Ernest's Entry On Homosexuality: Blessing or Curse

Before diving into the issue at hand, there is one very important note to make. Especially in Singapore, people get to read about homosexuality, see homosexuals in certain areas and even debate about it at one point or another through the course of their education. However, a majority do not actually get to see homosexuals fighting for their rights or at least verbalizing their grievances.(not counting what they read in their textbooks, notes and newspapers)

For many, the issue of homosexuality is far away from their daily lifestyles and they are quick to dismiss homosexuality as an issue brought up for the sheer purpose of casual(and maybe intellectual) debate. In short, the common Singapore man is detached from the issue of homosexuality. I guess, on a superficial level, the issue of homosexuality can be a useful tool to help students gain exposure to the complex world out there without it having any permanent adverse effects on their emotional growth. Our class has been having heated discussions on the issue but nobody seems to be exhibiting any abnormal and drastic change in behaviour.This, of course, would then fall under the category of homosexuality being a blessing instead of a curse, but only because it hasn't had any major negative impact on the majority of the public.

Then again, there are certain sectors of the society who have been particularly active in either supporting or discouraging homosexual activities, as in the example of the 377A penal code. In this case, the issue then becomes more serious. Supporters would bring up the issue of human rights, emphasizing that homosexual activities should be tolerated in an egalitarian society such as Singapore. This would then spiral into a more controversial and sensitive issue on whether it is morally ethical to restrict homosexual activities. Once it becomes a human rights and moral issue, a lot of work would have to be put into resolving the issue and making everyone happy.Foreigners might have doubts about the government's ability to take care of its people when these complaints arise.

Of course, these tedious discussions are crucial to ensuring the well-being of the people, but until people really see the degree in which homosexuals are suffering, they will view it as more of a "making a mountain out of a molehill " issue.In other words, the more wants the government has to satisfy, the more the problems (such as resentment towards another party) incurred from them.This would then be a curse.

Homosexuality does not define a person, and by no means should anyone pass judgement simply because one is gay. Tolerance and respect for gays would certainly indicate a mature and thinking society, although it is not the only factor that determines this. This can be taken as a blessing, except that it only works in a few societies where acceptance and tolerance has already been the existing, or rather, dominating culture for an extended period of time such that young and old have long abandoned their prejudices and are fully aware of the intimate details pertaining to homosexuality. Homosexuality must not influence their lives and it should be the other way around. There aren't many examples of such ideal places in the world and Singapore is, sad to say, probably not one of them.

All in all, Singapore is making good progress in terms of slowly shifting towards a more liberal society.However, whether or not laws restrict homosexual activities, there is an evident undercurrent of social stigma that would hinder mainstream homosexuality here in Singapore.It is not that Singapore isn't ready for homosexuality, but that it has yet to keep up with the rate at which homosexuality is being liberated. We just need more time to allow nature to take its course.It would seem forced to have homosexuality as an integral part of our lifestyle now.Thus, homosexuality would be more of a curse in this current situation.