Poll Bearers

So election fever is running high in just about every corner of our little red dot, with cab drivers, housewives, businessmen, students and media personalities all contributing their own opinions on which three-letter acronym one should mark an X by.

I for one, am quite aghast at what has been going on.

On the day many around the world rejoice at the death of one sect leader, others here seem to have focussed all their energies on besmirching their rivals, with little-to-no apparent constructive comment-making on any agenda.

Now, I'm far from proactive when it comes to politics - local or otherwise - but I make no exaggeration when I say that all I know about the "opposition" parties is what is splashed across Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets. And nearly all of that is the same.

"LOL PAP SUX"

It's a black mark against the people who are keen on going against the men in white, and quite honestly, a major turn off for myself - and other less-excited people as well, I'm sure.

When it seems like your motivation, your unique selling point, your main and only focus is to highlight that someone or somebody else is less-than-adequate, you're most likely to do nothing but paint yourself in a similar light. You might be able to rile up enough anger amongst "The People" to garner a few rage-votes, but in my eyes, that's very short sighted. From every angle.

Really, my vote will not be gained by groups and parties that are doing naught but saying everyone else sucks.

Don't get me wrong, diversity is good (racial harmony too!) and I won't be surprised if more than one new voice is heard within parliament very soon, but this whole thing has left a very sour taste.

And it's mainly because of the people who are supporting these other people.

The people who attempt to sit on their moral high-chairs when they point at conveniently-timed bank deposits, the same people who bemoan the lack of funds for the hammer-wielders or Star Trek-inspired democrats. You could do something about it, but I'm sure the cash will go to things like an iPad 2 or a nice trip to Marina Bay Sands.

The people who scoff at the "astronomical" salaries of diplomats and politicians, and fail to understand that perhaps such figures might be the reason why corruption is at nominal levels among highly-paid officials in local government as well as modern-day professional sport.

The people who coin terms like "white noise" and "sack the maid" and other quasi-clever analogies, and for all intents and purposes, appear to be little more than bitter citizens jumping on to the anarchists' bandwagon.

All in all, I'm not a huge fan of those already here, but the ones knocking on the door don't seem to be anything more than jealous and loud-mouthed neighbors. You won't see me (post-VS) clad in all-white, but the newcomers have not done nearly enough to persuade me.