“The trouble with the rat race is even if you win it, you’re still a rat.”~Lily Tomlin
I recall an interesting discussion between my Malaysian friends and Singaporean ones in NUS, and what began as small talk proceeded to encompass discussions about life in Singapore, and a comparison of the education system here versus that of Malaysia’s. The mood was generally light-hearted with a sprinkling of jokes and heartfelt sharing and I did not sense any unsurpassable communication barrier between the malaysians and singaporeans. At first, it seemed that both cultures were either too similar or that the Malaysians were simply too well-acculturated in the Singaporean society
One of the Malaysians shared about how life in Yong Peng, a small village in Johor, was different from the larger, bustling metropolitan city like Singapore. She mentioned that life was simpler and of a slower pace, with entertainment centres like cinemas, shopping centres and arcades virtually non-existent. The high life and material pursuits were generally not sought after. Then, a Singaporean asked, albeit rather insensitively, if that was a boring and mundane existence compared to life in Singapore… I may not remember as vividly how the conversation proceeded thereafter, but what was shared had already struck a chord in my heart-the rat race. Is this how Singaporeans have become so different from Malaysians??
Like a rat in the maze,
The path before me lies,
And the pattern never alters
Until the rat dies
~Patterns(Simon and Garfunkel)
The Singaporean society is one that is brutally competitive and the education culture is generally extrinsically-motivated[1]. In that instance, I felt a sense of guilt and unease about my life, for in the process of striving for a greater material standard of living, I found myself short-changed for having sacrificed precious time that could have been used to forge stronger relationships[2] with family and friends. I have observed as society progressed, how teachers have gradually lost the authority they once had in schools, merely from the short span of time I was still a student to the recent experience from a teaching stint in other schools.
The conversations of many are centred around the cars we drive, the monthly paycheck we receive, and the restaurants we patronise. Men of presumably high moral or religious standing, TT Durai, Father Joachim Kang, Ming Yi have also been tainted by the lure of money.
All this time, our material standard of living has risen steadily, yet has this occurred at our moral/spiritual/relational standards of living?
[1] Extrinsic motivation refers to external factors that drive the individual, rewards such as money, grades or coercion.
[2] “What makes us happy?” An article published in the Psychology section on a study of 268 men from Harvard university by George Vaillant examines this question. He concluded that lasting happiness is found in relationships-loving ones.
