Skip to main content
Tag

Values

Uncategorized

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL NORMS

The Straits Times on 13 March 2015 published an article entitled "The importance of social norms", which was written by David Brooks, an Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times who has been described as relatively irreligious. It is a commentary on American society today with a perspective useful for Singapore. Allow me to quote extracts: “We now have multiple generations of people caught in recurring feedback loops of economic stress and family breakdown, often leading to something approaching anarchy of the intimate life. It’s not only money and better policy that are missing in these circles; it’s norms.”  “The…
Honour Singapore
March 19, 2015
Uncategorized

PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILD CHEATS TAXI DRIVER!

  My taxi driver friend was lamenting about passengers cheating taxi drivers. He shared of passengers reaching their destination, saying they did not have enough money to pay the fare, and asking the taxi driver to wait while they went on to get the money to pay, but never returning.He was especially grieved about being cheated by a primary school kid - he grieved for the boy, not for himself.  The boy had hopped into his taxi and asked, so politely: "Uncle, do you take payment by cash card?" as meaning, whether he could accept payment for the fare by use…
Honour Singapore
September 5, 2014
Uncategorized

FREEBIES WITH HONOUR?

 I am told of a mother with her daughter who went shopping and there were some freebies being given to families, but only one freebie for each family. The mother told her daughter, “You are not my daughter, go collect the freebie!” So the mother-and-daughter family unit ended up with two freebies. On the way out, the daughter turned to her mum and asked, “Am I your daughter now?” A true event, but no laughing matter! As someone has remarked, values are caught, not taught. And parents especially carry the primary burden in inculcating values and virtues in their children.The Chinese say that we…
Honour Singapore
August 5, 2014
Close Menu