In a local newspaper today, I read with disbelieve the way we scrutinize ourselves with things that are as trivial as pronunciation. At a time where the other parts of the world is plugged by war, poverty, natural disasters and terrorism, we sit in the comfort of our home offering nothing but splitting our own hair.
How wrong can Singaporeans pronounce the word "Singapore"? Whether we choose to pronounce it as "Sing-Ga-Por" or "Sing-Nga-Por" with varying degree of stress on each syllable do not make us any more or less Singaporean. Similarly, being able to pronounce "Carrefour" in perfect French intonation does not make one look more French than another. If the mere pronunciation of "Deepavali" can make one enjoy the festival any more or less, Singapore is heading right down memories' lane in no time. The mere fact that a non-Chinese can vividly say "Gong Xi Fa Cai" is reason enough for a standing ovation, but some choose to pay no compliment even with perfect Confucius-style phonetics.
While we have been relatively free from worldly sufferings, we either contribute or reflect on those unfortunate events experienced by others and learn from it. If need be, we debate about things that matter, for those that matter. Engaging in hair-splitting commentaries do no one any good, but will instead portray this nation as ignorant and childish.
What is seriously lacking in this country is a culture of positiveness and encouragement. This reminds me of a local movie by Jack Neo "I not stupid too" that I again watched on the plane on my way back from Hanoi a few days ago. Amidst the tears and laughter, the key learning point of this movie is for us to look at one's virtue rather than be clouded by one's failure. How often do we pretentiously preface our comments with an upbeat only to chew it up with a "but"?
You look good in this dress, but... (only if you are 1 size smaller!)
You did well in your job, but... (you are still lousy in sucking up to me!)
This dish tastes good, but... (only because I am having a flu!)
All these sounds familiar? Some say keep your "buts" (butts) out of my face! So, maybe we should really keep some of our opinions to ourselves, because our opinions usually does nothing more than killing someone else's morale however well intended it may be.
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