Letter from Australia

Renting videos and more recently, Digital Video Discs, or DVDs, has become increasingly more convenient for the average consumer. This week I managed to obtain a
DVD on Prisoner, a 1979 dramatisation of life in an all-women’s prison. While conditions in real life may not be as comfortable as portrayed on camera, it was the interaction among the various characters that piqued my interest. More than the harshness of the physical conditions, the harsh attitudes of both wardens and inmates towards one another convey clearly the intense struggle for survival, and the agony of having one’s liberty stripped away, layer by layer.

One enduring image is that of a rose bush in the prison garden. The camera zooms in on one yet unopened rose bud, drooping, clinging on to life, as the prison bully pummels the rose bush, and finally heartlessly plucks the bud off from its life source. The frailty of life, and the freedom it represents, is strangled amidst the cacophony of destruction, dissent, and despair amongst prison inmates. Another memorable scene is that of the reaction of the daughter of one of the inmates upon the latter’s release. To be rejected and viewed with utter disdain by one’s daughter is arguably one of the most painful experiences in life. This contrasts with how both inmates and wardens alike regarded her with respect, even affectionately addressing her as Mum.

Much of society fails to recognise the severity of incarcerating one of its members. While it is often said that one must pay of one’s mistakes, many of those convicted of wrongdoings in fact continue to pay their ‘debt’ to society even after completing their sentences. Would it be justifiable to steal from an elderly lady who is a day late in paying her rent if I have knowledge that she was previously convicted for a crime? In an island of zero tolerance of drug and human trafficking, terrorism, dissent, homosexuals, and whatever else conceivable, is there room for second chances and forgiveness? Or would the terrorising of such ‘undesirable elements’ be somehow more palatable?

It was not too long ago that bankrupts were viewed in Asian, and especially Singaporean society, as failures, felons, and somehow, sub-human. Yet creativity often stems from those who are willing to take risks, ridicule, and humiliation. It would be fair to assert that seeking public adulation is not the main motivation behind the actions of these precious few; that the public can be notoriously fickle is one of the values that those creating meaning in their lives often embody. Sim Wong Hoo, founder of Creative Technology, never relied on the support of government or his cynical countrymen in building his hi-tech empire, yet today he is lauded as one of Singapore’s successes.

Perhaps it would be appropriate at this juncture to mention the prisons of one’s mind; the limits we place upon ourselves as individuals, families, states and nations. This is not a call for people to set up businesses regardless of cost; rather it is one of liberty that begins with self. Indeed the genuine ‘holy war’ is not found in us against them arguments, but in the souls of each and every individual. What are the beliefs about others that limit us from growing in mutual understanding; and what are the beliefs about ourselves that limit us from increasing in self-acceptance? Perhaps total reconciliation of this planet that is at war with itself is unattainable for many generations to come, but is it no less worthwhile to emphasise the continued striving towards this goal to our children.

The bells of change are ringing at one of America’s icons. After the passing of MacDonald’s CEO Jim Cantalupo, and the subsequent appointment of Charlie Bell to the helm, the franchise giant is now attempting to align its image closer to its increasingly more health-conscious and environmentally aware market. In the US, measures have been taken to reduce the fat content of its hamburgers, following a damning research project undertaken by an individual, who gained at least ten pounds after having three MacDonald’s meals a day for a month. Labels indicating nutritional content are now printed onto its paper packaging. It was within the last decade that Styrofoam packaging was phased out in MacDonald’s outlets in Singapore. In Sydney, restaurants offer salads as a so-called healthier alternative, even though these come in, yes, plastic packaging.

While MacDonald’s efforts to protect the environment are much to be desired, it can certainly be held accountable for not stemming the prevalence of the ‘throw-away’ mentality that has plagued the world for the better part of the last century, if not actively promoting economic and social waste. Each day, millions of burgers are disposed of as trash in the name of commercial enterprise, while millions of children face the spectre of death by starvation in Africa. As quickly as burgers are consumed, trees in the rainforests (if we may still use this term) are decapitated, often at rates unsustainable for the continued well-being of the local and global ecosystems. The massacre of species continues unabated, systematically eliminating biodiversity from this planet.

The use of paper packaging by pizza parlours has been a tradition that has endured for decades. Most pizza restaurants and takeaways in Sydney (and Singapore) offer a wide variety of toppings, and more recently, crusts. The myriad of selections from mozzarella, beef, chicken, ham, mushrooms and even anchovies, testifies to the importance that variety plays in this market. While consumers may not necessarily want to be utterly spoilt for choice (and fall victim to decision paralysis), allowing for a certain degree of customisation is generally regarded as having some intrinsic value.

Undoubtedly, it was a wise person who remarked that it is better not to bite off more than one could chew. Personal experience has led me to believe that overeating at buffets more often than not leads to a bloated abdomen, and perhaps indigestion as well. In slightly more severe cases, antibiotics may be called upon to aid the body in ridding itself of the toxins that have been built up through the gorging of food. While these are generally beneficial to human health, continued indulgence in eating habits has been linked to the onset of cancer. The sterilisation effects from chemotherapy frequently result in the effectively elimination of malignant cells; it just as often takes out the ‘good’ defence mechanisms of patients in the process.

Society’s persistent emphasis on temporal culture and wonton waste extends far beyond the realm of biology and environmental science. The very nature of employment is transforming at a non-evolutionary pace: jobs are replaced by new forms of work, with or without the use of human labour. Life-long employment remains the myth that the century past had done so well to perpetuate. A sense of ordered purpose guides those who would grasp opportunities when these present themselves; those who remain in the school of ‘tuna’ thought remain confident the dragnet that is commercial enterprise would somehow spare them the agony of reality: dispensable and disposable is the loyal employee.

The interconnectedness of society can easily fuse itself onto a single banner if people allow it thus. Such is ideology that impinges on the freedoms of another, be it in terms of culture, language, or religion. Perhaps the most deceptive are ideologies that espouse freedom. Liberators from Britain forcibly eliminated the rights of indigenous people in Australia through the arcane concept of terra nullus – no man’s land, this thereby extended to ‘This is my land’, meaning, the white man’s land. Plunging airplanes into buildings under the guise of a war of liberation is perhaps as hypocritical as torturing prisoners in the name of one who professes to eliminate terrorism. Whither imperialism?

Faced with scenarios of potential conflict, it is understandable that some who are in power choose to tacitly (or perhaps actively?) adopt a culture of sterilisation. The censorship of ideas, pornographic or merely graphic, is common in the sunny island set in the sea i.e. Singapore. The past two decades have arguably shown the effects of such sterilisation: a ‘pseudo-democracy’, one that has little tolerance for controversy, and perhaps even less evidence of it. Withholding from (or is it withholding of acceptance of) contribution to the stone soup of ideas necessitates the formation of a committee to teach creativity to school-going children.

The denial of the existence of alternative ideas and ideals leads to, at its most extreme, radicalisation and polarisation. Propaganda may be seen to stem from a need to express one’s self-righteousness and, consequently, one’s blindness to the inherent diversity that is life. What are white blood cells without the existence of germs and bacteria? The continued bulimic consumption of junk ideologies necessitates a reaction akin to one undergoing an extreme diet programme. The case for education has never been more urgent, to focus society on what it means to be a nation: from the affirmative sugarcoating politicisation of school visits, to the stark rejection of respect of other through racial abuse. The opportunity is present to return to the fundamentals of tolerance and mutual acceptance, to strive towards the genuine celebration of difference.

There are few shapes that have universal appeal in today’s world as the circle. Certainly circles have not enjoyed such appeal in the 1500s, as Galileo may attest. Indeed there are some tribes in this modern day and age that maintain that the Earth is flat, despite evidence to the contrary. Astronomers acknowledge that our beloved planet is not precisely spherical; though a ball would somewhat approximate its shape. In many societies, the concept of reincarnation pervades the very consciousness of the populace. Perhaps historians and theologians may be better qualified to discuss such issues of circular logic.

The basic structure of the electric bulb has for the large part remained unchanged since its invention over a century ago: to this day the majority of electric bulbs has maintained a circular base, mostly including some form of screw-top, a structure that can be found in glass and polystyrene bottles in the modern home. Glasses, both of the drink and optical variety, compact discs, mini discs, cassette and video players, plates, bowls, saucepans, lawn mowers, and automobiles, all utilise some property that is characteristic of the circle. Newton’s particle theories in physics have continued to be studies by students in high schools; children are encouraged to draw diagrams of particles, atoms, and electrons in circular form, arguably by convention.

In biology, the circle appears prominently in the life cycles of various species including our own, abstracted from leaps in evolution. The water cycle is commonly used to explain changes in the weather, as if it can be predicted with the certainty of a coin toss (either it will rain, or it will not); young economists are introduced to the circular flow of income and the boom and bust cycle, which incidentally averages seven years; business managers are often tutored on the intricacies of the business cycle and the product cycle.

A thin circle of gold or silver is frequently used to represent love and fidelity. Granted that modern wedding bands may not necessarily complete the circle, the connotation of union between two persons (regardless of gender or sexual preference) remains unclouded. This August, countries from five continents, represented by five circles, of which at least one is contained in every flag of the world, will gather to celebrate a union of sporting togetherness in Athens. Athletes will attempt to break from the mould that surrounds their limitations, to achieve personal, national, Olympic, and world records.

The need to simplify life is matched only by the correspondingly desire to complicate what one may term as ‘the simple life’. The notion that life is a cycle of wealth and plenty for one group, and one of poverty and lack for another is as simple as it is deceptive. The reality that time is a continuum as opposed to a cycle of twenty-four hours, and the freedom that this represents, is too often lost among the cacophony of voices that clamour for social welfare, medical benefits, affirmative action, and sameness in the mistaken belief that these equate to, rather than approximate, equal opportunity, responsibility for one’s individual health, fair play, and equality.

The First World War was not the first ever war to be fought -- it has been claimed that throughout human history, there has been a grand total of 37 years of absolute world peace. Still the war of 1914 changed societies in Europe especially, and in Australia by colonial extension, in ways fundamental yet subtle. Australian reliance and, some would say, umbilical dependence on Britain was irrevocably transformed: seeds of scepticism and disillusionment were sown in the hearts and minds of Australians.

In 1990 the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait brought the issue of sovereignty to the world's attention. While academics and politicians may continue debate on the rights and wrongs of that particular incident, it was arguably the first time in recent history that the United Nations operated with some sense of consensus towards any political issue. Small states spoke against the blatant violation that invasion on another's soil constitutes; the major powers took notice, and swift action resulted, first from operation Desert Storm, and subsequently from operation Desert Shield. Cynics will doubtless point to the issue that oil provided a strong motivator behind the decision of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Russia, the US, Britain, France and China) to commence 'the mother of all battles', as President George Bush Sr. alluded to at the time.

The current occupation of Iraq by mostly-US troops places an uncomfortable dilemma onto allies and opponents of the current Bush administration. Some liken it to Vietnam; others await on the sidelines, quietly planning infrastructure projects once relative calm is restored. Already parallels are drawn with the Marshall Plan that provided some initial assistance to Europe and Japan to become the economic and, some would argue, political powers that they are today. One wonders what Milton Keynes would make of the continued emphasis on expansionist fiscal policy that Republican governments have become increasingly known for, and indeed can be counted on placing.

In Canberra, there has been much debate through the years about the role that governments play in the local economy. Telstra, a government-owned telecommunications company, is facing growing criticism for increasing monthly rates for fixed-lines. Fortunately there is at least one credible alternative in the shape of Optus, which is commonly known for undercutting rates to compete with Telstra with market share among some 20 million Australian residents. Perhaps it may be easier to accommodate competition in such a market, as opposed to the 4 million living in Singapore.

Latest developments in the Southeast Asian island-state appear disturbing: the Singapore government through its investment arm, Temasek Holdings, has been reportedly keen to acquire 49% of United Overseas Land, a property arm of local bank United Overseas Bank (UOB), by offering 28 cents higher per share than what UOB had previously offered. Singapore's is an economy that has three telecommunications companies, all of whom are linked to Temasek Holdings either directly or indirectly. Its airlines, rail, bus industries are understandably owned substantially by Temasek. The investment company's sphere of influence extends to supermarkets, taxis, insurance, refuse collection, power, gas, water, property, media, print, publications, financial services, maritime, steel, and semiconductors, just to name a few. It does not take a rocket scientist to notice that private enterprise owned by non-affiliated individuals is limited largely to small and medium sized companies or that swim against the tide either to succeed in overseas markets, or to subsist in the crowded-out local economy.

It would be anathema for mothers to exert undue influence over their children in the following manner: a child earns some cash distributing newspapers to the local neighbourhood. The money earned is used to buy a piece of candy at ten cents -- a discount because the owner likes the child. The mother decides to buy a piece of candy, and deems it fit to buy it from the child at fifteen cents, even though the retail price of the sweet is 20 cents. It would be unseemly for such a scenario to occur behind closed doors; it would arguably be worse should such behaviour be exhibited in full view of the public. In celebrating Mothers' Day this year, it may be prudent to heed the following anonymous piece of advice. Love your mother, cherish her, listen to her; and make independent decisions free from guilt and encumbrances, guided by the empowering fullness that is enlightened confidence.