Orwellian Singapore

This is an excerpt from CNN. We are really such a joke.


SINGAPORE (AP) -- Singapore's government urged drivers to apologize for "errors of judgment" on the road and wave to fellow motorists, in its latest behavior modification campaign rolled out Thursday.

"If you do make an error of judgment on the road, a simple apologetic wave on your part will go a long way to defuse the situation and avoid confrontation," said Ho Peng Kee, the country's senior minister of state for law.

"Singapore roads need not be stressful if we all drive with consideration, with care, with courtesy in mind," he said.

Ho said the "Singapore Road Wave" would be incorporated into the annual road courtesy campaign.

Around half a million leaflets with road safety messages will be distributed as part of the promotion, he said.

And there's road courtesy for children too.

"A story book entitled 'James and the Big Red Car,' which highlights the importance of child seats, will be relaunched to incorporate road courtesy messages at the back of the book," Ho said.

Singapore, a tiny, wealthy city-state, is well-known for its campaigns to modify behavior. Among its efforts have been campaigns to teach Singaporeans to speak English properly, to show people how to be more romantic, and to flush public toilets.

Critics have denounced the numerous promotions of morality as Orwellian and condescending toward citizens.