Harish Pillay wrote:

So, now to come back to the first line. Tell me how you can tolerate living in wherever that it you live in? .......................................................

Well, it's not so bad - I live about 3 minutes drive from Microsoft, with micro-millionaires all around. I live across the street from Crossroads Mall, which has practically everything I need, including free music/jazz concerts on weekends, the weather is nice most of the time (I *like* rain), and I'm not far away from the sea, the mountains, hiking, skiing, biking, boating, snorkeling, whatever, and lots of other genteel entertainment of all kinds. Frankly, I can just barely tolerate it, and I've been contemplating what life would be like in Anguilla. :>) No seriously, I'm referring to the political climate in the U.S. in general (although The East Side, as this side of Washington Lake is called, is considered too conservative by most Seattlites and has a large Libertarian representation, probably because of all those programmers at MS). But then, I'm a real purist and wish for extreme things, and like the princess & the pea in the fairy tale, am highly sensitive to deviations from perfection. :O It's hard to tolerate being moved to act by people (whether in government or otherwise, but of course mostly in political circles) who carelessly and disrespectfully override my personal choices in order to make their social dreams for everyone come true, using any resources they can "legitimize" taking from myself or anyone to accomplish them; it's a pain to contemplate their rationalizations. I read/study in psychology & cognition, and the area of Thinking in general, and it helps me to understand people like them, as well as to maintain a rational, balanced state of mind when contemplating their existence and considering ways to deal with it. It takes a lot of creativity to see beyond collectivist/coercive methods and carry on in spite of having to subserviently respond in "voluntary complicity". I've been mulling the whole situation over, and I think it's a good idea to emulate Bill Gates. "We're not taking over the whole world", he protested in one interview. "I mean, all we do is produce these small boxes that you can buy and put it into your pc, what does that have to do with taking over?" (hee-hee). No, it's just dragging some people, kicking and screaming, to a new level of technological opportunities. I like that. <g> I think they all deserve it. Anyway, thanks for the reply. I wouldn't argue against Singaporean citizens who actually like their way of life. I would only be concerned if they couldn't go in the directions they prefer. Micro-management is not something I myself could laugh off, as my sense of humor isn't that good, although my sense of the ridiculous is easily aroused. .. Blanc