Give them roots and wings

I recently read an article by Jeremy Z Muller (Capitalism and Inequality) which describes well what I feel is wrong with society today.  The key sentence is this :-

“The inequality that exists today derives less from the unequal availability of opportunity than it does from the unequal ability to exploit opportunity.”

I also like these parts:-

“Educated parents tend to invest more time and energy in child care, even when both parents are engaged in the work force. And families strong in human capital are more likely to make fruitful use of the improved means of cultivation that contemporary capitalism offers (such as the potential for online enrichment) while resisting their potential snares (such as unrestricted viewing of television and playing of computer games).

All education favors the middle- and upper-class child, because to be middle- or upper-class is to have qualities that make one particularly educable. Improvements in the quality of schools may improve overall educational outcomes, but they tend to increase, rather than diminish, the gap in achievement between children from families with different levels of human capital.”

(Bold parts mine)

I understand these statements so well.  It described exactly the way my husband and I help our children use technology/ computer/ TV without being ensnared by it.  It described exactly how I try to compensate for my child’s inattentiveness in school by my coaching and close supervision at home. We are doing everything within our power, enhanced by our education and social network, to make our children more educable, and help us all to benefit from the progress of Singapore.

But what about families who do not have as much ability to improve the educability of their children, or exploit opportunities? Such thoughts always trouble me because I am a socialist at heart – I do not like to see inequality in society.

It depressed me for a while, until I went with the Resident’s Committee (RC) in my neighbourhood to visit the S.E.A. Aquarium. It was the magical weekend (March school holidays), and we found that many other RCs across Singapore organised a similar trip.

We were so excited to get to the SEA Aquarium!
But we had to queue for a total of 90 minutes before getting in.
We queued outside for 45 minutes to get into the museum,
and for another 45 minutes inside the museum to get into the aquarium.
Look at the crowd!
But I loved it.
I have become an “auntie”…

We paid $15 per adult, and $10 per child/senior citizen for the visit which would normally have cost us $29 and $20 respectively. It came with a $5 meal voucher, and the RC also provided two-way transport.

After the trip, it occurred to me that some people who do not have private transport would probably have a difficult time travelling to the aquarium, housed on Sentosa. (In fact, I found out later, that Yu Hua CCC brought about 100 residents, including 80 elderly and 7 physically challenged, to visit the aquarium on the same day). The subsidy by the RC for the entrance fees also meant that it made the trip much more accessible to the common man.

The trip brought to mind other activities which we participated with the CC/RC, for example the F1 night racing carnival.

This was in 2012.
We had a MacDonald’s dinner while we waited for the race to start.
The kiddos did some ‘racing’ too!

We got these photos taken free.

That was when I realised that the Singapore Government, through the CC/CCC/RC, has allowed the grassroots to enjoy, together with the elites, the progress of Singapore.

Then I recalled that at the start of the March holidays, I brought the children to the library.  We borrowed tons of books because the loan quota is doubled during the school holidays.

Among us, we have 5 cards, and could borrow 60 items!
See the box of library books in our book corner!

We also went to the Jurong East Swimming Complex which costs $1 per child, and $2 per adult for the weekends.  We love it there because the children can have a whole day of fun in the Wave pool, Lazy River, the various slides and the kiddy fun stations. There was no need to go to the Wild Wild Wet at Downtown east which costs $14 per child and $19 per adult.

My personal favourite is the Lazy River.
I love having Samuel sit on me while I sit on the float.

Between the library and public amenities like the pools and parks, Singapore has given every child the opportunity to play and learn.  With the CC/CCC/RC, the Government has made the various places of interest and events available to every family. Even in the area of education, I know that my son’s school work hard to help children who have learning delays.  (But let’s talk about the education somewhere else. This post is about fun things…).

There are many people who are able and could provide a good life for themselves and their children.  They live in condominiums or have their own pools.  They have private libraries. They can choose to go to the SEA Aquarium on a less crowded day and pay for the priority lane.   But there are many who do not have these options.  Yet all of them can say with pride that – Yes, I go swimming every week, yes, I have read Shakespeare and George Orwell and yes, I saw jelly fishes, sharks and the manta rays in the gigantic “Open Ocean”.

The sea animals are so beautiful…

I don’t think the system is perfect. There is always room for improvement. But I don’t think there are many countries in which this happens, where people of varying socio-economic status can enjoy rather similar standards of leisure activities (Of course, there are high class restaurants and expensive hobbies, but do we really need those?)

This is an imperfect world. There will always be unequal levels of happiness, prosperity and progress for everyone. But those who have more can always share with others our personal happiness, prosperity and progress. It is the same philosophy I have in “Neither too little nor too much”.

A wonderful book which I borrowed from the library for Samuel
– “Black? White! Day? Night!” by Laura Vaccaro Seeger.
A sad-looking nose.
A happy smile.
Same face.

As far as I can see, there is only one way out of the inequality of progress.  It is to agree that we are in it together and we need to help one another.  We rise and fall as a nation. We are all created equal in the sight of God.