The great ant colony sale

A male colleague commented the other day that Sing*pore girls look for monetary security above all and he doesn't blame them but what's a guy to do if he doesn't have the dough to buy a flat and car? He said he wanted to poll me about my views but then I belong to the minority.

"What do you mean?" I asked warily. He said that I'm not like those Shenton Way girls he knows who spend like crazy and in fact, that's what most Sing*pore girls are like. Is it really? I look at my friends around me and, yes, we like to spend; the GSS gets us all excited and we hanker after branded goods occasionally, but I doubt we are materialistic.

A media personality quipped the other day in the newspaper that the true religion in Sing*pore is money.

Is it because we are shallow? An explanation would be that we have a hoarding mentality like those small furry animals in Over the Hedge: the amassing of food (money and property and things) is the key to survival and the buttress against harsh winter and dangers lurking in the big, cruel world.

We've always been told that we are but a little dot on the map, surrounded by much bigger neighbours in an unstable region. Our economy can easily be trounced by big Asian giants. So the crisis mode is somewhat more heightened in us, just like small furry animals who are easily spooked by outside nosie and movement.

Then again, curiously, we are also known for our complacency, at least according to our leaders, who don't want us to rest on our country's successes. That's a dilemma, isn't it? How do you make citizens' lives so comfortable and 1st-world and yet keep them on their toes? It's like trying to make a well-fed predator hunt for its own food in the wilderness. The people are easily satisfied, but the leaders want more, faster, better! Gives it a decidedly Pinky and the Brain feel. You know, the Brain wanting to take over the world and loyal Pinky following the orders in an earnest but befuddled fashion.

I really don't think Sing*pore*ns are the most materialistic bunch if you compare them with other countries. More like, they have an instinct for accumulation, for a sense of protection and security. The aforementioned Over the Hedge furry creatures which seem to care for nothing but food, you wouldn't call them greedy, would you?

I always think of Sing*pore as an ant colony. Our people are like the tiny worker ants whose sole purpose is to gather food for the nest. Harmless but industrious, and always busy, be it carrying food back to the colony or simply running around crazily in zig-zags. What makes me uncomfortable is the feeling that the ants are so frantically on the move, but yet seem so hapless, like they are tired and harried and want to rest, but can't. When you look at the ants, don't you ever wonder, "Why don't they ever stop? What are they so busy for? And where exactly are they rushing to?"