It's incredibly difficult to become so deeply deeply reviled overnight and with so little effort but someone has actually managed to accomplish this feat. I've heard of high-fliers, over-achievers and overnight sensations but achieving this kind of publicity in such a short time is truly worthy of praise. It's like she just reached inside and ripped our collective guts out, then waved it in our faces. See? These are your guts. See? Now I'm throwing them on the floor and stomping on them.
How do you keep a nation of citizens compliant and non-critical? How do you keep them on the side of the Government? By Keeping Shit Like This Out of Our Faces, Thank You Very Much. It's easy to believe that our MPs really care about the common good if we don't hear otherwise. It's not so easy when some 18-year old kid starts parroting condescending nonsense like this. How about we just NOT have any news? Just insert more advertisements. Or just say "Sorry - what she said was wrong" - even if you don't mean it? Give us half a reason to continue to suspend our disbelief.
People are not animals and we shouldn’t live like animals or to be governed like animals. There is no excuse that we should treat our fellow humans like how the animals treat their own kind. We are building a civilized society, not a jungle. Everyone have their ups and downs. So, by the elitists' logic, its a matter of time before they become the outcasts of the society since they will fall sick, grow old and inevitably make mistakes during the course of work. When that happens, accordingly to the rules of the jungle, they should be "eaten" or throw aside / abandon.
Life is a loop, what goes around, comes around. So, be careful when you make a general comment or naive statement about someone unfortunate. You never know when it will be your turn.
You might expect an MP to share your concerns and troubles but please be understanding, an elite MP who holds a top post, does not struggle to pay for his HDB flat, never needs to stay awake at night worried about medical bills or the cost of his children's education. It is totally unreasonable for ordinary Singaporeans to expect their elite MPs to understand the challenges, problems and fears they face in their daily lives.
Many people believe we have an meritocracy. Actually we don't. What we have is an elitist system based on selection - resources and opportunities are generously continuously allocated to this group of elites through the system and a structure.
"Singapore is like Sparta, where the top students are taken away from their parents as children and educated. Cohort by cohort, they each select their own leadership, ultimately electing their own Philosopher King... But when I reached the end of the book, it dawned on me that though the starting point was meritocracy, the end result was dictatorship and elitism. In the end, that was how Sparta crumbled." - Ngiam Dow Tong, a former top civil servant (link)
The most important characteristic of real meritocracy is not that the winner takes all at the end but that everyone has a chance to play and compete. It is this competition that creates energy and dynamism in a society. To have this competition, we need a level playing field and for as many people as possible to feel that they have a chance. Other features of a meritocratic society is the lack of secrecy and tendency for the system to eliminate inherited advantages.
Elitism is different from meritocracy. It is the belief that the views of a selected group of people, the elite, are far more worthy than those of others (the non-elite) and hence the views of the public can be disregarded. Because more resources and opportunities are allocated to the elites, the accomplishments will reaffirm the original belief that they are more deserving of those opportunities. The elite have been selected and exempted from real competition even when they go for elections...
Noblesse Oblige - obligation of those of high rank to be honorable and generous. “We must instill a sense of duty in our children; every right implies a responsibility, every opportunity; an obligation, every possession; a duty.” - John D. Rockefeller Jr
"It's not so much: "there, there, it's not your fault" vs "you're losing out, you better do something about it"... but "you're in trouble, we know it, and we will help you." The thing is: Jobs disappear. People don't. Unless they jump onto the path of oncoming MRT trains. Is the government going to help them? Or just make fun of them?" - Mr Wang Says So
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