Lee Kuan Yew: The Last Great Historical Figure
I grew up in India so I studied about Mahatma Gandhi, his bespectacled countenance beaming at me from book and bank note alike. I suspect my British contemporaries read about Winston Churchill in their school-books, 'we shall fight from the beaches' forever etched in their imagination. American children would know by heart the story of George Washington, a planter with little military experience who dared take on the might of an empire.
Extraordinary men who made such an impact in their lifetimes that their legacy endures well after ashes turn to ashes and dust to dust. Inspiring stuff really but sadly, for most of us, their 'immortality' renders them rather unreal. Larger than life heroes who seem to exist only in history books and epic biopics. Figures from a bye-gone, tumultuous era when one special man (or woman) seemed to have the impossible power to shape nations' destinies.
In present times we don't appear to see anyone of a similar calibre. The kind of person who the 23rd century kids would still be talking about, well after the robots have taken over and possibly the invading aliens are the good guys who help humanity out.
Today's world doesn't seem to have anyone who has achieved anything that would be remembered much beyond the headlines and tweets of today and maybe tomorrow. Today's world doesn't seem to have anyone who warrants updating the history books. In a nutshell, today's world doesn't seem to have anyone who has done the impossible.
Well, how about taking a tiny third world country with little natural resources and more problems than the average maths examination, and turning that into one of the world's most prosperous nations? That too in less time than it took a baby boomer to go from braces to dentures.
That sounds rather impossible methinks.
But as we all know (or would know by now even if one is about as well informed as Snooki or her latest boyfriend), one man did all that. And more. Five days after his passing, enough has been said about Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore that anything I have to add will be at best repetitive and at worse sleep-inducing.
All I'll say is this. The father of my nation, for everyone of my generation and even the one before, was but a faint memory etched in words, archival footage and currency notes. A philosophy more spoken about in mock intellectual debate than followed.
But you, Singaporean friends of mine, are rather more lucky. The father of your nation was alive and kicking, for all of your life-time so far, displaying his trademark tenacity and sharpness, right to the very end. He was a part of your lives, indeed even a part of your government until a very short while back. You know what made him tick and consequently what makes Singapore tick. Never forget.
The author is an Indian professional who has studied and worked in Singapore for the last 11 years and previously had the pleasure of briefly working at the Singapore Economic Development Board
Extraordinary men who made such an impact in their lifetimes that their legacy endures well after ashes turn to ashes and dust to dust. Inspiring stuff really but sadly, for most of us, their 'immortality' renders them rather unreal. Larger than life heroes who seem to exist only in history books and epic biopics. Figures from a bye-gone, tumultuous era when one special man (or woman) seemed to have the impossible power to shape nations' destinies.
In present times we don't appear to see anyone of a similar calibre. The kind of person who the 23rd century kids would still be talking about, well after the robots have taken over and possibly the invading aliens are the good guys who help humanity out.
Today's world doesn't seem to have anyone who has achieved anything that would be remembered much beyond the headlines and tweets of today and maybe tomorrow. Today's world doesn't seem to have anyone who warrants updating the history books. In a nutshell, today's world doesn't seem to have anyone who has done the impossible.
Well, how about taking a tiny third world country with little natural resources and more problems than the average maths examination, and turning that into one of the world's most prosperous nations? That too in less time than it took a baby boomer to go from braces to dentures.
That sounds rather impossible methinks.
But as we all know (or would know by now even if one is about as well informed as Snooki or her latest boyfriend), one man did all that. And more. Five days after his passing, enough has been said about Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore that anything I have to add will be at best repetitive and at worse sleep-inducing.
All I'll say is this. The father of my nation, for everyone of my generation and even the one before, was but a faint memory etched in words, archival footage and currency notes. A philosophy more spoken about in mock intellectual debate than followed.
But you, Singaporean friends of mine, are rather more lucky. The father of your nation was alive and kicking, for all of your life-time so far, displaying his trademark tenacity and sharpness, right to the very end. He was a part of your lives, indeed even a part of your government until a very short while back. You know what made him tick and consequently what makes Singapore tick. Never forget.
The author is an Indian professional who has studied and worked in Singapore for the last 11 years and previously had the pleasure of briefly working at the Singapore Economic Development Board
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