'How lucky we are to be born in Singapore, at this point in human history,' says Redditor

SINGAPORE: A local Reddit user made the case for how lucky Singaporeans are to live at “this point in human history,” adding that people seem to forget this at times.

Among the reasons u/Fantastic-Spend-6156 outlined in their recent post on r/asksg are the following: safety, stability, cleanliness, good healthcare, opportunities, relatively low taxes, and “most importantly, the freedom to choose what kind of life we want.”

The post author elaborated further, citing the absence of “major endemic diseases constantly threatening our lives,” and advancements in science and medicine.

Moreover, unlike in other parts of the world, there is neither war in the region nor long-running conflicts. Singapore also enjoys “incredibly stable” politics and a “generally competent and clean,” albeit imperfect, government.

They also mentioned Members of Parliament who walk the ground and are accessible through meet-the-people sessions; and that children in Singapore have opportunities to have a good education, become globally competitive, and work for multinational companies,

“Where you are born still matters enormously in this world, and a lot of children simply don’t start with the same opportunities,” they noted.

Acknowledging Singapore’s high cost of living, they added that, in spite of this, people can still find ways to live affordably.

“We can decide what kind of life we want for ourselves without our entire future being predetermined by tradition or social class. Sadly, that freedom wasn’t available to many people throughout history, and still isn’t the reality for everyone in the world today,” they wrote.

And because this is the only reality Singaporeans know, they forget how extraordinary it is to have all these advantages.

The post author urged readers to “zoom out beyond our own lifetime and compare where we are not just geographically, but historically,” and added, “Never in history have ordinary people been given such a good chance to simply live freely.

Most of the commenters agreed with the points that u/Fantastic-Spend-6156 brought up, but one wrote Singapore’s complaint culture actually has advantages, as it works against complacency.

“With how Singapore's nation building is, ‘complaints’ are a form of keeping ourselves accountable and holding to higher standards. If everyone is so content that there are no ‘complaints’, there won't be a need to seek to do better,” they wrote.

“YES, omg, finally someone said it… Like if you compare QOL in… Malaysia, India, or even USA, our country is WAYYYYYY AHEAD in terms of government actually giving a **** about its people and taking concrete actions. I travel a lot to SEA countries for work and omg my appreciation to be born here just grew multitudes,” added another.

“I gained a newfound appreciation for Singapore after experiencing how other places are run… Even first-world cities in Japan or the West. Try opening a bank account in Japan, or walking alone late at night in any major Western city. Ironically, it's the people who have never experienced the world, who are the most sheltered and protected by the SG system, who throw the most tantrums,” a commenter chimed in. /TISG

Read also: ‘Europe, take notes, please’: Tourist is amazed at how Singapore ‘hits different’