Tuesday, December 16, 2003

If I felt any more strongly about the concept of legalised gambling than I do, I would say very passionately that legalised gambling is the worst thing a government could do for its citizens. Of course, logic invariably restrains me from making such a blanket statement, that most of us know, from our experience, is very likely false. Not that legalised gambling is not as bad as I think it is, but there are most definitely worse things that a government can do. Dictatorships, for example, although an extreme one, are worse.

From a moral standpoint, one has to wonder, what kind of message is a government sending out to its people when it legalises gambling? In my point of view, I think that gambling breeds the illusion that one can become a millionaire overnight, simply by a joyous twist of fortune. But how many people have considered that gambling can just as similarly grind one into the dirt as it can lift one to the skies? People never see that by spending a little on buying 4D or Toto tickets thrice or less every week, they are actually spending quite a considerable amount of money each month, that could be better spent on more tangible objects or even placed in a savings account for the future.

What happened to the concept of a meritocratic society? Gambling promotes the concept that one can earn easy money without hard work on one's part. It's almost like robbery, albeit legalised and the initial investment. People who have won once will always try again, in the hopes of winning some more, victims of the human weakness of greed. We are never happy with small favours, but seek miracles. People who don't win are envious of those around them who do and continue putting their money into Singapore Pools in the misbegotten notion that their luck will come soon. I ask the question, What if it never comes? Will you doggedly go on throwing your money into the ocean when you could have amassed quite a fortune from all that you've spent in financing a lost cause over the years?

Those from the higher social classes, the more affluent people, could well take gambling as a leisurely activity as they can well afford it if they like. But those from the lower classes could see gambling as the easy way out of a middling existence. All very well for those who eventually win thousands of dollars, but what of those who do not? It is in such cases that I agree with the Architect from the Matrix trilogy that hope is a quintessential human delusion. I do not quite understand why people willingly invest in nothing but hope. Are they so hopelessly (apologies) optimistic they are unable to see that the fortune they are hoping for will most probably never come within their reach? It reminds me of that old Chinese fable telling of the farmer who witnesses a rabbit kill itself by running head-first into a tree, and stands guard by the tree thinking this a effortless way of getting food.

It is this hope that the government is making use of, to make sure that people continue to put their money into gambling and ultimately into the government. There is no effort made to conceal legalised gambling as a devious way of channeling money into the government's moneybags. The people realise that at the end of the day no one wins but the government, but they still buy 4D and Toto tickets happily. So in all appearance, the government has achieved a win-win situation, since it is earning tons of money while the people are happy, while the citizens are actually on the losing end of the deal. A clever move indeed.

When it comes down to it, who have we to blame but ourselves? The government is simply catering to the demands of its people. If we should blame anybody or anything, let us blame our belief in fairy tales that miracles can happen and vault someone from a poor kitchen girl to a queen. I say that whoever takes residence up there observing the world only gives miracles to those who work for it and thus deserve the miracles, and not to those who spend all their time moping and hoping that they'll get lucky someday, or those that lament that they deserve better. You only deserve what you work for. That is the practicality of the world, and we really can't afford to ignore that for a hope, especially when that hope requires some heavy financing from one's part.

To be truthful, legalised gambling is not all bad. In comparison to illegal gambling, which invariably has ties with the underworld which itself is associated with a troubled society, legalised gambling is the lesser of two (we)evils. Do not be mistaken that there might be cases where neither exists. As I have pointed out above, investing in hope is a terrible human weakness, especially in Asian countries, and few can resist the temptation to gamble if the means are available. Where there is demand, it is only reasonable to find the supply, in whatever form that supply takes, whether desirable or not. So by legalising gambling, a government both satisfies its people's demand as well as diminishes (I am not so optimistic as to say eliminates) the need for illegal channels to exist. Not to mention that the government is happily on the receiving end of some phenomenal amounts of money, with only the occasional need to pay out.

Of course, the government needs to have some extent to which it legalises gambling, which is an issue that has come up some time ago, in a debate regarding the establishment of casinos in Singapore. There is no doubt that one needs a little restraint in deciding such matters, not to mention the kind of message that one is sending out to others, especially the young and impressionable, with the legalising of casinos. It does reflect quite a considerable level of moral decadence, if a government has no qualms in legalising gambling all the way to the extent of establishing casinos, and it does in some indirect way go against the meritocratic principle we have built our society on. After all, who dares to say that gambling is a perfectly honest means of earning money? I agree that our nation is not ready for such a great step, and phooey to notions that it is a reflection of greater tolerance.

No matter what others may tell me, I am quite adamant in not believing in any forms of investment, be they in legalised gambling or otherwise, as means of earning a quick buck. I will be happy earning what I deserve from my own hard work. Of course, I won't say that those who do invest in such causes are wrong to do so. Everyone is entitled to his or her own beliefs. I just choose not to believe that the vagaries of fate and fortune will someday favour me. I must say it's wonderful being a pessimist; you're either always right or you're pleasantly surprised.

P.S. Why the GP essay? It was a very xin1 xue4 lai2 chao2 thing. A little subjective too since I was a little emotional most of the time. Which only goes to show I'm lousy at writing GP essays. Though I would really welcome any comments since I have obviously not covered many relevant points.

Avaris / 12/16/2003 07:56:00 PM

0 consumed