Reasons why you are a lucky son of a bitch, you Singaporean:
1. You live in a clean country. The rest of the world isn't that pretty. Singaporeans already complain when they make it halfway across the Causeway. So the next time your friendly neighbourhood cleaner comes around, smile. Old aunty or Bangladeshi, smile, because they are doing you a favour. And say thank you, damnit.
2. We don't have to worry about guns. The whole world is full of them. You see images of gun-totting gangsters in Rio and kids with rifles in Iraq and Nigeria on the news. It may have it hit home to the guys who will remember the first time they pulled the trigger on an M16 or SAR21 in NS. For the rest, the first 15mins of Saving Private Ryan is a good idea of what happens in Baghdad on a daily basis.
3. Corruption isn't a way of life. There are so many places where paying someone off is the only way to get things done. All businessmen in Singapore who have cut the cloth overseas have had to pay someone off some time. It's never fair when its business. But to pay off the police, the postal worker, the carpark guy, the security guard, the local thug so that life is easy isn't a fun way to live. Be thankful for the trust you can place to the folks in power. We may not like all of it, but it sure beats a gahmen that screws things up on a regular basis.
4. We are the only natural disaster. Japan gets a few earthquakes a day (tiny ones that no one really feels. But every now and then, big ones wallop); Manila and Dhaka get flooded on an bi-annual basis; People in south and east Australia are going through a drought that's been around for more than 10 years; Indonesians in Sumatra and Java have volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis to contend with; even Hong Kong with all its food and shopping sits on the typhoon corridor. Yes, we have dealt with the Hotel New World collapse, the cable car tragedy, and the hole in Nicoll Highway. All man made though. Raffles made a good choice in selecting this sunny island.
5. Water and electricity. We wouldn't be so comfortable without these two essentials. It's so easy to take these things for granted. Turn the tap, you get flow. But in many parts of the world, people just don't have enough to drink. Life gets really simple then because you don't really tend to live long with little to drink. Flick a switch, the TV, lights, fridge, computer, radio, Xbox, vacuum come on. Imagine all the books you would have to read by candlelight if you didn't have electricity. All 26 volumes of Encyclopedia Brittanica would be so entertaining.
Do this tomorrow - count the number of occasions you use electricity. Then before you sleep at night, imagine what would happen the next day if you didn't have that electricity to use. Life would suck. And it wasn't too long ago when it did.
This is my NDP message. Feel free to add your own commentary.
2 comments:
thank you, damnit.
i totally share your views. i've always appreciated what the gahmen has done, and what we have here. while in japan last year, i shared the worries of japanese - not only earthquakes, but also the north korean nuclear warheads aiming at them. i also learnt to appreciate smoke-free restaurants or any public places. compare what we have now with what we used to have when we were young, mere 30 years, gone are the days of having to sleep on the floor of the living room (barely the size of our hostel room) at night with my entire family.
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