Monday, September 26, 2005
Cat's In The Cradle
My child arrived just the other day,
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay,
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking 'for I knew it, and as he grew
He said "I'm gonna be like you, dad, you know I'm gonna be like you"
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
"When you comin' home dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, You know we'll have a good time then"
My son turned ten just the other day
He said "Thanks for the ball dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw"
I said "Not today I got a lot to do" He said "That's OK"
He walked away but his smile never dimmed,
It said I'm gonna be like him, yeah,
You know I'm gonna be like him
Well he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son I'm proud of you can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and he said with a smile,
"What I'd really like dad is to borrow the car keys,
See you later can I have them please?"
I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said "I'd love to dad if I could find the time,
You see the my new job's a hassle and the kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talkin' to you dad
It's sure nice talkin' to you"
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
"When you comin' home son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, Dad,
We're gonna have a good time then"
~Harry Chapin
This song is quite a good reflection of the problems faced by Singapore in making sense of the future. This blog will term this general problem as the Precedence Factor. Again and again, the government is faced with the problem of why Singaporeans are not creative? Why Singaporeans do not want to venture into business? Why Singaporeans do not have enough fun in this city-state? There are a myriad of factors involved, but this blog asserts that one of the factors that has been overlooked is the Precedence Factor. My dad did this, he was successful, so I will do the same thing.
This is not an unreasonable point of view, that most children look up to their parents as role models. However, as the Singapore government can attest, the old ways of doing things are no longer viable. Getting good grades at the JC to get into NUS will not ensure that a decade down the road you can have a job and a career. Company loyalty in the past is now replaced by retrenchment and short contract jobs. So the question is how can the government convince the people not to allow the Precedence Factor to affect this generation of citizen?
This is not a trivial by any account, on one level its appears to be a solely economic decision, but on another, it will affect the core of the family. The family will no longer provide a role model for the child and with that much of the foundations of the basis of the role of families in Singapore. To compound the problem, there is the paternalistic instincts of the government to content with. Witness the recent dengue outbreak, with all the ministers out in full force doing the job of pest busters. If the government has no trust that Singaporeans can pour away 50ml of water from pails, what more can be said about the future of Singapore.
Thus the conclusion is that Singapore must choose the path that no one want to take. First, the government must be less of a participant in the state affairs as opposed to a coordinator. Its has to learn to let go of the power it now has on every citizen. Parents, on the other hand must learn to do the same with their children. It is difficult to take apart everything, but ultimately that is requires to reinvent the economy.
12:04 AM
