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Listening to political speeches from Singapore are so refreshing compared to the juvenile garbage that we have to endure in the US from US politicians.

api 8mo ago
That’s true across much of the world. It’s also true past vs present. Listen to US politicians even as recently as the 1980s vs now. Our political class today is justifiably a pathetic laughing stock.
- michaelteter 8mo ago
  I saw an interview with Trump in the 80s. He was remarkably clear and articulate. He stayed on topic, he used multi-syllable words, and he generally sounded like someone worth listening to. The comparison of today vs then is frankly shocking.
  - ap99 8mo ago
    Simpler, but more powerful words. I think the "nerd" stereotypes that HN is full of could learn from him in that respect.
    - michaelteter 8mo ago
      Learn from him in what way? He communicated articulately in grammatically correct, full sentences in the past. Now he rambles nearly incoherently. What are we to learn from this? That his mental state has deteriorated? That much is obvious. Even ignoring all other evidence, it is utterly clear that he is a fraction of the communicator that he once was.
    - deleted 8mo ago
      [deleted]
    - api 8mo ago
      Listen to Eisenhower, JFK, even Reagan. Are we children? Obama seems like this great orator because he was just… okay. Like he could speak and sound like a coherent adult. That should be the bar. What are we doing?
thesmtsolver2 8mo ago
Singapore is a dictatorship wearing a democracy's outfit. One party has been ruling continuously since its formation and you can't go against its ideas. There is no real competition for ideas like we have in the US. So, yeah, the "discussion/debates" will be high quality when it is one sided. Just like North Korea is free from low quality debates, Singapore too is free from that. https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-east-asia-and-the-pacific/singapore/report-singapore/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/sou... > In June, university students and alumni delivered letters opposing a new racial harmony bill to the Ministry of Home Affairs, arguing that it provided the government with further powers to clampdown on dissent. The authors were later investigated by the police. In the same month, police charged three activists – Annamalai Kokila Parvathi, Siti Amirah Mohamed Asrori and Mossammad Sobikun Nahar – with organizing a procession in a prohibited area under the Public Order Act. These charges came after they led a march to the Presidential Palace to deliver a letter of concern about the Gaza conflict. If found guilty, they could be fined up to SDG 10,000 (USD 7,360) or face six months’ imprisonment. https://freedomhouse.org/country/singapore/freedom-world/2022 https://freedomhouse.org/country/singapore/freedom-world/202...
- michaelteter 8mo ago
  Have you not been observing what is happening in the US right now? Any dissension is labeled as "domestic terrorism" - this is coming from the highest levels in US government. So is the facade of democracy much different from a dictatorship? I'm not here saying that Singapore is doing everything right. I'm just noting that public political presentations from Singapore seem vastly better than watching Trump, Leavitt, Noem, Bondi, Patel, or virtually any other "leaders" speak. The quality of communication - message aside - is utter garbage. It's a very sad state of affairs. What we see here is dumbed down language that caters to the least educated, most easily misled masses. And this illustrates where democracy fails: democracy assumes a reasonable level of education and comprehension. We don't have there here, especially when psyops tactics have been employed by some news networks for two decades now.
  - ap99 8mo ago

api 8mo ago

That’s true across much of the world. It’s also true past vs present. Listen to US politicians even as recently as the 1980s vs now. Our political class today is justifiably a pathetic laughing stock.

michaelteter 8mo ago
I saw an interview with Trump in the 80s. He was remarkably clear and articulate. He stayed on topic, he used multi-syllable words, and he generally sounded like someone worth listening to. The comparison of today vs then is frankly shocking.
- ap99 8mo ago
  Simpler, but more powerful words. I think the "nerd" stereotypes that HN is full of could learn from him in that respect.
  - michaelteter 8mo ago
    Learn from him in what way? He communicated articulately in grammatically correct, full sentences in the past. Now he rambles nearly incoherently. What are we to learn from this? That his mental state has deteriorated? That much is obvious. Even ignoring all other evidence, it is utterly clear that he is a fraction of the communicator that he once was.
  - deleted 8mo ago
    [deleted]
  - api 8mo ago
    Listen to Eisenhower, JFK, even Reagan. Are we children? Obama seems like this great orator because he was just… okay. Like he could speak and sound like a coherent adult. That should be the bar. What are we doing?

thesmtsolver2 8mo ago

Singapore is a dictatorship wearing a democracy's outfit. One party has been ruling continuously since its formation and you can't go against its ideas. There is no real competition for ideas like we have in the US. So, yeah, the "discussion/debates" will be high quality when it is one sided. Just like North Korea is free from low quality debates, Singapore too is free from that. https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-east-asia-and-the-pacific/singapore/report-singapore/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/sou... > In June, university students and alumni delivered letters opposing a new racial harmony bill to the Ministry of Home Affairs, arguing that it provided the government with further powers to clampdown on dissent. The authors were later investigated by the police. In the same month, police charged three activists – Annamalai Kokila Parvathi, Siti Amirah Mohamed Asrori and Mossammad Sobikun Nahar – with organizing a procession in a prohibited area under the Public Order Act. These charges came after they led a march to the Presidential Palace to deliver a letter of concern about the Gaza conflict. If found guilty, they could be fined up to SDG 10,000 (USD 7,360) or face six months’ imprisonment. https://freedomhouse.org/country/singapore/freedom-world/2022 https://freedomhouse.org/country/singapore/freedom-world/202...

michaelteter 8mo ago
Have you not been observing what is happening in the US right now? Any dissension is labeled as "domestic terrorism" - this is coming from the highest levels in US government. So is the facade of democracy much different from a dictatorship? I'm not here saying that Singapore is doing everything right. I'm just noting that public political presentations from Singapore seem vastly better than watching Trump, Leavitt, Noem, Bondi, Patel, or virtually any other "leaders" speak. The quality of communication - message aside - is utter garbage. It's a very sad state of affairs. What we see here is dumbed down language that caters to the least educated, most easily misled masses. And this illustrates where democracy fails: democracy assumes a reasonable level of education and comprehension. We don't have there here, especially when psyops tactics have been employed by some news networks for two decades now.
- ap99 8mo ago