identified.citizen

So much for building a "Singaporean identity"...

I do not believe in letting our aged parents live out the rest of their shriveled and shrunken lives in the care of outsiders from their own immediate offspring.

This is of course, refering to the comment made by the one responsible in overseeing healthcare issues for CITIZENS of Singapore.

While my own moral grounding and socialization processes has led me to adopt such an attitude, i do not find it a worthwhile burden in imposing such a view on others, in view of the fact that in this country, diversity of thought and social attitudes are best dealt with in the basis of mutual respect and tolerance.

What i wish to bring up here, is in fact, not something which occured to my grey matter on its own, but rather by the mention of a lecturer of mine, on the concept of NATION-STATE.

To put it simply for the sake of convenience and to avoid heavy reading, the deal between a CITIZEN, and the STATE is such that both parties are in a position of reciprocal exchange. While one party gives something, the other party should give something else in return.

If not, what is the point of persuading Singaporeans to retain the red passport instead of any other colour?

Thanks to my lecturer, the concept of the nation-state and the citizen has been subtly made into an unintended farce unknowingly by the one who made the comment of suggesting that those who wish to put their parents in a nursing home to do so across the ancient Causeway instead of Singapore if they deem that it is too expensive to do so.

Figures mentioned in the press identified the cost to be half of putting them in a local nursing home. Does that justify the suggestion to the citizen to go somewhere else for a service which his own home country can provide?

To apply this to another situation, imagine the country which you have worked so hard for through the paying of taxes, or by going through the mandatory military training in the name of "Total Defence", is to announce that if youre too poor to get a decent education in Singapore, then go somewhere else to get one because youre not worth the effort. Luckily, the situation has not reached to that level. But lets not be too surprised if one day that is to happen.

Obviously, it would be quite an impossible task to measure meal by meal the individual reciprocation processes out there to ascertain if it is equal. But in suggesting that we go somewhere else to get something which some people find is a need, it would make them think twice of letting themselves be "contracted" to an entity for the rest of their lives. Perhaps in the long-term, the intelligent ones would just leave and settle elsewhere instead, which would leave the country facing a brain drain.

I cannot help but to feel that they have indeed envisioned this to happen, and that is why, we have in recent times experienced the presence of foreigners being increased in our everyday lives. They are doing so much to attract all these "talented and cheap" people in, that lesser is being done to make those who have already contributed so much to the country from going out.

Go "Global", they say. But please, not at the expense of the locals.

But then you might want to rebut,"Get real boy. It is every man for himself out there. Do not expect the government to do everything for you.." The concept of "survival of the fittest" rules the roost... yada yada yada.

This sort of thinking will only encourage more individualism thinking amongst us, and in the long run, nothing is worth defending for, other than the stash of material things you have, in the name of comfort for yourself and your brood, and not for others, who might be in a more strangled state. Being selfish will be the norm, and at the end of it all, life as we know it will be more f***ed than ever.

.
Oh. And i still hold this view. One day, Singapore can only be inhabited by those who are rich, as long as the people that fills the highest governing offices adopt this mentality.

.
ok2. enuf of this talk. lets move on to something else.

.
I had a blast of a time walking in a heavy downpour just now, right in the middle of decently constructed nature, no less. Without an umbrella or a poncho.

I felt at one, with nature. Even though the pair of pair of jeans doubled its weight because it soaked up too much water, and that my bag got drenched, along with every thing inside except my lappie (amazingly).

I cannot forget the boyish and childlike feeling, of having water flowing down the hill, going against my uncovered foot.

yeah yeah. childish, u say.

let me just say this: i grab the little things while i still can, lest one day i will be too focused on the big things to notice them.

.

its been a while since ive seen nur. hmm. wait. its only been two days. and already, i miss her like crazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. how. how???!!!

tahan lorh.

. i cant wait for the next time where i can just be by her side.

:) aah.