Happy 45th! I could not wish earlier as I was in the rush for yesterday’s parade.
For a country to be called a tiny red dot on the map with barely any resources to begin with, Singapore has came a long way. But I know of many who have so much to complain about Singapore. Few, who actually do take a hard look at where they are right now, and is appreciative of what the government has given us. Yes, the government should do this, the government could have done that so much better. But has one ever considered that no one type of governance works for every country, and compared to so many other countries in the world, Singaporeans are quite a lucky bunch, the way we are right now.
We may not have a high level of freedom of speech, but we don’t have to worry about a strike causing disruption, or turning violent, and hardly have to worry about safety when coming home at 3am. We may not be a welfare state, but we have assess to clean water, basic healthcare, and no matter how poor the living conditions, no one is on the street neither do we have to worry about being killed by common diseases that can easily be prevented or cured.
We may not have what most people define as full democracy, but we have economic success, peace in the country, good social living conditions which are comparable to other Western first World countries. How many countries can boast of that, especially within the limitations faced by a nation this small, with human as our only natural resource? Man is by nature, greedy. Nothing is ever good enough, we will always want more. As for Singaporeans, we’re probably too pampered and sheltered a bunch, especially us, the younger generation. Take a better look at what is happening out there, and learn to see what the older generation of leaders have done for us. You may not agree with their way of doing things, but you certainly can’t deny that that is what brought us to today. Then again, afterall, it is the complains that pushes the government to work harder and not be complacent, right?
It has been said that, whenever we sang the National Anthem and recite the Singapore Pledge, it has made Singapore what it is today. What I mean is that, the lyrics of our National Anthem - “Majulah Singapore” has made Singapore a very successful country as a nation comes together.
