Patriotism?
>Anonymous:Singaporeans do not have a strong sense of identity; this is unlike people in some other countries.
People have suggested that it is the product of a heavily paternalistic government... A lot of Singaporeans do not feel that the country is theirs, rather, they feel that the country is the government's. I have pointed out repeatedly that Singaporeans always tend to confuse loyalty to Singapore with loyalty to the PAP government. And, I just recently heard that due to very practical reasons of survival people have to display loyalty to the PAP government during elections especially if they are civil servants (don't know whether that is true or not; I have to see it with my own eyes first).
Nevertheless, no matter whether it is true, when you feel that even during elections you can't freely play your part in deciding the fate of your country - and as always the fate of the country is decided by the government - how to feel patriotic?
Since Singaporeans don't feel they own Singapore, and they feel that the Singapore government owns Singapore - it's just difficult to be patriotic.
Britain has a rich history - the ideas of due process, democracy etc are pioneered by the British; they used to have a great empire and an amazing navy; they have had great composers and writers like Elgar, Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen; they defended their own land fearlessly against the Nazis in WWII; there are many reasons for the British to be patriotic - if they want to be. Because those are THEIR laws, THEIR political system, THEIR empire, THEIR armed forces, THEIR music, THEIR literature - which are still influencing the world (and a lot of us). So many things in Singapore are inherited from the British!
Singaporeans don't even see the achievements of Singapore as their own - they attribute all of them to the government. Of course we still do have the flag-waving frenzy of the NDP, but walk around Singapore and find something that a Singaporean can make himself feel proud because that thing truly belongs to him.
Singlish is something that truly belongs to Singaporeans and the government doesn't want people to speak it because the British and the Americans don't understand it. Well, have you ever heard people from Manchester speak English? To us who are used to the American accent some British accents can be near incomprehensible. But did the Queen try to campaign everyone to speak English her way?
You can of course argue that Singapore needs to survive so we have to make practical policies, but that is precisely why Singaporeans have a weak sense of identity. Cannot blame anyone and cannot compare anything once this argument is used. We can't blame Singaporeans for not being patriotic; a lot of people just cannot find anything to feel patriotic for.
You really have to feel that Singapore belongs to you and vice versa before you can actually be patriotic. Like I am now a British yet I don't feel anything for Britain because I don't belong there and Britain doesn't belong to me.
Oh by the way I posted the song because I love Pomp and Circumstance March No.1 and I just recently figured out its lyrics and what it actually is :D
Labels: Policy and Politics
