Starting over

2009-12-14T16:37:00.003+08:00

Very often, we are stuck in the realities of society's parameters. The environment in which we are surrounded by, determines how bounded we are, determines our behaviour, determines our thinking. And this is what I meant by being stuck in the realities of our society.

As I start my life over in an African country which I would never have thought that I would land up in, I have stopped to see and wonder quite many times. I wonder whether it would be better for the African people if we were to just put a few of our own guidelines in place of theirs. A few. Not too many. Things like education, things like anti-corruption policies. By putting a few of these in place, one can expect that the behaviour that cascades down to the streets can be enormously different. Over here, asking for money seems to be a norm, an entitlement, something that people do because there are no other ways for them to survive. So much so that some can become verbally abusive if they were NOT given any money. Why? Because they see that it is society's responsibility to feed them, to make sure that they don't die on the streets. Did they choose to beg? No. Given the conditions that these men are in, one can easily say that asking for money is probably the only thing that they can do.

When I put my thoughts along this line, I thought about how Singaporeans are also stuck in the realities of societal's movements and developments. Who is to say that the policies that are structured for us does us more good than harm? Are we harnessing a group of intelligent but soul-less individuals who probably are more concerned about the next exam than the next election? I met with a few newly graduated bright individuals in an overseas Singaporean gathering held in Bahrain in November this year. I got the feeling (they did not say anything about how they got to be in that position) that they were 'chosen' to be there as the 'ambassadors' of the Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU). Has the path been already decided for them? Were they not given a choice? Did the society decide for them? I think, yes.

Jane

Starting over