what we should do better (2)

The other thing that has struck me over the last few years, is the extent to which Singaporeans are so driven by fear.
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It's frightening, what fear can do to a person. It makes us want to grasp at things, to keep them as tightly within our control as possible. This makes generosity impossible because we're just thinking of ourselves, and everything else, including other people, becomes something that we use to try to secure our own safety -- however we define that safety.
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So yes, we are kiasu. The word has even made it to the Oxford English Dictionary -- and it's definitely not something i'm proud of. i wish we could learn to be just that little bit less afraid, and hence, less grasping and selfish.
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Of course i realise how perhaps impossibly idealistic this is. The only antidote to fear is security, and, especially in a small and competitive society like Singapore, one needs a heck of a lot of a sense of security to not be kiasu. i think the only way any human being can ever feel that secure, is through an unshakeable faith in the divine. You've got to really believe that, ultimately, the things of this world are not what really matters. Because, of course, we can only see the things of this world -- and not one of them lasts forever, not one of them is entirely trustworthy. And seeing how difficult it is even for believers to truly believe in the ultimate reality of the divine, i do think that hoping Singaporeans would be less kiasu -- is really a bit of a pipe dream.
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