10/20/2015

The burden of Mao’s Thoughts versus Lee’s Hard Truths

China’s leaders of today lived through an era imbued with Mao’s Thoughts. The overly powerful leader in Mao turned him into a godlike figure where his words were as good as gospel truths. The lives of the Chinese population centred around reading, reciting and living the thoughts of Mao Zedong, for good or for bad.

Mao was the ideolog and his thoughts were in many cases idealistic ideologies. China was thrown into turmoil when the young followed the thoughts of Mao blindly and religiously. Many suffered, many lives were lost, arts and cultures were burnt and destroyed.

Then came Deng Xiaoping who brought some realism and pragmatism into the lives of the Chinese, moderating the extremes of Mao’s Thoughts and made them more relevant to the new realities of a new world. In the tussle between ideologies and pragmatism, China found a middle path to modernization. The thoughts of Mao are still there, vivid in the minds of the present day leaders, but in most cases, for recitation and to respect the great leader. In practice, Mao’s Thoughts were furthest in the minds of the new leaders in China.

A leader that has acquired a stature that is undisputed and held in awe could do good and also harm to the people and country. Blindly following old thoughts that have gone irrelevant is a recipe for disaster.

Singapore has a similar all powerful and influential leader in LKY, a deity like figure that still lives in the lives of many Singaporeans. LKY is still very influential in the lives of Singaporeans in the leaders and the common folks. The hard truths of LKY still linger in the thinking of many who had worked with him. His words are gospel truths to many and acted as guiding principles in what they are doing. Like Mao’s Thoughts, some of the hard truths, principles and policies have been overtaken by time and no longer relevant, obsolete. Sticking to them unthinkingly would do more harm than good to the people and country.

Unfortunately there are still many parrots parroting some hard truths as if they are the perpetual truths to be passed down to the future generations in the same manner when they have been overtaken by events. Though many of LKY’s hard truths would transcend time and have far longer usefulness and implications, there are surely some that must be discarded into the bins, or be modified to the new realities. It needs thinking and reassessment to use and apply the hard truths and wise quotes of LKY to be effective and useful. Blind parroting is a sign of trouble, of lazy and unthinking minds at work, of cheapo with no confidence and ideas of their own. The safest thing is to parrot the oracle.

The quoting of LKY’s hard truths and assumptions of things and policies will still be heard for a long time to come. Some quoting them knowingly, some unconsciously as the thoughts have been ingrained into their psychic for good or bad. Some will still apply them blindly without knowing that time has changed, things have changed, to the detriment of the people and country.

This is the curse of having leaders that have too overpowering influence on their believers and being too godlike, or elevated to the level of powerful and beloved deities. Would Singapore suffer the same curse and fate of gods and deities? Or would there be another equally powerful, respected and wise leader to emerge to moderate the hard truths and wise quotes of LKY, to make them relevant to the changes in time?

There are just too many parrots all over the place. You can hear them when they open their beaks to expose their bird brains.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Would Singapore suffer the same curse and fate of gods and deities?
RB

With or without gods and deities, Singapore will still suffer the curse of true blue Sinkies no enough and the Sinkie opposition not ready to be govt.

Anonymous said...

If the gods and deities are kind enough to make the Sinkie opposition strong, united and ready to be govt, and also increase the Sinkie fertility rate to above replacement level, then Singapore will not suffer.

But if the gods and deities continue to create Sinkies like PAP Ah Loong, SDP Aung Juan Soon Chee and WP Teochew Ah Hia, for sure Singapore will suffer.

Anonymous said...

Strong Leaders & Their Fairy Tales (Fact or Fiction?)
--------------------------------------------------------
Hitler - Mein Kampf
Mao Zedong - Mao's Thoughts
Lee Kuan Yew - Hard Truths

Anonymous said...

@ //AnonymousOctober 20, 2015 12:37 p.m.
Strong Leaders & Their Fairy Tales (Fact or Fiction?)
--------------------------------------------------------
Hitler - Mein Kampf
Mao Zedong - Mao's Thoughts
Lee Kuan Yew - Hard Truths//


周文王: " 任人为贤 "
Zhou Dynasty King Zhou Wen: " Appoint by MERIT "

兹喜太后: " 任人为亲 "
Qing Dynasty Empress Dowager ZiXi: " Appoint by Relationship "

猩鸡兰亡朝现代李啊斗: "任人为POR LAM PA"
Sinkieland Romance of Three Kingdom modern version Li Ah Dou: " APPOINTMENT BY LEVEL OF POR LAM PA "PROWESS"".

This is the REAL SINKIELAND'S HARRRRRRRDTRUUUUUUUUUTH!

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Anonymous said...

// there are surely some that must be discarded into the bins, or be modified to the new realities //


It is not only some parts of those bs that deserve to "go into the incinerator".

There are too much "dead wood around".

Sinkies and sinkieland are going to pay an EXTREMELY HEAVY HEAVY price for allowing all these "dead wood" to " lead" and free the "mai hum cockle king" to count pubic hairs by relegating 99% of his jobs to multiple coordinators and multiple ministers helmed ministries such as Ong Tua Kang, It's Tua Lan, Limp Chow Khiang, Ng Chee Sai, 蹋媽伞墓遢嘠嬬。。。。。。。also got more time to suck nnp, eat more cockles but pretend he doesn't want hum in his mee siam ..... so small need so many ministers liddat think countries like China, India and US the Ace need 100 vice presidents or vice premiers, 200 ministers of education, 500 ministers of trade and industry etc to oversee and cope with million and one bigger issues ...... sinkieland is fast becoming not only the butt of chewing gum and "fine" jokes but the "joke" itself ...... with the rate and trajectory of multiple ministers appointed in one single ministry, it could be a matter of time there may be 10 to 20 ah ter, ah kow helming MOE, MTI etc etc ....... when sinkies once feel proud under GKS, TCC to be sinkies, nowadays it seems the reverse. When foreigners ask y sinkieland needs multiple ministers to helm a small ministry when gigantic countries like China, India and USA no need to do so, better keep quiet than try to defend 啊斗incredible reasoning. ...... can tell foreigners so dat can free him to count pubic hairs, suck nnp and eat more cockles ......?

Anonymous said...

// Sticking to them unthinkingly would do more harm than good to the people and country. //


Obviously many of their are nothing but trucks loads of BS.

Main Hum got the gall to speak publicly that sinkieland needs to up PRODUCTIVITY to stay atop but DOES HE KNOW there meaning of WORD "PRODUCTIVITY "?

By needing and appointing MULTIPLE ministers, 2nd ministers, SMOSes and MOSes, Snr Parliamentary Secretary, Parliamentary Secretary and deputy Secretary to ONE miserable small ministry relative to many other big powers GLOBALLY, it certainly speaks VOLUMES of the PRODUCTIVITY of PAPIGS. ..... NO?

Anonymous said...

// The burden of Mao’s Thoughts versus Lee’s Hard Truths //

Rb, apparently there is one BIG word MISSING in the title of your post!

Do YEW not think the below title more aptly speaks of the real truth in sinkieland:

" The burden of Mao’s Thoughts versus Lee’s Hard ( SELFISH ) Truths"?

Anonymous said...

// Like Mao’s Thoughts, some of the hard truths, principles and policies have been overtaken by time and no longer relevant, obsolete. //

Rb, that is ARGUABLY the BIGGEST UNDERSTATEMENT in mankind HISTORY.

It is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH more than "OBSOLETE "!

No words in the dictionary can do justice to the dinosaur prehistoric era of mankind to describe how archaic the BS has become!

Anonymous said...

All the BS have a rightful place in the annals of history.

Inscribed on the walls of the caves of stone age.

Nothing more Nothing LESS!

Anonymous said...

周文王: " 任人唯贤 "
历史结论: 史无前例的八百年王朝(公元前1046-公元前256)
Zhou Dynasty King Zhou Wen: " Appointment by MERIT "
History Conclusion: 800 hundred years of unparallelled empire ( BC 1046 to BC 256 )

兹喜太后: " 任人唯亲 "
历史结论: 丧权辱国的老太婆
Qing Dynasty Empress Dowager ZiXi: " Appointment by Relationship "
History Conclusion: History's most inept old hat most epitomised and culminated in a huge giant ( China ) being labelled "Asia's Sick Man" by the Japenis.

猩鸡兰亡朝现代李啊斗: "任人唯POR LAM PA"
历史结论: 历史上的最大荒唐史在上演 。。。。。?
Sinkieland Romance of Three Kingdom modern version Li Ah Dou: " APPOINTMENT BY LEVEL OF POR LAM PA "PROWESS"".
History Conclusion: ( History's Most Hilarious and Incredulous ) Political dance and wayang now showing .....? Starting with a labour PRODUCTIVITY movement by appointing 2 ministers, SMOS, MOS, Snr Parliamentary Secretary. ....... etc of 10 "super elitist talents" to do a job used to be done by one minister in the early days ......? Somebody is telling sinkies that to stay ahead sinkies need to be productive and be able to do say 2 to 10 persons jobs while RIGHT AT THE TOP, they instituted and appointed 10 "super talents" to do what used to be done by a rock solid old guard minister single handedly? Somebody has just turned the word "Productivity " UPSIDE DOWN and ON ITS HEAD by starting such a war cry recently on upping productivity yet appointing 10 persons for what used to be a single minister's job? It only begs one thing ....... how many face palms will bring relief to such incredulity .......?

Anonymous said...

// This is the curse of having leaders that have too overpowering influence on their believers and being too godlike //


The damage may last beyond one generation .......

Even the many cha bor in the clan and network act like "mini-old man" and yield power like "megalomaniac " in the organisations they oversee.

Ching Ho and her clan reminds of 吕雌 of the Han Dynasty which led to what Chinese Historian termed as "吕氏之乱" 。。。。。。

There are many "mini old men" in organisations overseen by lao cha bor .......

With so many of them acting like "mini old men" in the myriad of organisations they are overseeing and Ching Ho backing them up, it shows Ms Pinky Ah 斗 is led by the nose by his Mr Man-Woman "bor cha" and losing all respects among many sinkies behind Pinky's back ..... btw, the way pinky walks and twists his butts like a "gu niang" really makes many sinkies wishing to find a hole and jump in ......it is so embarrassing!