myth 49

'Complaining is bad' I was reading Kan Seng's speech on foreign talents and the need for them and the complaints that appeared everywhere. I don't think people disagree with the concept of having more foreign talents here. The complaints are more on certain specifics that people see as either overdone or overkilled or simply putting Singaporeans at a disadvantage. And in the same speech Kan Seng added, 'Worse, we should not become dissengaged armchair critics and simply complain when we do not like something.' Now compare this with people who are paid to complain, the professional critics who are not even affected nor dislike anything, but just their job to complain. Complain has a very important role in life and living. Our body complains when we are not feeling well. Our stomach complains when hungry. This is a natural mechanism that helps us to rectify any wrongs or problems. Just imagine we can't feel pain, hunger, thirst, we can be dead the next minute. Complaining has a vital role in society especially about things that affect the people and country. We as a first world country, should grow up from third world mentality and accept complain in the true spirit. I posted earlier about learning a thing from the World Bank/IMF inviting people to demonstrate against them. They want to hear the other side, an opposing view. This is maturity, a higher level of thinking. They know that they are not god and will not have the best solution for everything. Complains when taken positively, helps to smoothen the corners and rough edges of policies and decisions. In the absence of complains, we don't even know that we are suffocating the people. Another word for complain is feedback. Maybe we should use the word feedback instead of complain. What's the dif? Or maybe we should all shut up and believe that we are living in utopia, govern by gods and all things are fine.