1. Happy 53rd National Day – A Take Of Two Countries

1. Happy 53rd National Day – A Take Of Two Countries

Country #1

Democracy promotes leaders who know how to pander to desires of the masses.

These leaders exchange socio-economic currency for political currency, and short term gains for long term growth.

They will not prescribe bitter medicine to strengthen and sustain positive improvements.

Instead, they dig into the national reserves to please the electorate, and incur debts that have to be settled by future generations of citizens.

Plan and implement policies and improvements that help them secure a majority of votes during the next election.

Ensure that character defects, hidden agenda, and powers influencing political causes from locally and overseas are kept out of the radar screen.

Over time, they honed and perfected their publicity machinery until it becomes difficult to sieve truths from lies, facts from fake news, and painful honesty from post-truth.

In this particular country, voters are generally ignorant, apathetic, and easily moved.

Faced with time, cognitive, or environmental constraints, they fail to access and analyse relevant information.

Fail to think critically and weigh pros and cons of different options to make better-informed choices.

Fail to avoid personal biases and prejudices that can influence them in making sound decisions.

Fail to prevent their personal experiences, biases, and prejudices from colouring their judgements.

Fail to ring fence themselves from being swayed by people who are committed and influential in fulfilling their ethnocentric missions.

To matters worst, they voted to access “freebies” from the national reserves.

Voted for politicians that promise them the most generous and appealing benefits.

Just as they managed to build a great nation within one generation, they lost everything within the next.

Country #2

Democracy supports meritocracy and develop leaders from the best pool of talents to govern the country.

This second country allows its people to participate in strengthening the nation-building process and developing ground-up contributions.

Leaders have sound characters and subscribe to positive values.

Committed to serve the country and its people.

Competent in developing the country and making it exceptional and well-admired by leaders and people from all over the world.

Compassionate in helping the least, last, lonely and lost.

Work cohesively as a team.

Connect and collaborate with the people so as to co-create solutions for the brightest future.

The voters are politically matured, and they take an objective, responsible, balanced and pragmatic approach to an election.

They act in good faith, have good intentions, and are intendedly rational.

Succeed in focusing on greater good and not on self-centered benefits, and betterment of society and not on their self interests.

Succeed in investing time, effort, and other resources to vote wisely and make their votes work for the country and for their collective future.

They may make mistakes but democracy allows them to correct their mistakes and re-direct the country to a better course.

Country #2 sounds like a fairy tale.

A fairy tale can be a reflection of the desires and aspirations of a country and its people.

Together, the spirit and power of the people can turn a fairy tale into a reality.

The Singapore story has been somewhat like a fairy tale so far.

Moving forward, together, we can make Singapore the most livable, learning-oriented, and lovable country in the world.

We can relish with pride as we recount our story from now till SG100 and beyond.

Go4It!

I hope this message will find a place in your heart.

By the way, I have also recorded other reflections.

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