what's the difference?
Roger Federer wins US Open.
98.7FM advertises for some upcoming event.
Singapore tries hard to impress.
What's the difference between these three?
There's no difference. They've all been happening so frequently that we readily accept them.I'm sure Federer's Open win caused little stir among followers. I'm equally sure listeners are used to Perfect 10's advertisement. I'm also sure that Singaporeans are used to being told to impress any important "foreign" people they could chance upon.
The upcoming IMF meeting just serves to highlight everything. The preparations for the events have been extravagant, to say the least. I understand the security issues, the fact that Singapore wants to project a Singaporean image to the world. But what I still can't get is the 4 million smiles campaign. I mean, it wouldn't take an idiotic IMF delagate to realise that it is impossible for everyone in a state to be smiling, even if it's a small little red state. If Singapore wishes to project a truly Singaporean image, we should show them our HDBs, our kopitiams, our fast food restaurants cum study corners. It should do enough to wow any delagate, in my opinion.
Anyway, if you noticed that I put the "foreign" in " ", there's a reason for it. This is because this form of impression does not only occur on the national level. It occurs in all schools. As a young student, we are always told to do this and that whenever there are important visitors to the school. Come on, what is more important than education to students? I know that students have to learn to socialise and to respect authority. But there's a thin line between respect and sucking up. To ask young students to smile and greet whenever they see 'important' people, might send out a signal that the teachers and staff they see daily aren't important, and thus do not have to be treated with the deserved respect.
What can I say? Since it happens on a national level, it will surely happen at "lower" levels. I'm starting to get lazy to blog.
98.7FM advertises for some upcoming event.
Singapore tries hard to impress.
What's the difference between these three?
There's no difference. They've all been happening so frequently that we readily accept them.I'm sure Federer's Open win caused little stir among followers. I'm equally sure listeners are used to Perfect 10's advertisement. I'm also sure that Singaporeans are used to being told to impress any important "foreign" people they could chance upon.
The upcoming IMF meeting just serves to highlight everything. The preparations for the events have been extravagant, to say the least. I understand the security issues, the fact that Singapore wants to project a Singaporean image to the world. But what I still can't get is the 4 million smiles campaign. I mean, it wouldn't take an idiotic IMF delagate to realise that it is impossible for everyone in a state to be smiling, even if it's a small little red state. If Singapore wishes to project a truly Singaporean image, we should show them our HDBs, our kopitiams, our fast food restaurants cum study corners. It should do enough to wow any delagate, in my opinion.
Anyway, if you noticed that I put the "foreign" in " ", there's a reason for it. This is because this form of impression does not only occur on the national level. It occurs in all schools. As a young student, we are always told to do this and that whenever there are important visitors to the school. Come on, what is more important than education to students? I know that students have to learn to socialise and to respect authority. But there's a thin line between respect and sucking up. To ask young students to smile and greet whenever they see 'important' people, might send out a signal that the teachers and staff they see daily aren't important, and thus do not have to be treated with the deserved respect.
What can I say? Since it happens on a national level, it will surely happen at "lower" levels. I'm starting to get lazy to blog.
posted by Boogerfella at
1:11 AM
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