what revolution?

Weapon of Mass Communication.
Photograph by the buddy. See his works here.

I think sometimes we are too quick to judge. A bit too uptight. Perhaps too pampered, droning in our comfort zones. Too quick to shout for a "revolution", especially judging from the circumstances.

The bureaucracy is highly-efficient and incorruptible.
Unemployment rate one of the lowest in the developed world.
Surplus not deficits (US of A is trillions of dollars in debt).
Percentage of property ownership one of the highest in the world.
Taxes some of the lowest.
Property prices, believe it or not, one of the cheapest in global cities (and hey, the rest have huge hinterland, we only have Pulau Ubin).
World class education. Yes, rote-learning but it was the best way to go in the beginning. We have Sports School and SOTA now don't we? It takes time. You cannot deny NUS/NTU/SMU are world class.

Our displeasures. Reasons for a "revolution".

Government too paternalistic, incompatible to our (adopted Western liberal) values.

Government don't take our feedback seriously. Father-knows-best approach. Don't bode well with the educated masses.

Real wages not increasing as fast. Comparatively lower than other developed worlds.

Government too arrogant. Actually, I honestly think that they are too concerned, too passionate like the blindness of the fanboy, too caught up with their ministerial work that they lack the sensitivity towards it's people. It's the lack of social skills. Like the misunderstood Asian father who spend all his time working but neglects the emotional needs of his children. These are politicians who fare badly in playing politics, but A+ custodians.

High ministerial pay. Not an issue for me, if we have one of the world's largest reserves, don't see why we cannot pay more than the President of a country that is trillions in debt. And please, don't cut taxes and then use up $60 billion dollars every 5 years. We didn't scrimp and save $240 billions in 40 years just so we can put forth populist policies.
Increasing Gini coefficient. Not a good thing if the rich gets richer while those at the bottom continue to see slow growth in real wages.
Undemocratic past. Frankly, we had to do some of those things during our turbulent past. This isn't a perfect world. Politics is ugly everywhere else in the world.

Influx of foreigners, especially the Chinese and Indians. I support the foreign talent thing but I admit this can be better managed, especially with the university scholarships and white collar jobs. But this is already a global phenomenon. The Indians and Chinese are taking over the world!

Ungentlemanly political practices. Like Manchester United playing football versus struggling-with-relegation clubs with an ultra size goalposts. Analogy provided by my brother-in-law. 99 year limitations of HDB flats. Ok, then for that, it makes our ownership of our flats look like 100-year loans. Either lower the prices or give us an entitlement of a lifetime.

Our reasons for a "revolution"? Laughable by international standards. I wonder what's with the disappointment that nothing of that sort has happened in this year's ballot boxes. Online doctrine extremely skewed. Everything the PAP government do or says is bad and evil. You must support the opposition to be cool. Pro-PAP supporters find themselves victims of a witch hunt. Spam the Facebook walls with our disgust of the establishment. A bit like "sheeps", teenagers in their rebellious streaks. Cyber-bullies. Even my bimbotic friends have become experts in governance.

Ok and please give Tin Pei Ling a break. I rather have politicians who fail at being a public winner but have the heart to serve. This young lady served the grassroots for the past 7 years. How many of the armchair cyber critics has even volunteered to serve in a non-profit role? Of course, some of you have lah and hats off to you. I always reckon I have good judgement on people. This lady has the heart to serve. I voted her in, together with her team. Yes, shoot me.

I actually got a bit sick and disgusted with social media for sometime. We are already a country of diverse backgrounds. Please let us not become further polarized because of our political inclinations / affiliations.

On another note, I see the fallacies of democracy. I see value in a one-party state if it is itself innovative, its institutions incorruptible, righteous and of public service. Closet fascist? Hmm. But of course if a multi-party situation can survive well in Singapore, that will be ideal, but let's be frank, it's a mere fantasy, fairytale, Nirana situation. Can we be more idealistic? Of course. We are already an oxymoron from the start. A lion head and a fish tail. If it works, why not. The Workers' Party has impressed me. Respect the institutions of the law. Opposed not for the sake of opposition. Criticize not for the sake of criticism. If policies set forth by the government benefits the country, then support it. Don't degenerate into a Democrat/Republican, Green Flag/Blue Flag, Red Shirts/Yellow Shirts situation that we are all too familiar with. Mind you, American-instilled democracy failed badly in South America.

Lee Kuan Yew is undoubtedly our Founding Father.

And I don't deny Chiam See Tong is a Singaporean hero (like the Captain Singapore spoof).

And as the PAP sets forth to win back the hearts of the populace, please don't degenerate into a populist situation. Again, I stressed that I don't think they are arrogant. Just too caught up with doing what they think is best for us. We benefited materially but our souls are hungry for something else.

The best thing out of this GE period, the new found pride and patriotism amongst the post-65ers.

Of course a wake-up call to the misunderstood Asian father, who realised his children want more than just the material gifts and the enrichment classes. Come watch our football games, our recitals. Bring us to the parks.