plays

Love how Parkoring brings Singapore’s cityscape into a different dimension/point of view.

A Domo-to-Go Please.

Last week I took Domo to take some photos. It was great, havent done that in awhile.

back to the polls again and the problem with Democracy

In the recent Hougang Elections, local playwright Alfian Sa’at was weighed in on Minister Chan Chun Sing’s recent comments about raising wages of low income earners and Singapore’s total fertility rate (TFR):

“One of the reasons the PAP makes my skin crawl is its fondness for what the ‘are you prepared’ argument, which is to weld together both the straw man and the slippery slope arguments. ‘We can try having a multiparty democracy but are you prepared for gridlock and filibusters?’ ‘We can try lowering ministerial salaries but are you prepared to have incompetent leaders?’ Now Chan Chun Sing has come up with two brilliant ones: ‘We can try paying cleaners better but are you prepared to pay higher conservancy charges?’ and ‘We can try to reverse the decline in our fertility rates like the Nordic countries but are you prepared to accept children born out of wedlock?’ They don’t expect an answer because it’s all rhetorical, of course, and preying on worst-scenario fears and risk-aversion.”

Inasmuch as his comments highlight the mind games that our chief political parties play, in nevertheless reiterates  can’t help but note that often times, the “are you prepared” game PAP plays, I think his comments nonetheless highlights the fundamental problem with democracy as a system. 

Firstly, democracy thrives on the idea that people are essentially altruistic and will always work together for the greater good of society, especially since they are afterall members of that society. Wrong. While I agree that human beings have a good side too, we (as a specifies) are first and foremost self-serving creatures. Sure, we go out of our way to do good sometimes, but only when it is (a) beneficial to us, and/or (b) whenever it is convenient. Think of companies who do corporate social responsibility (CSR). Do they really have a genuine concern for others? No. Even the name itself suggest otherwise - they may feel responsible for the damages they have caused to people and to the environment in the process of doing what they do, but CSR was the solution created to ensure that their asse(t)s don’t end up in a hefty law suit. The same is with people/individuals. We do good to feel good about ourselves - not that there’s anything wrong with that mind you, but we quickly lose sight that we ought to be seeing the injustice that our systems (capitalistic consumerism for one) have created on their own - poverty, endangering animals, messing around with the ecosystem.

It’s not just as simple as buying that Fair Trade coffee to ease our conscience, but what exactly happens to that money in the long run that matters. I remember as a student, we were supposed to do flag day to clog up mandatory “community service hours”. I remember standing outside the supermarket exit because i had learnt that that was the best way you could get people to donate their change - because you would be doing them a service. Did I feel good that I was helping out a welfare home or a non-profit childcare centre? No. As far as I was concerned, collecting donation money was a competition, in and of itself, based on who could get the heaviest (read: most impressive) tin can.

If PAP is playing the ‘are you prepared’ card then, it is only because they know that they are thriving on a self-centred group of people (dare I say nation), to say “no” to an increase in taxed, even if it means tht the poor have a better chance of bettering their lives, and in effect the increase the nation’s standard of living. This is why democracy fails. But this is also why consumerism/marxism (as a thought) was never successful.

If there is any glimmer of hope, then the real question we have to ask ourselves is this: how can we nurture citizens who can look beyond their inconvenience and focus on the greater good of all? Since that is, presumably, the main driver of democracy.

It is times like these that Hougang becomes our beacon of hope- if a GRC can stick to its belief, against all odds, all outright discrimination from the major party, then maybe there is a chance for Singapore to dispel the cowardliness suggested by PAP’s scare tactics.

* Author’s Note: This piece was written on 26 May 2012. The day of Hougang’s Election. I’m pleased to report that WP managed to retained their seat, defeating PAP with 62.1%.

Todd Jacobson, you have the right to do whatever you want. Absolutely nothing you say or do can be utilised against you by anybody but we’d really like it if you came with us. Please and thank you.

—

Troy in Community, Season 3 Episode 17. 

Gotta love Community.

How About Money AND Passion?

Ok, I know its incredibly lame to say that work really takes a toll on you (when it comes to blogging), but it really has been, and every moment I’m off work, its just too tempting an offer to miss out on rotting in front of the television or doing something mindless. Even though that does not give me any true pleasure. Or at least not even a 70% satisfaction.

But here’s the thing right, I’ve been attempting to start this new routine of (wait for it..) getting up early on the weekends so I get more things done. WHAT? Yes. I know, weekends and typically meant for sleeping in after a long Friday night or what not, but a bulk of the aftermath is often wasted on just bumming around and not getting anything done.

In any case, I thought this article was a huge encouragement for me. I especially like the bit where the writer says:

“Research (such as The Power of Small Wins that ran in Harvard Business Review May, 2011) shows that people who make progress every day toward something they care about report being satisfied and fulfilled.”

I mean, sure the other portions are just an important. Like of course, we know that time is finite and hence we can’t always wish that we would get that dream job we want once we get enough money, but its truly an understatement to say that just taking 15 minutes to do what you really love goes a long way. Conversely, not doing what you love might often times lead you to lose your skill set and you would have to start from the ground up again when you finally get that lucky break (if that even happens).

For me, this passion entails a couple of things, but mostly writing and Ultimate frisbee. So that’s what I’m going to keep at.

So while you’re still “watching this space”, it might be good to check out this article - I highly recommend it, for your soul and sanity.