Dissolution of a Political Hegemony?

Okay, I really should be studying Business Associations. But what was once a lack of motivation (partly the class, partly my lack of effort through the semester, partly the professor, partly being sick) has been replaced by an avid interest in Singaporean politics. Here in the US, voting is a right, but certainly not an obligation. And although we have the chance to, every four years, elect the leader of the free world (the President really is, like it or not), not all of us exercise that right. In Singapore, voting is not just a right, but an obligation. It's an offense not to vote in the election, should your particular constituency be contested. The irony of it is that for a long time, voting was always somewhat futile; there was no real possibility that the ruling People's Action Party would lose, or that your vote would bring about any sort of meaningful change.

But things are changing, as my previous post mentioned (although I apologize for its terrible prose. I plead diminished mental capacity as a result of physical illness). Sitting here in LA, eight thousand miles from my heartland and not even a citizen, I can feel it. And you know what? It's exciting. It's exciting because the opposition is gaining strength, and if nothing else, this election shows that in years to come, Singapore may actually have "first-world" politics (which is what Lee Kuan Yew apparently wants), with political parties on both sides being strong and credible checks on each other (and hopefully they can do it in a genteel and civilized manner, without the use of ad hominem attacks or suit at law).

For my regular American readership (okay, that was probably a little bit of egoism on my part, to think that I have a regular readership. Indulge me, will you?), I apologize for talking about something seemingly unrelated to my usual topics (like they're all that interesting anyway). I'm struggling to fully convey the excitement that I feel. But imagine that for forty years, as long as you can remember, a single political party has controlled all levels of federal and state government, and never been meaningfully challenged: a political hegemony. Finally, after forty-one years, a credible challenge is being mounted, and the winds of change have begun to blow. Surely that would stir up some excitement in you, the thought of freedom steadily marching on?

If you're interested in finding out more, I'm recommending several blogs that I've found quite worth reading:

Yawning Bread (several really good photo essays. Start with the one on April 28)
SG Election '06 (personal commentary, persistently apolitical in keeping with the Singapore Government's strict warnings against persistently political blogging/podcasting/vodcasting)
SG Rally (excellent site that tries to cover all the rallies and television broadcasts. The only way I managed to hear the four leading political parties' televised speeches)
Singabloodypore (another apolitical commentary site)

Alright. I'm going to study B.A. now, I swear.

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