The following notes were written and sent to a friend via email whilst I was standing in line to pay my tribute to Mr Lee Kuan Yew at a satellite tribute center. Singapore impresses me everyday - and his passing has furthered my understanding and appreciation of the city state he has left behind.
The following email has been slightly tweaked for grammatical errors, clarification or development of concepts, but the bulk of it is remains as it was:
Though it is mostly business as usual, the country is quite affected by his passing and the mood is somber. On social feeds as well there are so many tribute posts that celebrate his vision and contributions to this country. You probably have seen a few of them. The one I agree the most with is this one noting from a more pedestrian POV (isn't that the most important?), the impact LKY's policies have had on this country. http://wapo.st/1EXytDf
In many ways the article reflects some of my current revelations after living in Detroit and 180 degree-ing to Singapore: Autocracy that works to provide more freedom is perfectly fine with me. The notion of American democracy and the freedom it espouses has its merits - and I used to be a "worshipper" - but frankly is deeply flawed, especially with many recent events that have been unfolding back Stateside.
I believe that the reality of a socially contracted world (meaning if one does not decide to live in the wild with no human contact) is that we need to function as a social unit. For a unit comprising of parts to work, compromises that supersede individual priorities is required for the unit not to implode due to descent and descend into chaos.
Nonetheless, due to the fundamental differences in human perspectives, not all can come to a common understanding of compromises. As such, a Confucianist enforcement prioritizing basic human needs and rights benefiting the whole and not a singular individual is sometimes necessary to the survival of a society. The key notion here is "prioritizing basic human needs and rights benefiting the whole", as these enforcements should arise from reason and should be performed with a balanced approach so as not to devolve into an archaic system that induces fear and unrest. I think LKY in many ways has practiced Machiavelli's notion of an enlightened monarch (found in The Prince - a controversial text in today's enshrinement of democracy, but I found myself agreeing with the ideas in the book when I read it at age 19).
You should come visit - you'll understand what I mean about this country. Everything here just works: in a very efficient and precise way.
Anyway, Mr LKY's body is now lying in-state at the Parliament House near where the Esplanade. I'm currently in line in one of the many tribute centers set up around the country. Though his remains are not here, there are long lines. The one that I am standing in line now is leading into a community center located in this downtown area called Tanjong Pagar. It's LKY's old political stomping ground, and also fortuitously, where I now live. The community center is located right below this massive Housing Development Board (HDB) project called The Pinnacle (google image it, it's quite spectacular) and the line is snaking around the Chinese screen-like structure that seems to hold up the skies. These subsidized housing is actually the Singapore equivalent of housing projects, but the Pinnacle doesn't even look like the projects of Europe - they look like smaller luxury apartments. It's quite fitting because I think the Pinnacle was sorta like a pet project of LKY's, and is a grandeur beating of the chest of what Singapore can achieve even with government sponsored projects (and not a white elephant too).
Attaching an image of the line snaking around the block and around this massive housing development. Quite something as everything is very orderly. There are community center people giving out water to people in lines and during the day umbrellas are supplied. This really resonates - The civic attitudes demonstrated here is really a signifier of what this small country has achieved... Partially due to his vision and his ability of seeing things through.