I guess being away from Singapore for a year really opened up my eyes and re-shaped my perspective of a few things that I have always taken for granted.
No doubt we are a young nation still without a long history like Europe or China. Neither do we really have many romantic past to which we could trace our short cultural history to. We are a nation founded on pragmatism and survival. People were migrants who left their countries for a better material life. We do not have natural resources so the only way to make it was to keep our businesses alive and evolving. This is our shared heritage.
This is our raison d’tere but can we accept this and let this evolved? This is our unique culture fundamentally. For example, accompanying this is the development of Singlish, a common language, with a colonial heritage, but essential for day-to-day transaction, economically and socially. The early strict government policies on race, religion and education, which shaped the way we are today, and being more savvy and aware now, we could joke, criticise, and re-invent some of them to make it more relevant towards how we want it to be in the future. This is cultural evolvement basically, fundamental to the development or any civilisation. Through arts, music, visual art, architecture, comedies, we let our hearts out and materialise the ideas in physical form that will shape people’s perception, beliefs and way of life.
So far the cards have been played right. Safe and sound. Strong economy.
Do Western ideal always work? No. Look at the mess in Paris and London. Look at the extreme divide between rich and poor. Look at the weak social security, the mockery they make out of their Prime Ministers, and undermining just about any official, the tense racial and religious faultlines. Look at how deprived some of the young ones are, street-gangs, no education.
Singapore is a place to be I believe. Things can be improved definitely and a long way to go. Having being around, living here is much easier day to day compared to any European cities. And it is how much one would like to make a difference to all these by being involved here in this country one way or another, however small it may be, than just being being angry and jeering at the sidelines.
It feels great to be home to all things familiar and to a place where you have a stake in. So it’s happy national day.
