In the wake of our nation's 12th General Elections, it is probably only natural for the side which suffered heavy losses to examine and study the reasons for their defeats, And this has been done, to intriguing, and sometimes downright hilarious results.
The purpose of this article is not to criticize any certain sides or people, but rather to look into the mindset they have employed in conducting their ‘studies’. As such, no names will be mentioned, and I hope that you will join with me in an academic viewpoint instead of a critical and condescending one.
One leader gave the following reason for his party’s defeat in a state:
It is because of the outstation voters that we have lost. These outstation voters were influenced by the Opposition outside this state and have in turn influenced their friends and family members to vote for the Opposition.
Another leader gave this reason:
Christians and churches which I have worked with previously campaigned against me within the churches.
Some of you may immediately know who these people are just by reading the above, but once again I stress that the purpose of this is not to condemn anyone but to study this academically.
I personally find such comments to be extremely childish, for a very simple reason. And for that same reason, many of us do the same, albeit in different situations and circumstances.
We don’t like to see our own weaknesses.
No we don’t, do we? It’s much easier to point the finger at others but not ourselves. It’s always “Blame the weather” or “Blame him or her” or even worse, “Blame God”. Yet we seldom see our own weaknesses.
Interestingly, there is a verse in the Bible that describes this ‘phenomenon’ pretty accurately:
Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye but not the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first remove the plank from your own eye, and then you shall see more clearly to remove the speck in your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:3,5)
Coming back to the issue of the leaders who have given reasons why they have been defeated in the elections, perhaps it’s not such a mystery after all. Instead of coming up with such reasons, should they not have conducted some form of soul-searching beforehand? Should they not have considered the possibility that perhaps their parties were irrelevant? People have lost trust in them? The stories of corruption and abuse of power and arrogance have irritated enough people to vote them out?
Instead of conspiracy theories, should they not have looked within first? The same applies to our everyday lives. In our pursuit of success and excellence and accomplishments, we sometimes gain over-confidence. Over-confidence that leads to pride which blinds us to our own weaknesses.
We need to learn how to lose graciously. I definitely salute the likes of Dr. Koh Tsu Koon for being able to be gracious in defeat. And I believe people will remember him for being able to lose graciously.
At the end of the day, we don’t have to hide these weaknesses. We don’t have to pretend they’re not there. Because ALL of us aren’t perfect. We ALL have weaknesses. Why can’t we try humility? Why can’t we give way for honesty? Why do we need a ‘mask’ to hide behind? If we could all throw our masks away, wouldn’t this make our country a better place? Our families? Our world? Let's try being ourselves for a change
Yeah let's not try to be like this...
I told you masks weren't good...Lol
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