schools in Singapore which is compulsory for all students. However, the society may not respond appropriately to the teachings implemented. It is clear that even with moral values being taught to the society, the society still chooses to ignore these values, or consider them irrelevant and unimportant. This results in the disasters caused such a lack of moral values. Some examples include abuse cases and teenage pregnancies. In fact, some societies in other, more liberal countries do not even operate on the assumption that the society must be taught moral values, and consider actions fuelled by a lack of moral values as a norm in their society. However, the idea in passage 1 is relevant to our society as Singapore is still considered more traditional than liberal today, and places much importance of the upbringing of their children. Acts caused by a lack of moral values, such as rape, teenage pregnancy or abuse, are still deeply frowned upon and not considered a norm in society at all. The government also places much empahsis on the importance of our values through education and campaigns, in order to make sure that even though Singapore progresses, her civillians are still able to maintain and pass on their values to later generations.

The author in Passage 2 states that "We are, very simply, unprepared for dealing with pangs of shame or for undertaking spiritual soul-searching." I agree with this as while the society is progressing materiallistically, we remain stagnant when it comes to spiritual well-being. The society today is driven by economic progression and the improvement in technology and other material gains, so much so that the basic value of conscience and humility are ignored. Students are trained to deal with problems at work or school and are educated in problem-solving methods, but they are uncertain and apprehensive when it comes to the culture of shame. With a higher standard of living, people nowadays also become more complacent and confident of themselves, and do not try to assess themselves. For example, a businessman may be more driven by profit than how morally correct his methods to gain profit are. They have little shame in what they do, as long as profit is earned. This idea is applicable to my society as Singapore is fast progressing economically and with our higher standard of living and quality of life, humility has become a rarity.