See What Show: Wonderland
2 months ago
I was a thousand miles away from Singapore in a foreign land for vacation..my family and i had been irked by some of the behaviours of the foreigners. Then we heard a familiar accent in a souvenir shop with the characteristic "la"s. It was pretty distinct amidst all the heavy westernised accents we had been hearing. So we went over to make small talk with them, haha. Yup true enough, they were Singaporean. There was an arousal of this sense of identity and belonging towards singapore in me at that juncture. We recognise our kind anywhere, there's a place we all belong to. I felt kinda happy and proud to be a Singaporean. Tour guides and restaurant workers would ask, "Where're you from? " "Singapore? Oh Singapore, that's a nice place."
We don't have to be a billion yards away from our homeland to feel a sense of belonging towards singapore. We have so much to be happy and proud about here in Singapore. We have accessible transport, a clean city, a laudable education system, diverse food and culture, a safe a secure society, a stable government and the list goes on. We have our pledge and National Day Parade for us to remember who we are and what we stand for and to celebrate what we have acheived and most importantly, to remind us of what being Singaporean is all about.
And yet, why is it common to hear that Singaporeans like to complain? Well, there are myriad complaints..ranging from cleanliness, service quality, transport fees, rigidity of the education system, to the lack of freedom in the press etc. That's where we appear to be myopic and fail to see the bigger picture and overlook the quintessentials and blessings we have in Singapore. Perhaps our lives are too fast-paced and hectic for us to ruminate over such things, but that's nonetheless not a good excuse. If there's time to complain, there's time to reflect. It's up to us and our attitudes.
Just something to share..I had a school trip lasting 2 weeks to europe. By the 9th day, we were all craving for Singaporean food! We found a Singaporean restaurant in the middle of town and had some noodle dishes there on the 10th day, haha. Now i understand why we are called a "food paradise". Imagine eating pasta, pastries and meat for every day as compared to savouring the wide array of local dishes we have here, laksa, rice, noodles, roti prata, mee goreng etc etc. This is one of the blessings we have, and we eat food everyday..something to be thankful for.
I remember the time when i first learnt i was from this place called Singapore..I was a few years old and my mum was trying to educate me on the country i live in. "Singapore", we live in "Singapore". Well, at that time it was just another word to learn. Then when my mum bought the kids version of the atlas i was surprised to find out that we were just a miniscule island in the midst of all that land and vast oceans. So i thought to myself as a young kid, "wow..of all places to be born into, i'm born here, in this tiny land!"
Yes, the probability of being born here is indubitably small, and yet despite our size, we've acheieved so much, and that's what makes us special, and we ought to take some pride in that. I'm sure that as we all grew up and learnt more about this small land that we at some point did feel fortunate to be Singaporean.
Yes, the probability of being born here is indubitably small, and yet despite our size, we've acheieved so much, and that's what makes us special, and we ought to take some pride in that. I'm sure that as we all grew up and learnt more about this small land that we at some point did feel fortunate to be Singaporean.
I was reading our chaiman's blog. It was an inspiring and introspective post. He must be really glad to be able to be the chairman of this event. I guess like him, some of us require some spark to that flame of patriotism to Singapore. For him it was his expeirnce of bringing his taiwanese exchange students down to the parade, soaking in the "electrifying atmosphere" and feeling dignified to be a Singaporean as everyone sang in unison songs that stir the Singaporean heart with pride.
Like what the chairman said, NDP is a journey whereby Singaporeans come together to reflect, to own and be part of, and to celebrate all that is good and great about our country and our people, an annual journey culminating in the actual parade. We can all be part of this celebration. Besides, we can always be a part of this, regardless of time and place, even after the parade. The flame of the joy and pride of being Singaporean doesn't end after the parade, it follows us as we go about our daily lives. So lets not complain so much and start appreciating what we do have for a start.
It was pretty heartening to read about the whole event of the chairman going down with his men and the many volunteers to help out after the tsunami incident in Aceh in Indonesia. All of them gelled together to do the best they could for the unfortunate victims of the catastrophe. It's the Singaporean spirit-the spirit of being united, the spirit of caring for one another and for others.
Perhaps what he says is true. "It is perhaps in times of crisis that one takes a peek into the heart and soul of a nation." Everyone goes through trials and tribulations, even nations themselves. That's when we are tested. Are we able to work well with each other for a common cause? What the chairman experienced was a parallel to the SARS incident we had, where all involved-the doctors, nurses, policy makers etc did what they could to save the lives of innocent victims.
It's not by fortuity that Singapore has come this far and acheieved this much. She and her people had to go through so much and they strove hard together to overcome the innumerable hardships to acheive the peace, prosperity and progress that we have today. The unity the people had played an important role, afterall, we all share this sense of belonging to our country.
Perhaps what he says is true. "It is perhaps in times of crisis that one takes a peek into the heart and soul of a nation." Everyone goes through trials and tribulations, even nations themselves. That's when we are tested. Are we able to work well with each other for a common cause? What the chairman experienced was a parallel to the SARS incident we had, where all involved-the doctors, nurses, policy makers etc did what they could to save the lives of innocent victims.
It's not by fortuity that Singapore has come this far and acheieved this much. She and her people had to go through so much and they strove hard together to overcome the innumerable hardships to acheive the peace, prosperity and progress that we have today. The unity the people had played an important role, afterall, we all share this sense of belonging to our country.
06s6c @ hwachong celebrating NDP' 07
It's human nature to want to belong to a group, a larger community. We all belong to this little island called Singapore. I believe that this sense of belonging lies within all of us, whether it's a burning passion or a small passive flame. It might take a large-scale event like NDP to set ablaze such feelings or perhaps just some quiet earnest reflections would suffice--just take a step back from our hectic schedules to appreciate the blessings we share in Singapore.
So to all those students out there who have the opportunity to sing our national anthem and recite the pledge every morning, take it as a time to reaffirm your sense of belonging to singapore, or to simply remember it's great to be part of this country, and the good things in life we enjoy here. For those involved in one way or another in NDP preparations, it's an honour to be able to be a part of the preparations, it's also a good time to reflect upon what's great about being Singaporean. And to everyone, if we change the way we view things and get rid of the myopia we sometimes fall victim to, we could realise how blessed we are to be born in this country and imbibe the delight of discovering this truth in various facets of our lives.
3 comments:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
yea, i'm proud to be a Singaporean :)
NDPeeps said...
May 13, 2009 at 1:18 AM
yup, me too..we're really lucky to be born here
Juzz said...
May 13, 2009 at 2:50 AM
hmm, so many times we take our country for granted...
retrospect said...
May 14, 2009 at 4:07 PM