during GP lessons on tues, one of the essay qns that we were discussing was the topic on "Singaporeans have no time to be gracious"... to think of it, it's quite true...it's rare to see on the streets of Singapore, people who smile at strangers, just to brighten the day of others... in some country, it is the norm...or more precisely, it is inbred/inborn in them to be nice to others...
i'm not going to talk about strangers, just let me use some examples that i have seen for myself:
1) when you press the "open" lift button for others to exit, how many actually bothered to say "thank you"? maybe out of 30, about 1 or 2? maybe not even there... i'm not boasting or trying to make myself appear gracious, but from a young age, i was taught by my father to be polite to others as well as to thank ppl who bother to go out of their way to do something for you. Although i feel that my dad is very overbearing, he is the best example, for me, of someone who shows his happy face to others, no matter whether he is really feeling happy or not...n he's always the one pressing the "open" button or holding the door open...so from young, i thought it was the norm..but as i went out into the world, i realised to the contrary...
2) today, my classmates conducted a little "test"... they were one of the first few out of the lecture theatre, n thus stood at the corner, holding the door open for everyone... they stood there, wondering how many ppl would actually notice and thank them...to their surprise and my horror, they had a long while to wait...one whole mass of students left by that door, but only 1,
only 1, bothered to thank them...i feel quite disappointed that it's in Singaporeans to assume that the doors are "naturally" open, and that they are not obliged to wonder why...it's this sort of unthoughtlessness and unawareness of the surroundings that make me worry about the graciousness of this country... intelligent, we can be...sophisticated? never...
perhaps u may feel that i m thinking too much...but if u care for Singapore, can u not help worrying?