On understanding the challenges Singapore faces

"Societies which are put under severe long-term stress eventually become exhausted. Even Israel, with several thousand years of Jewish history and religion to bind the citizens together, found the decades of war with the Arab countries overwhelming. In a purely military sense, Israel won all the wars it fought, but the strain on the society was enormous. On the other hand, societies under no stress at all get slack and flabby. The Gurkhas come from Nepal, on the rugged foothills of the Himalayas, not from any South Sea island. Singapore is not a South Sea island. No breadfruit trees grow naturally to provide for our needs. We face major challenges ahead. But because we have dones so well, and the potential problems seem so remote, we risk lulling ourselvs into complacency. We must never discourage or demoralize Singaporeans by exaggerating the difficulty of tasks ahead. Whatever problems may lie ahead, they are far less daunting than the dangers Singapore faced, and surmounted, when we became independent, and when we were far less equipped to deal with them. At the same time, we must get Singaporeans to understand the unique circumstances we live under, and to strive harder to do well despite the constraints. This is a fine balance to maintain." ~Murray G., Perera A., 1995, Singapore - The Global City State

***