Spring Break
Abstract:
Ho-ho-holy crap. Most people tend to make decisive judgments without fully realizing their implications, from "Yeah, applying early decision is an amazing idea," to "You're right, we don't need to use a condom for this."
To that list one could add, "Sure, let's go to study in this small tropical island nation without fully realizing that it's essentially a one-man state whose track record on press freedoms ranks it below the civil-war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and Djibouti....
GC Chwee
posted 2/08/08 @ 9:09 PM EST
You got pretty much of your facts right. But your reasons for why Singaporeans are politically apathetic are far from accurate.
It is the ruling elites, the oligarchs, that want to emulate only the American economy and not the rights you enjoy and probably taken for granted. Singaporeans want the same rights and freedom you have but are constantly beaten into submission. Politically, they are in a state of learned helplessness. Fear is pervasive (http://singaporedemocrat.org/articleburmaprotest76.html)
Your title most aptly betray your misconception. We didn't *trade* our freedom for anything. It was stolen from us. And in return we didn't get happiness. The Asia Democracy Index, based on a study led by Prof. Paul Scott at Kansai Gaidai University, Japan, compared 16 Asian countries on several dimensions, which include civil rights, election and political process, governance and corruption, media, rule of law, and participation and representation. Second only to the Burmese, Singaporeans consistently felt most disenfranchised in every measure.