[00:01.40]Dreaming about Future
[00:04.68]Now is the time to dream.
[00:08.94]When things are at their worst,
[00:10.69]when people say there is no hope,
[00:12.66]when the future looks bleak, now is the time to dream.
[00:17.04]Forget about transport hikes, CPF cuts, ERP and GST raises.
[00:23.49] There is so much more in store, greater things to see,
[00:27.53]new heights to reach, new depths to hollow.
[00:30.93]Now is the time to dream.
[00:33.33]If we have a large enough ambition to serve an entire community ourselves
[00:38.03] instead of looking to the government for answers,
[00:40.66]would not ours be a better place?
[00:42.96]If we enlarge our thinking
[00:44.81]and invite a wider circle to contribute to the vision of a better Singapore,
[00:49.30] is it not better than complaining about long queues and less savings?
[00:54.11]Is it not better that we dream dreams
[00:56.84]and reach for more instead of concentrating on what we have less?
[01:01.10]So let us meet, let us talk,
[01:04.05]let us gather in discussion for a better Singapore.
[01:07.55]Let us articulate our hopes, our missions, our values and our vision
[01:13.13]instead of waiting for the government to state it for us.
[01:16.63]Let us recognize and respect diverse approaches and questions
[01:21.11]and celebrate our unique Singapore culture, a blend of many races,
[01:26.37] born out of adversity but perhaps spoiled in prosperity.
[01:30.30]And let us not laugh, declare foolish or cower in alarm
[01:35.12]if different views result from our efforts.
[01:37.63] Those who emerge strongest, as Singapore did 37 years ago,
[01:42.55] belonged to many races, many aptitudes, many interests,
[01:47.03]and many points of view but happened to pull together.
[01:50.75]Should we be fired with a passionate vision to work on something
[01:54.69] that needs doing, let us not wait for the government to give us a grant,
[01:58.63]a handout or a memo on how to go about doing it.
[02:02.45]Let us move, on our own accord, with the community,
[02:07.27] expecting nothing but seeing everything.
[02:10.44]We are not hopeless. We are not children without voices.
[02:15.80] But we are restricted in our own minds.
[02:18.64]We self censor our thoughts for fear of reprisal.
[02:22.47]We hush our voices for fear of being heard.
[02:25.43]And perhaps we are also bound by our own laziness.
[02:29.03]The government, after all, can do the thinking for us.
[02:32.75]Our sense of civic duty to engage in public debate and
[02:37.02] critical thinking is lost
[02:38.65]except unfortunately for issues that affect our pockets.
[02:42.48]But understand this: we may not be in government
[02:46.86] but we are whom the government works for.
[02:49.27]We can contribute and do instead of follow.
[02:52.33]We can let go of our parent's hand and grow up.
[02:55.93] Now is the time to dream.
[02:58.89]Perhaps all of us have tentative notions about the future.
[03:02.83] Some of us fear, some of us rejoice.
[03:06.11]Only a few of us will probably see
[03:08.73] correctly and understand how to get there.
[03:11.57]Not all of us will be good at identifying and analysing problems.
[03:15.63]Solutions will perhaps escape most of us. But without discourse,
[03:20.76] without sharing,
[03:22.08]we do not even give ourselves the simple chance
[03:25.14]of being able to try to work things out.
[03:27.98]Would you gather to discuss a better vision for our Singapore?
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