Something happened and my bicycle tire didn't want to inflate. So I ended up jogging. I marvelled at the fact that you can maneuver much better around places when you jog... no need to think of lugging a big monster with wheels. But jogging's deathly boring.
~~~
Over lunch today with the colleagues, the topic of political apathy came about. I was having lunch with a group of 4 folks who had all studied or were studying in the UK. They merrily shared tidbits of information about Hyde Park, Khan's, King's Road and all other lovely British things. I was thinking that Kadayanalloor Street was cooler than all those places combined. The topic then shifted to the feeling of Singaporean-ness when living abroad, as opposed to being totally bloody apathetic among local affairs when living in Singapore.
Fareed Zakaria gave an interview in the Straits Times last weekend, where he said that Singapore lacks a "fully functioning multi-party democracy", and that younger Singaporeans felt frustrated at the autocratic leadership (that has been around for as long as most young people could remember). The topic then further shifted to whether young men and women at the University really felt strongly about politics and "freedom", while older folks in the early 30s did not feel as much passion and preferred the peace and status quo.
Thinking about it, the recent changes in my lifestyle have really lessened the time I took to think about and feel about things like politics, freedom of speech and the Sedition Act, and those stupid lousy Western countries that did not lift a finger to stop genocides. We used to debate about these things in class those days (3 years ago), and I felt that the Government and Singaporeans all just wanted to play safe, have secure jobs, watch TV and forget about everything else.
Now, a marriage, a HDB flat and a kid later, what MM said once rings true in my year (not his exact words): give a person the basic necessities in life, like shelter, food (as in the Maslow hierarchy of needs) and you can lead the nation quite successfully, as people will be content with the leadership.
But it's not as if I don't care about politics, and everything else. I do - but I also know that we in Singapore have a lot more things that millions around the world don't. These things are, in no ranking order, freedom to express yourself, freedom to practice your religion, freedom to walk at night without fear, freedom to do anything you want that is legal... and so on. Of course, the breadth and depth of the freedoms vary, as we all live in a society of many different types of people. But we have so much freedom to be thankful for.
If one really wants to change the world, there is a certain method to it. We are a group of people who made things happen with pragmatism, not drama and conflict. And this shows in the way things work today. There's no drama - drama is ridiculed (recall Chee Soon Juan's court case and him as a "political juvenile" and "near psychopath"), and conflict is curbed. So for things to change, pragmatism should be the approach.
But for now, let me pragmatically enjoy that ice-cold glass of Mug root beer which is waiting for me... ah, freedom.
Fareed Zakaria gave an interview in the Straits Times last weekend, where he said that Singapore lacks a "fully functioning multi-party democracy", and that younger Singaporeans felt frustrated at the autocratic leadership (that has been around for as long as most young people could remember). The topic then further shifted to whether young men and women at the University really felt strongly about politics and "freedom", while older folks in the early 30s did not feel as much passion and preferred the peace and status quo.
Thinking about it, the recent changes in my lifestyle have really lessened the time I took to think about and feel about things like politics, freedom of speech and the Sedition Act, and those stupid lousy Western countries that did not lift a finger to stop genocides. We used to debate about these things in class those days (3 years ago), and I felt that the Government and Singaporeans all just wanted to play safe, have secure jobs, watch TV and forget about everything else.
Now, a marriage, a HDB flat and a kid later, what MM said once rings true in my year (not his exact words): give a person the basic necessities in life, like shelter, food (as in the Maslow hierarchy of needs) and you can lead the nation quite successfully, as people will be content with the leadership.
But it's not as if I don't care about politics, and everything else. I do - but I also know that we in Singapore have a lot more things that millions around the world don't. These things are, in no ranking order, freedom to express yourself, freedom to practice your religion, freedom to walk at night without fear, freedom to do anything you want that is legal... and so on. Of course, the breadth and depth of the freedoms vary, as we all live in a society of many different types of people. But we have so much freedom to be thankful for.
If one really wants to change the world, there is a certain method to it. We are a group of people who made things happen with pragmatism, not drama and conflict. And this shows in the way things work today. There's no drama - drama is ridiculed (recall Chee Soon Juan's court case and him as a "political juvenile" and "near psychopath"), and conflict is curbed. So for things to change, pragmatism should be the approach.
But for now, let me pragmatically enjoy that ice-cold glass of Mug root beer which is waiting for me... ah, freedom.
1 comment:
Hi NunBun,
A lot depends on the society (or even household, on a smaller scale) one grew up in and what one is used to.
For many, the so called Benefits of living in Singapore (most of which are really material) do not count for much without other "things" which are food for the soul. On the other hand, having a marriage, hdb flat, kids and a steady job are more than enough for many people.
I guess like most things, its all about perspective.
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