National Day
A few weeks ago, a friend asked me to help gather some National Day well-wishes.
I thought, “National Day greetings are just one or two liners, it should be quite easy”, so I agreed promptly and emailed some people for help.
The next day, I received two replies.
“That’s fast!” I was delighted. And I expected more to come.
Two days, three days, four days and five days went by, I patiently waited. One week passed, I got worried. When two weeks were gone, I started pulling my hair. And no new responses came in. That was it. The two replies were all that I have received. No more well-wishes knocked on my door. That was less than 5% success rate.
What happened?
Could it be because everyone is too busy with work or studies to think of something meaningful to say to Singapore? (That is possible.) Were my mails somehow lost or discarded along the way? (That is a lame excuse, though possible.) Or is it because no one has anything that they want to say to Singapore? (That is a sad truth.) Or could it be because we cannot be bothered to do it? (That is a sadder truth.)
“What’s there to say?” Someone might ask. This is a good question, though it came across rather bluntly.
To say the truth, my well-wishes for Singapore are simple, but may sound quite cliché to many.
“I hope that Singapore will remain a safe, peaceful and prosperous place to live in, and that every Singaporean will learn to learn his family and friends, because only then will one feel happy and love his homeland.”
Stop saying Singapore is a stressful place. If you cannot live without technology and efficiency, you have to learn to live with a faster pace of life. Stop saying Singapore is a boring place with nowhere to go except Suntec or Orchard. Someone who lives in a foreign land with breathtaking scenery and magnificent architecture once said, no matter how beautiful a place is, everything looks and feels the same after a while, and it all depends on how one makes oneself feel happy in it.
If I were to ask you now, what would you like to say to our nation on her upcoming 40th birthday?
posted by yvonne @ 11:20 PM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
I'd say, "hey thanks for keeping us safe so far. But lighten up a little man - the air in here's getting thin!"
:)
hmmm...... I'd say,"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!!!!" =P
oops... so sorry, I got your mail, and I wanted to write a reply, but I've been caught up with so much stuff I plain forgot about it. A bad excuse, but yeah, really sorry...
I just wrote a pretty long entry on my blog on this topic, so you could probably read the entire thing there: http://eternalreturn.net/20050807-01
The main gist of it I'll post below tho, so as to not waste your time. :P
Anyway, I think first and formost, I feel proud that Singapore has reached where it has in the past 40 years. The journey hasn't always been smooth, and we've all been taught it wasn't easy, but I think sometimes we forget that and should reflect a bit on how we as a country are really lucky to be doing well in so many aspects in only 40 years.
That being said, there are definitely still a lot of things that we still need to work towards. My wish for Singapore would be to mature not just economically but socially and culturally.
Socially, in that we will develop a community that is both socially active and responsible, feeling a sense that this country we live in is worth our time and effort to strive for. To have more people being interested in the politics and governance of our nation, and voicing their opinions and thoughts, instead of just sitting there and hoping the government will take care of everything for us.
Culturally, in that Singaporeans feel uniquely Singaporean (yes, that's the STB tagline for this year, but I think it makes sense); that we realise and celebrate things about us that are special, one-of-a-kind, and a part of our lives that we cannot do without. That little children will want to go eat roti prata and kaya toast for breakfast instead of Macdonalds, that Starbucks' main competition is the hawker centre uncle selling soya bean milk. And that Singlish stops being snubbed as inferior and bad, but instead is recognised as something we can call our own. At the same time, that people become more interested in the arts, and support local artists, playwrights, and authors.
LOL well maybe there's nothing more to wish for? too many contented singaporeans?
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