Friday 15 August 2008

whingeing whingers - a response

I wrote a letter to The Straits Times' forum today, in response to a letter I had read. I'm not sure if they will publish it, but I'm reproducing my letter here.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I refer to Jonathan Quek's letter, "Anti-government grouses on Internet sometimes too much" posted on the online forum.

The immediate reaction from readers who posted comments to his letter certainly proved Mr Quek's point. The vast majority of them were critical, cynical and captious, displaying the typical facileness that complainers are wont to indulge in.

Although in the online world, lone voices like Mr Quek's often appear in danger of being drowned out by the cacophony of malcontent whingeing, I would like to assure him and others of similar sentiment that, in the real world, their voices are part of a chorus that resonate with a much larger segment of our people than often realised. It is perhaps time for this silent majority to become more vocal and join in the singing of our nation's hard-earned praises.

In many ways, our government is a victim of its own success. The very complainers who find reason to decry our leaders for every policy that does not benefit them immediately, individually and directly, would not have the presence of mind to do so had their other needs and living requirements not already been provided for by the very hand they are biting.

To our great fortune, we have a national leadership comprising uncommon men with unconventional wisdom. It is a depth of sagacity that common men possessing conventional wisdom and limited foresight cannot truly appreciate. Thus the perennial whingeing. They would choose the effortless indulgence of destructive rather than constructive criticism. As Oscar Wilde wrote, "A cynic is one who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing."

But for people like Mr Quek and others who appreciate the value of what we Singaporeans have, I am confident they will do their part in collaborating with our leaders to make an already great nation even greater, while leaving behind the rest who choose to be mired in their complaints, stewing in their own resentment.

Thursday 14 August 2008

catching up with "boss"

I had a dinner meeting with my ex-boss yesterday. He brought along a former colleague who is one of his most-trusted lieutenants. My ex-boss is a professionally-accomplished and very busy man. I was honoured to spend the evening with him. Even though he is technically no longer my boss, I still address him as "Boss" - a combination of the familiar and the entirely-deserved honorific.

He shared with me the latest developments in the organization. I was very happy to learn that under his direction, it truly is growing from strength to strength. He just purchased two properties - one is a terraced house and the other a large plot of land whose backyard faces Pierce Reservoir. The former will be used as a satellite office cum chalet for the organization, while the latter is a private investment. He is an enthusiastic proponent of qi gong and the location of that land will be an ideal place to practise the art.

I was also honoured that he expressed deep appreciation for the help I had rendered in the past, the most recent instance being helping him ghost-write an article for a financial magazine. Dinner was in part to thank me for the assistance. He also reiterated his interest in exploring further collaborations between myself and the organisation in the near future. It is a growing firm that will need to upgrade its marketing, branding and technology knowledge. He believes that I will be able to play a role in these endeavours. I am humbled by his confidence. I told him that it would be an honour to be a part of the growth of the organization.

Over dinner, we also shared and reaffirmed each other in our common admiration and support for our country and the ruling party and its founder, our Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. We also talked about the ministers we admired and those who perhaps had a few idiosyncrasies that made them stand out. It was a wonderful evening with fantastic company. I'm looking forward to our collaboration.

Friday 8 August 2008

the singapore song

This brought tears to my eyes. And I'm a 25 year old guy born post-Independence. Obviously I was not around to experience the pangs of my nation's birth and cannot viscerally compare the conditions before and after the war. But the fact that I am one of the beneficiaries of modern history's preeminent socio-economic developmental success story has never been lost on me. I am agnostic, so I do not thank "god" for this. Instead, I bow in gratitude to that god among men - Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Monday 4 August 2008

the tension of opposites: a message for a friend

The main lesson I learnt vicariously from Morrie too many Tuesdays ago than I can remember, is the idea of what he called the "tension of opposites". It is essentially a function of the confluence of conscience and reason. In his (paraphrased) words: "Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn’t. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted."

In this "series of pulls back and forth," most of us, the author explains, exist somewhere in the middle. He continues: "So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-sleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they are doing the wrong things. The way to get meaning into life is to devote yourself to loving others, and to create or do something that gives purpose and meaning and help each other."

Recently, a very close friend of mine felt the full force of that tension. The stolid pride of his emotional facade crumbled but the edifice of his character remained intact. Time and effort will see that the debris is swept away and a new structure built. A building that is rebuilt is often stronger and more beautiful than before.