Friday, September 05, 2008

To Moderate, or To Be Moderate? Therein Lies the Rub...

Back in March, there was a uproar on a mailing list that I am subscribed to, one that was for the benefit of the old girls' alumni of Assunta Secondary School, my old alma mater. It was generally to do with freedom of expression on the mailing list that was related to Malaysian politics. Remember... it was March in Malaysia, when we were on the verge of a landmark General Elections.

I was of the view that the list was really a high-school alumni mailing list and its content and contributions should remain apolitical and religiously neutral simply because of the thousands of alumni members are have eventually embraced diverse political views and is, of course, multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious. To share ideas, thoughts and prayers with each other is one thing. But when it starts to border on advocacy where some are more vocal in imposing their views than others, it becomes more sensitive. Especially in the realm of politics and religion.

I have my politcal views and my stand on religion and both are things that I am comfortable with. But I feel no need to impose it on others. I will 'share' my views if they are sought, but I don't feel it my place to tell others that the way I lead my life and the things that I believe in are the right ways for others to follow. Hence, I am understandbly irked when someone does the same to me. You know... do unto others etc...

And then there is the paradox; while the 'leader figures' in the alumni opine that there should be freedom in expression of (their) thought, they are also of the opinion that the list should be moderated. And it is. Hence, there are some self-appointed arch-angels who will vet through all messages before the mere mortals get to read it.

That was in March. And it hasn't changed. Just this last week, the subject was broached again and I felt it necessary to make a comment. Here it is, in reply to someone else on the list with a similar view:

Ju-Lee,

I will have to agree with you on this. I've said this before on this list back in March (and I think we also both said the exact same thing even back then) that this is an alumni mailing list and not a political one. But back then, that line of reasoning faded into the sunset when it was argued with this is a place to 'share ideas', 'free country, free speech', etc.

I continued that discussion offline with some other friends and here is one of the most interesting thoughts that emerged; the members of this list are ex-Assuntarians. Of these past pupils, some of the illustrious daughters have have found themselves in political limelight. Among them are Nurul Izzah who is an MP under the PKR banner and another is Wanita MIC Chief, P. Komala Devi, the BN candidate of Kapar parliamentary seat back in the March 8th elections. Nurul Izzah needs no introduction. And for the benefit of those who can't recall, Komala was feted in the same breath alongside Sister Enda and Datin Seri Jeanne when they all received awards from the Sultan of Selangor back in December.

Here's a hypothetical scenario: imagine it is the month of March 2008. Malaysia is preparing for a general election that would eventually sweep the nation off its feet. Supposing this was a free forum to say what we want to say without fear of reprisals and censure, it would thus be completely allowable for Nurul Izzah and Komala to wage their election campaign battles on this very mailing list, if it had so suited their strategy. And I imagine that as the campaign got more lively, many would have opinions of their own to post, as many vocal Assuntarians would, and there would have likely been an unprecedented number of daily posts with the number going up and up until the excitement died down. I can certainly imagine the moderators' job would have become a full-time task!

This imaginary scenario would have been possible, but would it have been right? I asked the same question back in March, and up til today, I still don't know the answer. My quandry is that I am FOR the argument of freedom to express oneself on ANY list. And yet, I am also AGAINST the notion that the free speech on a secondary school alumni mailing list should include political and/or religious advocacy. The toughest part of this is where to draw the lines. Have it moderated? It sounds like a monumental responsibility, preferably for someone with a neutral head screwed on tightly:

Word Definition: Moderation (noun) - the quality of being moderate; restraint; avoidance of extremes or excesses; temperance.


On Wikipedia, a more comprehensive and contextual explanation of the term include (among others): A moderator may remove unsuitable contributions from a website forum or IRC channel they represent, in accordance with their moderation system.

Interestingly, in that same Wiki entry, there was also a depiction of moderation in an ancient Greek social context: Moderation is also a principle of life. In ancient Greece, the temple of Apollo at Delphi bore the inscription Meden Agan - 'Nothing in excess'. Doing something "in moderation" means not doing it excessively. For instance, someone who moderates their food consumption tries to eat all food groups, but limits their intake of those that may cause deleterious effects to harmless levels. Similarly in Christianity, moderationism is the position that drinking alcoholic beverages temperately is permissible, though drunkenness is forbidden. Moderation is a characteristic of the Swedish national psyche, more specifically described by the Swedish synonym lagom.

So, should there be moderation if one is to support the idea of freedom of expression and non-censorship of thoughts and ideas? It's a paradox, isn't it?

Oh and by the way, there was a point where I had received notices about Sister Enda's supposed political leanings on Facebook with invitations to join social advocacy groups but I see that Sister has now reverted to a neutral stand on the social network. I'm used to having Sister Enda's voice in my head (planted there at the tender age of 13) teaching virtues such as recognizing right from wrong and striving generally to be better human beings. That voice has never said how I should live out those virtues. Hence, to receive notices that Sister Enda is into social activism was rather disturbing.

Nuff said... bring on the mud...


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