Singapore is still not ready to be a democracy

Introduction
Everytime I read about Dr Chee's attempts to wake the rest of us Singaporeans up and start caring about democracy, I always return to the Matrix trilogy as it is the main movie that really woke me up to the society that Singapore really is with regards to democracy. 

Analysis and Reflection
It must be tough being the PAP government.  On one hand, they do not think democracy is a good idea for Singapore but yet they need Singaporeans to sincerely believe that the elections conducted in Singapore still allow them a choice on who they want to govern them. 

So far, I have to say they have been very successful in giving us "an illusion of choice". Giving us that same choice, abeit at a near unconsious level, requires the tolerance of an opposition, or a systemic anamoly, in the form of a Chee Soon Juan. The system has to tolerate his actions for Singaporeans to accept the program. It is thus important to keep him in check, to ensure that he will never reach a point where he can be a threat to the Singapore matrix. So far our media has been doing a successful job in this aspect.

So successful that, many of us are afraid to vote against the PAP and are actually so much more relieved if we happen to stay in a GRC that is a walkover.  If we are "unlucky" to be given a choice to vote, we will grit our teeth, close our eyes and remind ourselves all the horror things that could happen to us if we dare to mark that cross on anything other than the lightning symbol: Our taxi or hawker licence will suddenly be denied, our promotion in the civil service would be strangely passed over, and our kids will be mysteriously denied a place in the local university and so on and so forth.

How does a typical Singaporean, living in the Matrix, reacts when he sees someone like Chee Soon Juan?  Of course, many Singaporeans, on the record, will definitely say one of the following:  Either he is stupid, or what is wrong with Singapore that we should care, or the classic "if giving up freedom of speech allows me to walk safely in the streets at 3am, so be it!".

However, I think the main reason why many of us condemn his actions is that doing so actually makes us feel better about ourselves.  Everytime we see what he is doing, we are reminded once again how cowardly we all are.  Through his actions, we are reminded that all of us are so willing to give up basic freedoms all because we fear the unknown.  Just as it was tough once for normal people to believe Galileo's views that the Earth is not in the center of the universe with everything rotating around her, believing in the truth, if only a small minority actually care, is kind of scary when proclaiming that same truth involves costs. 

Thus, by condemning Dr Chee's actions, we are trying to constantly convince ourselves that we are right in giving up these freedoms for the sake of our "rice bowl".  We even wished that he can be locked up forever so that no one else in Singapore can ever remind us again how cowardly we are.  All of us can then lived "happily ever after", telling ourselves that, while we are building a democractic society, we are still not ready, and perhaps we will never be unless some deep external event steals our rice bowl away from us.

Conclusion
That piece of reasoning and reflection is my attempt to understand causality, to understand the "why". As the Merovingian gave a lesson to Neo in Reloaded, we are all slaves to causality so the best we can do is to understand the "why".

When I read and see Singaporeans condemning Chee's actions but in a very fallacious way, I always smile and tell myself, after watching Reloaded, that these Singaporeans lack power. They know that there is something inside them that tells them that they must condemn the action but it is quite obvious they do not understand why.

When I finally understood this particular "why", probably sometime in 1999, I felt a sense of elation. It does not matter to me now that I am also part "guilty". After all, Einstein himself said that the world is evil, not because of evil men but those who see the evil action done and choose to do nothing. Well, being a Singaporean living in Singapore, I am also a slave to causality, but now I understand "why" I behave the way I do. That is exhilarating haha.