Superficiality and the City

Anyone who has watched Desperate Housewives, a popular American TV series, would know that the premise of the show is about how, beneath a seemingly normal and peaceful neighbourhood, there is a whole backlog of politicking, bitching, backstabbing and secrets which are not evident on a superficial front. A visit to Mysteria Lane (the title of the street where the protagonists reside) would give a would-be visitor an impression of a pleasant neighbourhood, one where the residents are always happy and rich and throw parties. These protagonists hide their troubles and secrets from their neighbours, such that in each of their eyes, their neighbours are seemingly perfect people, and consequently they feel inadequate at their own imperfection.

In short, on the surface it looks a wonderful place to live in, yet beneath this facade, their lives are not as perfect as it seems.

In many ways, I sometimes can't help but liken a comparison between the denizens of Mysteria Lane and the citizens of Singapore. On the surface, Singapore indeed looks the perfect place to live in. Spotlessly clean, mindlessly efficient, hearteningly safe, caring government... these are but a few examples a Singaporean can boast about when he proudly acclaims the wonderful place that he lives in.

The state controlled media plays a big part in instilling a fine sense of wellbeing in the nation. It maintains a front that Singapore is virtually a perfect place to live in, one that our children can grow up well educated, one that we can go out at night without being mugged, one that we can achieve happiness by being the best amongst our peers. It boasts the achievements of the nation and downplays or conveniently neglects to mention the various social ills that are plaguing the society, among them, the problem of illegal immigrants, the plight of homeless old folk and the shockingly high suicide levels, among a myriad others.

The competition between the housewives in DH is certainly not a foreign trait to Singaporeans. Desperate to keep up and look like 'successful housewives', these 'friends' do not share their troubles with each other. Instead, they put on a show that they are 'coping' and 'enjoying' their lives, competing to be 'superior' to another. Lets take an example: TaiTai, who has a son is studying 'in a premier JC in the Bishan-AngMoKio district' can proudly tell her 'mahjong kakis' that her son is an elite student. Of course, she will also conveniently neglect to mention that her son has stress related problems, and is currently seeing a shrink, To another 'mahjong kaki', LaoPo, it would seem that she is such a perfect parent. LaoPo then thinks back on her own lazy child who only manages to get mediocre grades in a 'neighbourhood' school. Not understanding why their own child is more stupid, and not wanting to accede that she is more incapable as a parent, she rails at her child, coercing him to work hard and get good grades. Consequently, this child develops low self esteem, and hangs out 'with the wrong crowd'. Of course, all these bleak realities will be covered up by LaoPo as well, as LaoPo may well 'lose even more face' should Taitai realise that not only is LaoPo's son stupid, he is a paikia (gangster), something which is a great stigma in our society. Showing weakness in public is a no-no. Everything must be to perfection.

The misfeasance of adhering to such a mentality is not to be blamed squarely an individual's Singaporean's shoulders. Our government encourages meritocracy but is perhaps overzealous in ensuring productivity in its citizens, resulting in a societal consciousness which is attuned to such facade and competition. One such example is the introduction of the School Ranking System, a bible to many a parent. The Ranking System of Primary Schools, for example, highlights the schools with the best academic output. Consequently many parents will resort to almost anything to get their kids into the best primary school to get a 'headstart'. However, these Ranking Systems are ultimately one-dimensional, as they fail to account for other critical factors, such as the 'Stress Level' of the school. So, this primary school may be absolutely elite as an academic institution, but it may not be quite as wonderful for a child's social development. Just because the Ranking Systems states that Elite Primary School is the best school academically doesn't automatically mean that it is the best overall environment for every child.

Similarly, just because the ST paints a wonderful picture of Singapore, doesn't mean that everything in Singapore is fine and dandy. Of course, when revolutionaries such as Royston Tan try to paint a true alternative picture of Singapore, they receive censure. We are denied the truth of the real situation. We are offered a rosy picture, one where we all live in a happy environment of litterless streets and airconditioned shopping malls, where all the social ills are swept under a carpet and disappear from our consciousness. Out of sight, out of mind.

No doubt, there are people who have never experienced the 'rough' side of Singapore before and consequently do not know the real picture of the situation. As their sources are entirely from a skewed perspective, the 'not so nice' aspects clouded from their view, they reason that there is no problem at all with society. Of course, this line of thinking is inherently defective in itself, since it would be naïve to think that a society can exist without a share of its problems. The problem is that these issues are either downplayed or concealed from public consciousness, leading to ignorance or apathy.

Then there will be another class of people who are 'vaguely aware' of the societal ills from alternative news sources. However, they cite that 'Singapore is still better than X, Y and Z country in many ways'. Again, this is another example of being sucked into the fallacy of 'comparative happiness', which is certainly not a positive characteristic of any individual or society especially when taken to obsessive levels, which may just be the case in Singapore's situation. Incidentally, when I raise issues about the repression of societal ills from our consciousness, I do not consider if X, Y or Z is worse or better off than us in this particular aspect. I only consider what these socials ills are, how bad they actually are in our particular country, and whether there are ways and means to combat it.

Perhaps if we were tourists on a transit stop to Singapore, we would see the first-class airport, the wide expressways, the splendorous cityscape, the impeccably clean streets, and we would think; what a paradise this city state is. But we live here. We know better. Or do we?

If the true picture of Singapore is incorporated into our social consciousness, will it shatter our egos, destroy our self belief? Or will it makes us stand up and take an active stance against combating such ills? Will we learn to appreciate what we already have instead of pining for what others have that we do not? Is it really so bad to realise that Singapore is not as perfect as it seems? That we are not as perfect as we'd like to believe?

Is it better to be 'Number 1 in the World' economically at the cost of our social lives? Is it really better to have new airconditioned generic food courts over grimy, smoky back-lane food stalls? Is it better to subscribe to the adage that 'ignorance is bliss' and an apathetic 'that is not my problem' stance, or to have transparent access important statistics of our society, such as our migration, suicide and divorce rates, so that we can reflect on the bleak reality and accordingly take counteractive measures so as to lower such rates?

Should we pull the wool over our own eyes and pretend that everything is fine and dandy, and delude ourselves? Should we 'rank' happiness by degree of 'superficial success'?

Perhaps not.