I was ambivalent about seeing a place I had been to but don’t remember.
Everything is neat and tidy. An urban planner’s dream with accompanying instructions on rules of conduct. Rules that if broken will cost money or your life. But the ominousness of that is eased by cartoon characters like Stand-Up Stacy and Give-Way Glenda who suspend belief in reality and make you think you are embedded in a children’s tv show while riding the subway.
Lack of visible police officers or police cars. Having lived in a police state for 18 years, this was refreshing. While penalty signs were prevalent no one seems to be watching for enforcement (not withstanding the CCTV cameras, of course!). In that regard, plenty of people (both locals and tourists) seem to casually J-walk. Even the occasional pieces of trash tossed onto the sidewalk or lawns make an appearance.
I’ve heard many people say how Sri Lanka should be more like Singapore. It’s got me wondering what sacrifices must be made to achieve such a remarkable level of population compliance. That reminded me of Bakunin’s take on Germans in the 19th century, “To them life is simply inconceivable without government, that is, without a supreme will and thought and an iron hand to order them about. The stronger the hand the prouder they are and the more cheerful life becomes for them.”
Although I didn’t quite witness cheerful lives while there perhaps they do exist.
As we walked out of the Story of Forests at the National museum, someone commented, “I wish the forests appeared more real.” But having seeing Gardens by the Bay on the last day of our trip, perhaps it is the future that awaits us. If capitalism continues to pursue its seemingly endless quest for land and resources, nothing “real” will remain. Perhaps then in that dystopian future, Gardens by the Bay will appear beautiful, instead of simply terrifying.
