Those of you who have taken 201 will know that the title represents 3 words standing for the 3 different approaches to persuading people, the appeal to emotions, the appeal to the speaker's credibility and the appeal to logic.
Last night, while ruminating about the world in general which is what I do when I watch shows that make me think, like a certain hospital drama featuring whiny interns that are now residents that I shall not name, I realised there was something missing in the style of governing used in Singapore. I know, I think about weird things. And I am putting a disclaimer here because I know there is some little facility somewhere meant for people like me who enjoy talking about the men in white from an armchair.
I heard that the facility is in the mouth of the Merlion on Sentosa. When you talk rubbish they load you up in the lift at the base of the Merlion and then the Merlion pukes you out into the sea. Its their way of saying good riddance to bad rubbish. Or Merry Christmas. Whatever. Not to mention that it makes a good spectacle for tourists. "Hey we feed our lions good here! Even freaky looking ones that are gender confused!" Oh don't tell me the Merlion ain't gender confused. Would you call that thing a he or she? With a mermaid's tail, but a male lion's mane, that is a hard call. Not to mention it looks kinda weird.
Anyway, here's the disclaimer.
"Everything written on this blog is bullshit. If you are allergic to bullshit, kindly stop reading because I don't have money to pay for bullshit medication. I also think that most clinics don't stock bullshit medications. If they do you should stop visiting the clinic. Why is my disclaimer becoming good medical advice?"
Now here is what is essentially wrong. There are appeals to logic, with statistics being drawn up to show how policies are beneficial in the long run, and appeals to credibility, like how the party has been infallible since independence, a shining beacon of truth and all that is good in this world, until it was found to have supported the farming of golden peanuts. The party protects the world from devastation. The party unites all peoples within our nation. Okay I shouldn't really be comparing the party to Team Rocket.
Back to my topic however, there is little appeal to the emotions and hearts of the people. And that is the problem. Your average uncle and auntie in the street has no love for statistics. The only statistics they probably read on a regular basis are PUB bills, their children's handphone bills and report books, or their household accounts. Why would they want to read more statistics? Apart from the New Paper soccer punting odds.
Appeals to credibility don't work too when you promise people you won't raise taxes and proceed to do so in the following year. For me, as long as gaping holes don't appear in my neighbourhood footpath and the walls of flats don't crumble, I assume my MP is doing his job. However, if I'm in a restaurant with my friends and I see that my bill now has 7% GST on top of the 10% service charge, no prizes for guessing who I'll be cursing at. What, the government? Don't mind-read me. I love the government.
Its probably kinda hard to do an appeal to the emotions, but at least now the government is trying. They are trying very hard nowadays to appeal to the young for example. Has anyone seen the rap video the MDA put out?
If you don't die laughing, you'll probably just die cringing. It takes attitude to do the "yo" thing with your hands, but its another thing altogether when you do it with a constipated look on your face. Not to mention that there are some really bad lines in there. "We'll be consolidating data and building... A service oriented architecture" What the hell??? Who raps about stuff like this?
And there is that really irritating "yes yes y'all" chorus that repeats again and again. One segment even has a guy trying to do a VR man. He is wearing red undies. They must pay him a lot, or they promised him a promotion. Because I have no idea why anybody would want to wear red briefs outside. This ain't the 1950s anymore. Superman is so passe.