http://catherinelim.sg/2007/11/04/an-open-let ter-to-the-prime-minister /" title="http://catherinelim.sg/2007/11/04/an-open-let ter-to-the-prime-minister /" target="_blank"http://catherinelim.sg/2007/1...

apparently catherine lim wrote in to the straits times regarding the appalling lack of political freedom in singapore currently, and more importantly signs that it will not materialise in the near millenium or so (ok i exaggerate). and that the govt has - with all good intentions - used fear to manipulate citizens into wary silence. no idea why but i felt an involuntary voice rise up in denial of the claim that there is a climate of fear and paranoia in singapore and that that's why nobody votes for opposition/asks MM questions/speak up against the govt. my instinctual response surprised myself, for am i not the one who feels we're living under oppression by an aristocratic govt? true, people generally opine that speaking up against the govt never leads one to good ends but honestly, how much of it is fear and how much of it apathy?

or perhaps, we have been drilled into such mindless obedience that we no longer question why we do not question. and evidently a significant number are fully content with material prosperity; liberalism has no attraction for them unless it concerns job opportunities.

but what really is liberty and democracy to us? what is it that we really want? do we truly desire to answer the call of the upright salient philosophising homos apien and voice our views and influence our lives? or is what we want merely an emulation of what the west has - "angmoh stuff must be better quality"? is liberty just another social construct, and democracy simply a 'weapon of the weak against the strong'? strong viable opposition parties in govt; rights to assembly, protests, free press and free speech; right to vote on policies: is this democracy? i vacillate between wanting pluralism and checks on govt, and fear of consequences. can we afford to experiment with structure? will we rise stronger after a fall, or will we languish for eternity in the obscurity we were supposed to be condemned to size-wise? we are indeed an anomaly in history; who's to say this isn't precisely because we have not succumbed to taking the path of western democracy.

and yet, from time to time there swells up in me - and i bet in many others - a desire for MORE. a hankering for self-determination, to test the limits; to know that WE MATTER. for is that not what the common man seeks? a sort of meaning for his suffering. reciprocity. for all the slogging and sacrifices made for society and state, he wants to know he means more than just a statistic to the body - even if it is illusory; then he can die content.

but what do i know of the common man? perhaps he simply wants a home, 3 meals a day and weekends at ikea/mustafa/the 4D shop and repeat thus till hopefully he dies before global warming or GST superhikes takes over the world.

for him then, freedom is enough opposition threat during GEs to keep the progress packages coming.