I haven’t blogged in a while, overwhelmed by the demands of life. In these last few months, quite a bit has happened in our country what with notably the first riot in many many years and more mundane train breakdowns, rising cost of living complains etc. I’m not sure I’m inspired to write about any particular issue right now though; It all seems pretty tame or done before. In any case, let’s just chat randomly.
Firstly, I’ve been impressed with PM Lee’s social media presence in recent months. Of course I’ve followed him since he begun his online adventures but honestly, I had not expected it to be as personal as it has turned out to be. It’s really awesome for us to see PM Lee as a person rather than strictly in the capacity of his job. His Instagram post about his visit to Lucas Films recently is a particularly cute one in which he even used an emoticon and expressed his excitement at meeting Yoda! Of course I’m not sure if it is in fact a PR team who manages his social media activities, but if so then they are simply genius! Through social media, I feel like not only do we get an inside look to the PM office, we also glimpse bits of the man himself. We respect and like people for who they are, not for whatever job title they hold. In that sense, I’ve grown really fond of Mr Lee and from there, I’m glad he is our PM.
Other world leaders have also flocked to Twitter and Facebook to harness the power of social media, but I think many have failed to connect on a personal level. A quick look at perhaps, David Cameron’s tweets and you will understand what I mean. Of course social media is a great platform to further political agenda or advance initiatives, but really the true power is not in information here, but in closing the distance with the people. Showing that hey, I may be somewhere attending some conference but the view from my hotel room is awesome so I will Instagram it.. That’s a normal, random-person-on-the-street behavior that builds rapport and makes people smile. Therein lies the truly invaluable connection that social media makes possible.
Second issue on a more somber note, I wish to caution Singaporeans about the economy. Just today, China printed some really weak PMI numbers in a very disappointing January so far everywhere in the world. The Dow has sold off heavily after rallies this month and that is not a good sign for the rest of 2014. The global recession has technically turned the corner by the close of 2013, but I feel like we are being optimistic. Too many dark years have made a glimmer of light look like the bright beacon of hope that it really isn’t. It is true that the great economies of the world are on the way to recovery.. But it is so very fragile and the road is long and hard. Sometimes we would like to forget that so much has to go right this time for the desired outcome. That is simply too optimistic.
We are very very sheltered from economic headwinds in Singapore despite the truth of what we learnt in school that we are in fact so vulnerable to global forces. We will likely be earning less this year, but we won’t feel it much.. As always. And I don’t know if it is a good thing or not that we have grown less sensitive to potential crisis. It is why PM Lee reminds us to be cautious at every Budget Day. Singaporeans are increasingly adventurous with our money buying cars and property, traveling for leisure, buying branded goods etc. The desire to buy is uncontained these days and no matter your income level, there’s still this bag, this car, this whatever-it-is that you’ve got to have. Materialism is inescapable especially when all our country is a city. The buying pressure all around is unrelenting. But perhaps, we need to exercise once again the good-old traditional Asian virtue that is caution.
Be conservative with your money. Crisis will hit, maybe not this year but it is inevitable. In Singapore, we don’t know what 10% or 20% unemployment feels like. We don’t know what a debt crisis is. We can’t begin to fathom what a government shutdown is. I don’t know if we’re just too fortunate, but the Chinese like to say, blessed are the ignorant. I suppose that goes both ways too.
Third and lastly (because it’s 4am and I wanna sleep) and more personally, I’ve been rather offended lately by people who keep telling me I’ll change my mind about not having children when I grow older. Christmas saw quite a few gatherings in which many many screaming young children were in attendance, and also such adults who belittled my decision regarding children. Trust me, I was sad to have come to such a decision myself. Did you honestly think I do not want to make the perfect child with my looks and my husband’s superior height and our combined brain-power given a perfect world?
There are many reasons big and small that made me realize I don’t want a child. I don’t like this world, I don’t like how children are expected to live these days, I have no confidence I can give enough love, I am uncertain if the quality of our marriage will deteriorate, I can’t say I’m ready to sacrifice emotionally, financially, physically for a baby.. No, I cannot commit to this unless I’m absolutely certain. Unlike marriage where at best I’m just screwing up 2 of our lives, ruining an innocent is too much a gamble.
The Asian mentality is that you simply have a child and adapt and find a way. I find that simply irresponsible. Why have a child and then struggle to feed it? While struggling to feed it by working all day, you hardly spend any time with your child do you? You also hardly spend time with your spouse in the end. What exactly is the point of having children this way? Isn’t the biggest job as a parent nurturing them? I don’t intend to have children unless I have the means to enjoy them. People who want to tell me that hey, life’s hard anyway.. I say why make it harder and harder for another little person too?
I accept the vastly different opinions on the issue; I simply feel belittled when people on the other side of the fence give me pitying looks like I don’t know what I’m missing. Hey, you don’t have to agree but you don’t have to try so hard to convert me. Worse still are the people who think I’m simply too young and that’s why I have such ‘radical’ ideas. I’m actually being practical. Unless I’m suddenly rich enough to provide my child with all the love and time and material things he’ll need, it’s just not happening. If you’re enjoying your struggles at parenthood at the moment, by all means enjoy yourself. We don’t have to agree, so please just leave me alone this CNY.
