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POLITICIZING VALENTINE'S DAY. This being an unabashedly progressive magazine that often argues for more state involvement and derides the Bush administration's small bore, overly individualistic solutions to (domestic) problems, I've been trying to figure out how to really paste them on Valentine's Day. Thankfully, a six-year-old article on the attempts of Singapore's government to increase their country's quotient of mojo gives me the hook I need:
The country's birth rate had dropped from an average of 1.96 children per woman in 1988 to below 1.5 in 1999. The phenomenon seemed to have causes beyond the use of contraception: according to the local press, many couples were finding themselves too tired after the long Singaporean workday to have sex. Alarmed by the statistic, Singapore's government decided to act. On August 20 Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong took up the matter in a speech broadcast on radio and TV in honor of National Day, commemorating Singapore's emergence as an independent nation in 1965. "We must at least try to arrest the problem." Goh said. "Family adds warmth and meaning to our lives. Friends are important, but a family is indispensable." Goh announced that women would be given eight weeks of paid maternity leave after the birth of their third child (previously they were given paid leave only for their first and second children). He outlined a "baby bonus" plan, whereby the government would pay families up to the equivalent of about $5,000 in U.S. currency over six years for a second child and up to twice that for a third. The money would be earmarked for the children's educational needs...Traditionally, after government leaders announce a campaign, the press�which has close ties to and is strongly infuenced by the state�trumpets the policy. So I wasn't surprised when, shortly after National Day, I picked up the country's normally stodgy flagship newspaper, The Straits Times, and came across a twelve-page special section on making babies.The section was titled "Yes, Prime Minister! An All-Out Make-Out Guide." On one page was an article headlined "GET LUCKY SPOTS," which included tips on the best places in Singapore to have sex in a car (many married couples live with parents in cramped apartments where there is little privacy). On the opposite page a columnist exhorted Singaporean men to "rise to the occasion and do your country proud," and gave instructions on how to use newspaper and tape to cover car windows during automobile trysts. Another piece itemized the essential components of a "Make-out Kit": among other things, K-Y Jelly; Wet Ones, to "clean up, freshen up and mop up"; "favourite romantic/sexy CDs"; and "cushions, for extra padding, comfort and lift." (On the back of the insert was a full-page feature on Frankie Ong, an adult-toy salesman whose stock includes metal-studded underwear, French ticklers, and rubber "replicas of private parts.")In the months since Goh's announcement and the attendant publicity in the press, the government has taken several steps to further the new policy. The Prime Minister has assembled and chaired several panels on fertility. The Ministry of Community Development and Sports has begun sponsoring seminars on marital sexual intimacy. The civil service has declared that newly wed employees will receive three days of paid leave, and the state-controlled Development Bank of Singapore has shortened its work week from six days to fve, presumably in part so that its employees will not be too tired to procreate.So screw you, Bush administration. I want more guidance on how to be sexy. You too, Washington Post. I've lived in DC for more than a year now, and I've no idea which Georgetown alleyway is best for an automotive tryst, or which metro cars are the most romantic. And don't even get me started on you, government agencies. The Prospect follows the federal schedule, so your unwillingness to offer more days off is totally salting my game.--Ezra Klein
