Singapore should now aim to be First World society: Lim Siong Guan
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I like the distinction made here about how Singapore may be a first world economy, but not yet a first world society; i.e. attained remarkable economic progress, but in some ways, still very much backward when it comes to social progress (think lack of graciousness, the way we treat LGBT, women, minority races, etc)
Note the idea that graciousness (like all relationships) is usually hard to legislate. You cannot use the law to make one love another, but you cannot create the environment to encourage this to happen:
-- In forging graciousness, the Government can merely facilitate, he said, by building more common spaces in housing estates, for instance. Responsibility lies with each person taking the initiative to befriend his neighbours in those spaces.
--Values like graciousness are more often "caught by example" than "taught by instruction"
I like the distinction made here about how Singapore may be a first world economy, but not yet a first world society; i.e. attained remarkable economic progress, but in some ways, still very much backward when it comes to social progress (think lack of graciousness, the way we treat LGBT, women, minority races, etc)
Note the idea that graciousness (like all relationships) is usually hard to legislate. You cannot use the law to make one love another, but you cannot create the environment to encourage this to happen:
-- In forging graciousness, the Government can merely facilitate, he said, by building more common spaces in housing estates, for instance. Responsibility lies with each person taking the initiative to befriend his neighbours in those spaces.
--Values like graciousness are more often "caught by example" than "taught by instruction"
posted by Dark Shadow | 12:57 PM
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