"No cold and no danger"

Last Friday we attended our first Democrats Abroad gathering to watch Obama's speech (12 hours later on replay). It was great to get out and meet some fellow expats in Singapore. And Tony was a good sport and tagged along even though it wasn't his political scene (though if you ask me, he's getting more liberal by the day ;) ).

One man we met has lived here 7+ years, and upon hearing that we'd just arrived exclaimed, "Welcome to paradise!" He went on to say that he tells people there's "no cold and no danger" here. Those words have repeated in mind this week. The "no cold" I get - we're about 2 degrees north of the Equator and the heat and humidity rarely subside - unless you're inside and the a/c thermostat is especially low.

Hearing "no danger" struck me. As a woman in the U.S., I became accustomed to taking certain precautions when it comes to my personal safety. A woman who was also speaking with us echoed the same sentiment. She spoke of having had to always be on guard in the U.S. - particularly at night. In Singapore, she said she never worries about her personal safety as she goes about her life. She commented that while there are limits on freedom of speech here, she - as a woman - feels more free than she does in the U.S. because of the difference in personal safety.

Firearms are banned in Singapore (a "freedom" in the U.S.) - and there's a low crime rate. And women don't fear for their personal safety. I'll be contemplating this paradox between freedom and safety for a long time to come.