A sharing by Ling Sing Lin
Quotable Quotes
John F Kennedy, 35th President of the US, has been credited with many wise quotes, some of which are:
Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. Inaugural address 1961.
The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. State of Union Address 1962.
Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind. UN General Assembly, 1961.
The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God. Inaugural Address 1961.
As a Minister’s speechwriter once upon a time, I believe the many wise quotes attributed to JFK actually came from the pen of his speechwriters.
JFK was fortunate. In his time as President, his extramarital sexual exploits were not exposed by the media. He practically had a halo around his head.
Can Do No Wrong
We know of people who can do no wrong in the eyes of significant people in their lives, such as a parent, a spouse, a teacher, a boss. A friend of mine was one such lucky person. Because his mother favored doctors, as a doctor, he was always perfect in her eyes. On the other hand, his engineer brother who was extremely successful and wealthy, could do no right in his mother’s eyes. He tried to please her all his life, to no avail.
Blame and Shame
I find our Singapore government most ingenious in policing wrong doing. They don’t need to expend resources to catch everyone who flouts the law. Just catch one or two, expose his exploits and penalties publicly to shame him. The rest of the population will quickly toe the line.
During the Covid Pandemic, the Chinese New Year visiting guidelines included ONLY one house visit to relatives and friends per day. I pondered how the government could police house visits. Eureka! Once a Covid case was identified, there would be contact tracing, and that is when the misdemeanor would be exposed!
No Shame!
We read how some people can shamelessly exploit situations. Former US President Trump using his indictment for paying hush money to a porn star, to gain sympathy for his next Presidential bid! And the porn star capitalizing on exactly the same situation, to gain fame and fortune, instead of hiding her face in shame!
Do No Evil
God has given human beings the ability to manipulate situations to their advantage. I personally prefer the stress-free version of avoiding rule breaking. As the CEO/boss of any enterprise, you should not just take the credit for the good work of your staff, but take the blame for mistakes made/unwise decisions. This is the responsibility and balance we need to achieve in life.
lingsinglin
Dr Ling Sing Lin is a medical doctor by training. She worked in MOH HQ for many years, in policy making and administrative positions, until her retirement.
