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[h=2]The great danger faced by a 47th Year Old nation.[/h]
August 12th, 2012 |
Author: Contributions
Human beings are inherently selfish. We do not, intentionally, set out to harm others. However, in the pursuit of happiness, we inevitably harm others as an indirect consequence. Our happiness usually depends on the pursuit of wealth and resources to feed our indulgences. But with finite resources, what I own means someone else must give up possession. There are just not enough roads and car parks for everyone to own a car. If every Singaporean is a millionaire, then a plate of Char Kway Teow will easily cost $100 or more.
All actions have side-effects and selfish actions (in the pursuit of material happiness) have negative side-effects. In its mild form, selfish action is irritating but in a serious manner it can destroy lives or even a country. A driver who fails to align his car properly while parking is either careless or just irritating. A drunk driver, however, threatens the lives of others although there is no premeditation.
Precisely because selfish behavior do not start off with the aim to harm others, it is difficult to know their consequences until it is too late. Such as employers going for the cheapest foreign workers, deprive their fellow countrymen from an honest means of living decades later. Employees who demand a job with high wages and short working hours deprive a company of its ability to compete in the long run. The earlier generations of Singaporeans profited from inflated HDB prices thus making affordable housing out of the reach for the subsequent generation.
This is not to say, people are incapable of actions that have positively side effects that benefit others and themselves. It is just that such altruistic behavior is usually selfless and we are not very good at caring about how our actions will impact others.
Unfortunately, selfish behaviors manifesting in a nation’s leaders have far more destructive side-effects then the selfish actions of its citizens. Selfish elites of a nation can tear a country apart, alienate its people and destroy the nation’s future. A good example would be the Philippines and Argentina in the 1960s and early 70s. These countries used to be far more developed than Singapore. But military dictatorship, nepotism and corruption wasted their potential and decades of growth.
Similarly, selfless behaviors in a nation’s leaders have far more beneficial effects on a country and its people. Leaders such as S. Rajaratnam and Goh Keng Swee whose selfless contribution during our nation’s developing years continued to be remembered and praised by many.
As a nation, we are 47 years old. We have been quite successful so far. Will our success continue for another 50 years and more? We are told that as a small nation, we face many great challenges such as insufficient ministers of good caliber, global competition, global economic crisis, an aging population and so on. However, I believe what will determine the longevity of Singapore as a prosperous nation, is our success or failure to vote in selfless leaders (and kick out the selfish ones). We are a democracy. Our leaders did not come into power by births or through dictatorship. Therefore, if we have self-serving leaders then it is our fault that we fail to exercise our choice properly.
We were told to judge our leaders by their qualifications when what really matters is their selflessness and willingness to serve. So judge our leaders not by their words or credentials but by their deeds. Judge their deeds by the policies they introduced. Judge whether these policies serve the leaders or the people by asking whose lives are better or worse? I believe if you know the answer to the last question then you will know what kind of leaders we have today. I hope we don’t wait until it is too late to know if we had made the right choice. Happy 47[SUP]th[/SUP] National Day! Majulah Singapura!
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Daemonic
.
Human beings are inherently selfish. We do not, intentionally, set out to harm others. However, in the pursuit of happiness, we inevitably harm others as an indirect consequence. Our happiness usually depends on the pursuit of wealth and resources to feed our indulgences. But with finite resources, what I own means someone else must give up possession. There are just not enough roads and car parks for everyone to own a car. If every Singaporean is a millionaire, then a plate of Char Kway Teow will easily cost $100 or more.
All actions have side-effects and selfish actions (in the pursuit of material happiness) have negative side-effects. In its mild form, selfish action is irritating but in a serious manner it can destroy lives or even a country. A driver who fails to align his car properly while parking is either careless or just irritating. A drunk driver, however, threatens the lives of others although there is no premeditation.
Precisely because selfish behavior do not start off with the aim to harm others, it is difficult to know their consequences until it is too late. Such as employers going for the cheapest foreign workers, deprive their fellow countrymen from an honest means of living decades later. Employees who demand a job with high wages and short working hours deprive a company of its ability to compete in the long run. The earlier generations of Singaporeans profited from inflated HDB prices thus making affordable housing out of the reach for the subsequent generation.
This is not to say, people are incapable of actions that have positively side effects that benefit others and themselves. It is just that such altruistic behavior is usually selfless and we are not very good at caring about how our actions will impact others.
Unfortunately, selfish behaviors manifesting in a nation’s leaders have far more destructive side-effects then the selfish actions of its citizens. Selfish elites of a nation can tear a country apart, alienate its people and destroy the nation’s future. A good example would be the Philippines and Argentina in the 1960s and early 70s. These countries used to be far more developed than Singapore. But military dictatorship, nepotism and corruption wasted their potential and decades of growth.
Similarly, selfless behaviors in a nation’s leaders have far more beneficial effects on a country and its people. Leaders such as S. Rajaratnam and Goh Keng Swee whose selfless contribution during our nation’s developing years continued to be remembered and praised by many.
As a nation, we are 47 years old. We have been quite successful so far. Will our success continue for another 50 years and more? We are told that as a small nation, we face many great challenges such as insufficient ministers of good caliber, global competition, global economic crisis, an aging population and so on. However, I believe what will determine the longevity of Singapore as a prosperous nation, is our success or failure to vote in selfless leaders (and kick out the selfish ones). We are a democracy. Our leaders did not come into power by births or through dictatorship. Therefore, if we have self-serving leaders then it is our fault that we fail to exercise our choice properly.
We were told to judge our leaders by their qualifications when what really matters is their selflessness and willingness to serve. So judge our leaders not by their words or credentials but by their deeds. Judge their deeds by the policies they introduced. Judge whether these policies serve the leaders or the people by asking whose lives are better or worse? I believe if you know the answer to the last question then you will know what kind of leaders we have today. I hope we don’t wait until it is too late to know if we had made the right choice. Happy 47[SUP]th[/SUP] National Day! Majulah Singapura!
.
Daemonic
.
