That fairytale of Pinnochio, made famous by Walt Disney , whom Gepetto made and whose nose grew every time he told a lie is re-enacted day after day as I come up close and personal with the myriad of characters in the real estate and education industry.
Each holds his finger up to his nose every time a lie is told. It is such a mirth to think that they must be trying to hide their growing noses with that give-away gesture. I remember this student from Beijing who despite his glib and smooth tongue , twitched and held his nose belying the whoppers he was telling.
Sometimes it could be a twitch of the lips or corner of the mouth when someone realised she had let slip a Freudian or has her lie stood down by a truth.
I spoke to a young devout Christian whom I probed for the reason he attended regular Church services and cell meetings. He replied that he was seeking God's messages. Messages of morality and guidance in living life. I have no quarrels with that surely. But for a more balanced and rounded viewpoint, I suggested to him that he could also turn to other great moral and life philosophers with a secular and not so slanted towards religious perspective.
How do we rank our local ministries in order of their power and importance? There are several criteria of measure we can use. One could be the first and foremost point of contact, in order of chronology or another could be by virtue of the length of time which the ministry has the greatest impact on us.
Going by chronology from cradle to grave, the Ministry of Health and Home Affairs have more or less equal share. It is in a hospital that we are first born into and die in the throes of our last breath (barring home mid-wifery and dying at home). With both the beginning and the end of a life, come the need to register a birth and death.
Our next moment of reckoning is the Ministry of National Development where we taken home to be housed. The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts and the Ministry of Transport would be responsible for the media blaring at us from television and computer sets and we do have to travel to schools on private and public transportation.
The Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports has a short reign during our infantcare, childcare and kindergarten years.
Considering the length of contact time, The Ministry of Education has the most pervading influence. Primary and secondary schools, junior colleges, polytechnics and universities. The Ministry of Manpower engages us when we enter the workforce, either prematurely, voluntarily on a holiday and short-term assignment or when we are fully fledged. The Ministry of National Development, in this yardstick of measure, also has the greatest hold in the roofs over our heads.
The Ministry of Defence only impacts the males and at a very much later stage of his life though this is to hold sway for a considerable time thereon. I suppose the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Trade and Industry direct the other ministries with their revenue and expenditure and thus budget policies. We drink water every day of our lives so the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources ensures we have this potable source always on hand.
Guess which ministries are further removed from our lives and thus more remote and detached?
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