Assignment 4 and Journal Update
Felicia

The Republic by Plato
The allegory of the Cave

Here are some parts of the allegory that I found interesting:

“You must therefore each descend in turn and live with your fellows in the cave and get used to seeing in the dark; once you get used to it you will be able to see a thousand times better than they do and will distinguish the various shadows, and know what they are shadows of, because you have seen the truth about things admirable and just and good.”

It seems right that whatever society has given to us, we should also give back in one way or another. And it makes sense that the ‘enlightened’ people who return to darkness will be able to see more clearly. When they return to the darkness, in a way, doing the dirty work, they can properly understand how the people living in the darkness feel and think, and will thus know how best to employ knowledge gained from seeing the “truth” to help them.

“…the state whose prospective leaders come to their duties with least enthusiasm is bound to have the best and most tranquil government, and the state whose rulers are eager to rule the worst.”

This one sounds odd to me, could someone explain it to me please? I absolutely do not understand how one can govern well by being reluctant to. Shouldn’t a sincere enthusiasm for helping the country be the best motivation for a ruler?

“…you must find for your future rulers some way of life they like better than government; for only then will you have government by the truly rich…”

I don't quite agree with this argument for rulers to be well provided for so that they will not turn to corruption. Plato failed to acknowledge that greed is inherent in human nature, and though the ruler may be given all he needs, even in excess of it, avarice may prompt him to use his power to gain more. Perhaps this should be coupled with strict regulations and frequent spot checks on the ruler to contain corruption.


Journal Update

Seniors’ Fair

After listening to the difficulties the other interns faced, I feel rather grateful that I only had one and a half days of the experience. The first day of seniors’ fair was quite crowded, especially when bus loads of senior citizens arrived at the same time. I was giving out the free hair cut coupons and there was a mad rush for the early timings. As some of the senior citizens had to leave by a certain time, I had to turn some away due to the limited slots, and their disappointed looks made me feel quite bad.

The second day I was at the feedback booth, which was quite an experience. My translation started out on shaky grounds, due to my appallingly rusty Chinese. Still, it turned out ok, at least the senior citizens could understand me. This also served as a hint for me to go brush up on the language, especially since it may prove useful in future.

Urban CLAP!

It was fun shopping for the goody bags – in this case, picnic baskets with lots of food in it. Buying the pies at Don Pie was the funny bit, where my supervisor and the salesperson embarked on such a fraction-filled conversation that I felt totally lost (they were discussing how best to cut up the pies).

Urban CLAP! nearly had to be cancelled due to the heavy rain. Luckily though, the rain ceased in time for the events management company to dry up the area and set up all the equipments. The concert itself was fun and the performers were good despite most of them being amateurs. It seems Singapore does have her fair share of talented people, despite popular belief. There was also a good crowd, as with all the other CLAP!s I’ve been to. I guess that just might dispel the myth that Singaporeans are a hopeless bunch of philistines.

Heritage Trail

Chinatown was too crowded for me to properly explain anything, since there were extremely few spaces where we could crowd round. Most of the time, my group and I walked in a single file. Then too, I was kind of lost, so I spent some time trying to decide which street to take at every intersection. But they seemed quite content just looking around, only occasionally stopping me to ask if they could get food. All in all, it was a great experience and I learnt more about my culture as well.