I cannot agree more. Ariana Huffington got one right at the McCain Republican solar plexus. Now I couldn’t help but draw a parallel here with my hometown Singapore. For those of you wondering where the heck is Singapore, it’s a small little independant tropical island republic which is about 3.5 times the size of Washington D.C. It is democratic with a system modelled after Britain as we’re their colony some 50 years ago. In the 40+ years since independence, we have progressed from a tropical banana republic into a modern metropolis home to 3-4 million people. All this is credit to a man, the indisputed father of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew. Through his brilliance and willpower, he led the transformation of this island into a global economic powerhouse disproportionate to its small size. Some called his rule a benevolent autocracy. Since the early days, he has outmanoeuvred lesser political opponents, crushed communists, locked up criminals, cleaned up corruption and helped bring stability in an otherwise violent and volatile period, laying the foundation for Singapore to become what it is today. But unfortunately, his skill and zeal for eliminating the opposition still persists to this day. One of his favorite political weapons is the politics of fear. He will intimidate the average voter with the argument that without his government, Singapore will fall apart because of its vulnerability. He’ll cite maintaining racial and religious harmony as an excuse for censorship. He’ll scare you on the economy so that you won’t dare vote for the inexperienced opposition ( if there’s any left ). He’ll use the courts to bankrupt the opposition so they pose no threat, being so successful that there isn’t any credible alternative left. It’s amazing to think that in this day of internet and cell phones, supposedly democratic governments can still keep the lid on its own people. But it still works in Singapore and this is even when we are sitting at the crossroads of East and West with so much exposure to outside influence. Of course part of the reason for the success is that democracy and freedom is balanced against a very competent government machine that takes care of the ordinary citizens. So there’s no visible grassroots dissatisfaction with the status quo. Otherwise, this can never happen. But once he’s gone, then I dunno, all bets are off I guess. So the politics of fear can be very effective even in today’s open societies. Proper exploitation of this primordial instinct can give enormous power to whoever who knows how to play it. Bush and his Republican colleagues have already tasted the initial success of this strategy. I hope Americans will be smart enough not to let McCain continue down this path and compromise all that America stands for.
