At the archipelago beer hub a few days ago, a friend responsibly (own word) and collectively called "SM2" and "SM3" arrogant and dumb. While some might find his words hard to swallow, they are indeed charmingly direct and constructive if approached the right way. After the party and after I sobered up from the alcohol, I started to think about what best describes our generation - this whole group called "SM1" - and the biggest weakness in us. I have one word too.

Shallow.

肤浅。

全方位的肤浅。看待事务，思考问题，面对生活上的肤浅。

从我个人经历而言，十五岁的时候离开中国，正好是思维方式迅速成熟的年龄。来到这里以后，由于文化环境的差异，顿时没有了很多接触中国文学，哲学，伦理和历史的机会。记得一开始的时候家里人还寄一些好文来读，到后来这方面的兴趣也少了。开始学习英文，起步阶段读读故事书，十岁的小朋友读读的那种。后来认的字多了，开始读小说，读名著。但是英语毕竟只是一种工具，可以很快地掌握，而他承载的西方文化却需要时间去理解，需要积累，需要教育的引导。新加坡这方面的教育又很缺乏，一切只讲求实效性，甚至更极端的速效性。比如学校说中国学生只准读“中华文学”，一门死记硬背，屁用没有的课。讽刺的是，到最后O水准的时候，我们很多人都没拿到A。本人考了个B3。如果学校让我去读英国文学或历史，估计也不会比这个差吧？扯远了，总之十五岁的拐点，思想上的成长失去了延续性，这是其一。

另外，新加坡本身的岛国文化也有局限性。双语平行的教育宗旨“开辟”了一条夹在中文和英文之间的第三条平行线。两边都学一点，其实两边都不搭界。刚进华中的时候，觉得这些小男生们都好幼稚啊，华中毕业的时候感觉就不明显了。是他们进步了吗？更像是我们退化了吧。记得在莱初，有个老师曾经谈到新加坡人肤浅的历史原因。她说我们大多是福建广东渔民的后裔，祖先因为饥荒战乱，逃到这里，学识浅薄，不会经商，久而久之，也变成了一种文化。很难得能从本地人口中听到这么独到的见解。剩下的新加坡人不愿这样的自省，甘愿活在经济尚好的浮躁和自恋中，期待下一位李总理来光耀全岛。所以在我们SM1当中的很多小朋友们，在这样的环境里，在需要融入本地社会的生存催压下，开始把操一口新加坡的杂菜式英文跟着新加坡人发扬讲废话等诸如此类他们民族的招牌式兴趣爱好的能力也当成了一种成就；开始取其糟粕，弃其精华；开始自足于肤浅。这是其二。

为什么很多留学生沉迷电脑游戏，或者其他的本不属于他们的可以被统称为堕落的生活方式？我觉得是心灵空虚。原因自然有很多。主要是生活上的独立。出国以后，一切都靠自我管理，自我约束。受到长辈的教诲自然就比较少。周围的学长（如果有的话）有时也被抓来充当一下智者的角色。平时规划着日常的琐碎，棱角慢慢被磨平的时候也就开始肤浅了。比起国内的同学，多了份老练，但少了份执著。当然独立生活有很多好处，特别是当你遇到困难的时候，环顾四周，无依无靠，不得不从自身挖掘解决问题的潜能，等一切过去了，回头看看自然也是一种成长。只是人总要听听多方面的意见，不是每次都能靠自己做正确的决定。加上SM1的小朋友们来得最早，有些专注的闭塞的投入到貌似有趣的生活中，个人的远景目标和生命的真正意义自然就被限制了。这是其三。

We are all flawed in our own way. We just see it better when we have the different groups compared side by side. But after all, we are together; together with the singaporean chinese, malays, indians on this island; and with every person on this world. I shall conclude with President Reagan's famous "alien invasion" speech at Fallston High School, Maryland, in 1985:

"I couldn't help but - one point in our discussions privately with General Secretary Gorbachev - when you stop to think that we're all God's children, wherever we may live in the world, I couldn't help but say to him, just think how easy his task and mine might be in these meetings that we held if suddenly there was a threat to this world from some other species, from another planet, outside in the universe. We'd forget all the little local differences that we have between our countries, and we would find out once and for all that we really are all human beings here on this Earth together. Well, I don't suppose we can wait for some alien race to come down and threaten us, but i think that between us we can bring about that realization."