Materialism and Democracy
It has always been said that more economic progress will lead to democracy.This may not be necessarily be so.In fact, too much concentration on materialism could actually retard the maturity of democracy.
Democracy is not just about winning in large number of votes in general elections.Voting in once in every five years with apathy in between is hardly an attitude that will help an individual to influence the direction of his future and make a contribution to the country.
If citizens are not prepared to debate and discuss; and to take decisions based on the weight of arguments but instead face with reversal threats, then that is not true democracy.
As a society, we will always face plenty of conflicts, frictions and problems in our personal and social issues.
This is the reality of being in this world, only a Mirage-Miramar world epic film production featuring a huge cast of international actors and actresses in a story of heralding the arrival of Star Wars Advance Party Fleet that will never happen in the near future.
Following behind the first group are the Battlestar Colonial Fleet of Immigrants.The third group,the Stargate Command Fleet which are the last group, consists of ambitious leaders, competitive leaders and far-sighted leaders who will signed and stamped all the MOUs, FTAs to lead the immigrants.
Once all the three fleets are docked and merged together one after another, people will see an awesome shape of a huge Cock-Spaceship with labels at both side- 'You Talk Cock Only'.Many people already saw the copy version in the film 'Austin Powers'.If people look in another manner, the combination of the fleets will shaped like the Discovery Space Shuttle.
The reality of this world too, that it is very suitable as a happy world for dirty smelly rubbish people, only happy to do all the dirty smelly rubbish work, in every places in their cities, their workplaces and their homes.Even their fashion senses wearing less clothings, body tattoos and piercings which are first worn by the jungle people, have become the style that they are proud to show off.Big beads around the neck, wrists and ankles worn by hermits also are not spared to use as costume wears.
And the fitting finale can only be so dynamic, so cinematic, so catastrophic event of Their Own Doom!!
There are bound to be moral and ethical issues that need to be solved using moral principles as guides.With such thorny issues, we need to debate and discuss in order to help us resolve the problems.Even when we ultimately intriduce laws to deal with the problems, such laws would merely be to reinforce the moral obligations that have come to light during the discussions.
A pre-occupation with materialism does not help us understand human dilemmas and problems.This is because such a selfish focus would not motivate a person to bother with larger social and political problems.
It is only a sense of moral obligation and community that would prompt us to ponder over the ethical dilemma of political and social issues.
A sense of moral obligation will help us to emphatise, to think, to search for the truth and promote justice.We would then be able to see the destructive aspect of social and economic behaviour on society.
It is only with a sense of community that we will be able to see and minimise the inhumanity of justice and the inequality of men that are bound to exist in any society left unbridaled to competition for materialism.
In short, it is the free market of ideas and not the free market of commodities that will enhance the democratic climate to allow the freedom to criticize the moral erosion, injustice and inequality in society.Such a climate will also allow the people to scrutinise the ideology, the motivations and the methods of policies in a sensible and rational way.
In the final analysis, strong moral beliefs will help us see the emptiness, the hypocrisy, the conformity the despair of a materialistic madonna of a society and help us work towards a better society with a heart.
The Citizen's non-material Role
Participation in the life of the community, as opposed to selfish materialism is an attempt through collective effort to better the lives of our fellowmen.There are many people in Singapore who can think.Unfortunately however, many of these people choose to become grumblers about society's problems because they feel they have more to lose and nothing to gain if they act as opinion leaders.
A person, who can think but only grumbles privately, is as materialistic as the person who thinks only of food, shelter and displaying extravagants.Like the latter, he cannot be a sensitive, moral and aspiring citizen.
If the majority of our citizens become indifferent and apathetic or selfishly caring only for their immediate needs of food, shelter and their extravagants display, then we have to live under the tyranny of materialistically,democratically-farced government.
As Professor Ernest Barker said,"When a single philosophy climbs the throne, and clutches the crown, men put their necks under a tyranny of conformity".Even if that single philosophy is materialism!
The cohesiveness and spiritual quality of a society depends on the stage of morality of its people.
At the low end is the person who does things because he is motivated by fear or desire to obtain some benefits for himself.
Obsession with materialism keeps people and society at a very low stage of moral development.In such a society, a paternalistic government and a subservient citizens are needed to keep the order.
At the other end of the spectrum, is the person whose mind is free to search and explore beyond his basic physical and social needs.
When a person frees his mind to think beyond materialism, he will be able to question and distinguish between 'Rubbish' and the 'Truth'.He will be able to see what are his moral rights and obligations.To him there will be meaning in such concepts as justice, equality and respect for dignity, life and freedom of a good human being.
Materialism, therefore, is not Happiness!!
When basic physical and social needs are met, a person becomes like a caged bird, yearning psychologically to be free.More materialism merely adds stronger escape-protection bars to the cage.There will be unhappiness in the individual because he is like a spiritually-held prisoner.Such a prisoner cannot be a good citizen as inside of him only boils extremist characters of badness.There will be unhappiness in the society as all the bad citizens will get all their right of ways disregarding responsibilities.
What is there to gain to be a good citizen?
Firstly, a swift passage across the bridge of Hell into Heaven's gate.Secondly, a temporary solace after death, in pure peace,calmness with delightful shining light, a very spacious and comfortable temporary place-of-stay in the after-world, free from hunger and thirst.All from the Blessings of the True God of Heaven.Amen.
According to Khalil Gibran, a Lebanese poet and philosopher, it is to acknowledge the other person's rights before asserting your own, but always to be conscious of your own.It is to create the useful and the beautiful with your own hands, and to admire what others have created in love and with faith.It is to produce by labour and only by labour; and to spend less than what you have produced that your children may not be dependent upon the state of support when you have passed on.
Happiness cannot be achieved by turning people into pure economic cyborgs.
When people search for the "Truth","Justice" and "Equality", what they are really trying to do is to look for what is good for the community so that they can increase the chance of happiness and the survival of their good society.
A country of economic cyborgs is just a country of digits, numbers and figures without Souls! Unlike warm and creative people, these cold and selfish digits-minded people cannot share a common feeling with each other and the country.
It is only good human beings who can join together for the enjoyment of their rights and common interests.
It is only through this feeling of one-ness with their country that people can build a nation where its citizens will willingly do their best with pride for their country and not just for sake of the rewards being offered.It is only in a nation with soul that its people can feel that they are not passengers but true, caring citizens.It is only when people feel that they are true and caring citizens that there can be more patriotism, more harmony and more solidarity in the country.
The strength and cohesiveness of a country depend on the hearts, minds, spirits and consciences of its people.How our country will grow and develop in the future will depend on whether our human spirits can survive its true goodness in freedom and fulfilment in this temporary world of badness, constantly being fettered, constricted and dehumanised by the bad spirits of materialism and selfishness.
It is only the people's sense of social and moral responsibility that will give strength to the nation.A country will never become a true home if it is made up of individuals with bad spirits of selfishness, conforming digits-like people, transient visitors and foreign workers whose only purpose is grabbing bigger pies of wealth, in this life of economic growth.
Without a community that can inspire commitments and pride from generation to generation, there can be no cohesive society to build a true, comfortable home.
It has always been said that more economic progress will lead to democracy.This may not be necessarily be so.In fact, too much concentration on materialism could actually retard the maturity of democracy.
Democracy is not just about winning in large number of votes in general elections.Voting in once in every five years with apathy in between is hardly an attitude that will help an individual to influence the direction of his future and make a contribution to the country.
If citizens are not prepared to debate and discuss; and to take decisions based on the weight of arguments but instead face with reversal threats, then that is not true democracy.
As a society, we will always face plenty of conflicts, frictions and problems in our personal and social issues.
This is the reality of being in this world, only a Mirage-Miramar world epic film production featuring a huge cast of international actors and actresses in a story of heralding the arrival of Star Wars Advance Party Fleet that will never happen in the near future.
Following behind the first group are the Battlestar Colonial Fleet of Immigrants.The third group,the Stargate Command Fleet which are the last group, consists of ambitious leaders, competitive leaders and far-sighted leaders who will signed and stamped all the MOUs, FTAs to lead the immigrants.
Once all the three fleets are docked and merged together one after another, people will see an awesome shape of a huge Cock-Spaceship with labels at both side- 'You Talk Cock Only'.Many people already saw the copy version in the film 'Austin Powers'.If people look in another manner, the combination of the fleets will shaped like the Discovery Space Shuttle.
The reality of this world too, that it is very suitable as a happy world for dirty smelly rubbish people, only happy to do all the dirty smelly rubbish work, in every places in their cities, their workplaces and their homes.Even their fashion senses wearing less clothings, body tattoos and piercings which are first worn by the jungle people, have become the style that they are proud to show off.Big beads around the neck, wrists and ankles worn by hermits also are not spared to use as costume wears.
And the fitting finale can only be so dynamic, so cinematic, so catastrophic event of Their Own Doom!!
There are bound to be moral and ethical issues that need to be solved using moral principles as guides.With such thorny issues, we need to debate and discuss in order to help us resolve the problems.Even when we ultimately intriduce laws to deal with the problems, such laws would merely be to reinforce the moral obligations that have come to light during the discussions.
A pre-occupation with materialism does not help us understand human dilemmas and problems.This is because such a selfish focus would not motivate a person to bother with larger social and political problems.
It is only a sense of moral obligation and community that would prompt us to ponder over the ethical dilemma of political and social issues.
A sense of moral obligation will help us to emphatise, to think, to search for the truth and promote justice.We would then be able to see the destructive aspect of social and economic behaviour on society.
It is only with a sense of community that we will be able to see and minimise the inhumanity of justice and the inequality of men that are bound to exist in any society left unbridaled to competition for materialism.
In short, it is the free market of ideas and not the free market of commodities that will enhance the democratic climate to allow the freedom to criticize the moral erosion, injustice and inequality in society.Such a climate will also allow the people to scrutinise the ideology, the motivations and the methods of policies in a sensible and rational way.
In the final analysis, strong moral beliefs will help us see the emptiness, the hypocrisy, the conformity the despair of a materialistic madonna of a society and help us work towards a better society with a heart.
The Citizen's non-material Role
Participation in the life of the community, as opposed to selfish materialism is an attempt through collective effort to better the lives of our fellowmen.There are many people in Singapore who can think.Unfortunately however, many of these people choose to become grumblers about society's problems because they feel they have more to lose and nothing to gain if they act as opinion leaders.
A person, who can think but only grumbles privately, is as materialistic as the person who thinks only of food, shelter and displaying extravagants.Like the latter, he cannot be a sensitive, moral and aspiring citizen.
If the majority of our citizens become indifferent and apathetic or selfishly caring only for their immediate needs of food, shelter and their extravagants display, then we have to live under the tyranny of materialistically,democratically-farced government.
As Professor Ernest Barker said,"When a single philosophy climbs the throne, and clutches the crown, men put their necks under a tyranny of conformity".Even if that single philosophy is materialism!
The cohesiveness and spiritual quality of a society depends on the stage of morality of its people.
At the low end is the person who does things because he is motivated by fear or desire to obtain some benefits for himself.
Obsession with materialism keeps people and society at a very low stage of moral development.In such a society, a paternalistic government and a subservient citizens are needed to keep the order.
At the other end of the spectrum, is the person whose mind is free to search and explore beyond his basic physical and social needs.
When a person frees his mind to think beyond materialism, he will be able to question and distinguish between 'Rubbish' and the 'Truth'.He will be able to see what are his moral rights and obligations.To him there will be meaning in such concepts as justice, equality and respect for dignity, life and freedom of a good human being.
Materialism, therefore, is not Happiness!!
When basic physical and social needs are met, a person becomes like a caged bird, yearning psychologically to be free.More materialism merely adds stronger escape-protection bars to the cage.There will be unhappiness in the individual because he is like a spiritually-held prisoner.Such a prisoner cannot be a good citizen as inside of him only boils extremist characters of badness.There will be unhappiness in the society as all the bad citizens will get all their right of ways disregarding responsibilities.
What is there to gain to be a good citizen?
Firstly, a swift passage across the bridge of Hell into Heaven's gate.Secondly, a temporary solace after death, in pure peace,calmness with delightful shining light, a very spacious and comfortable temporary place-of-stay in the after-world, free from hunger and thirst.All from the Blessings of the True God of Heaven.Amen.
According to Khalil Gibran, a Lebanese poet and philosopher, it is to acknowledge the other person's rights before asserting your own, but always to be conscious of your own.It is to create the useful and the beautiful with your own hands, and to admire what others have created in love and with faith.It is to produce by labour and only by labour; and to spend less than what you have produced that your children may not be dependent upon the state of support when you have passed on.
Happiness cannot be achieved by turning people into pure economic cyborgs.
When people search for the "Truth","Justice" and "Equality", what they are really trying to do is to look for what is good for the community so that they can increase the chance of happiness and the survival of their good society.
A country of economic cyborgs is just a country of digits, numbers and figures without Souls! Unlike warm and creative people, these cold and selfish digits-minded people cannot share a common feeling with each other and the country.
It is only good human beings who can join together for the enjoyment of their rights and common interests.
It is only through this feeling of one-ness with their country that people can build a nation where its citizens will willingly do their best with pride for their country and not just for sake of the rewards being offered.It is only in a nation with soul that its people can feel that they are not passengers but true, caring citizens.It is only when people feel that they are true and caring citizens that there can be more patriotism, more harmony and more solidarity in the country.
The strength and cohesiveness of a country depend on the hearts, minds, spirits and consciences of its people.How our country will grow and develop in the future will depend on whether our human spirits can survive its true goodness in freedom and fulfilment in this temporary world of badness, constantly being fettered, constricted and dehumanised by the bad spirits of materialism and selfishness.
It is only the people's sense of social and moral responsibility that will give strength to the nation.A country will never become a true home if it is made up of individuals with bad spirits of selfishness, conforming digits-like people, transient visitors and foreign workers whose only purpose is grabbing bigger pies of wealth, in this life of economic growth.
Without a community that can inspire commitments and pride from generation to generation, there can be no cohesive society to build a true, comfortable home.
Labels: materials
posted by Sean | 5:36 AM
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