It's the little things, that we share
The love and joy that's in the air
The children's laughter everywhere
And all our favourite things
Hearing this song on NDP brought me back to a place I was at many years ago, when I was still a child, listening to this song on the radio. I was a kid, and I was happy. I didn't know the ways of the world then. All I knew was, a stick of otah cost 30 cents, a plate of fried rice was a dollar, a pack of Twisties at the mama shop around the back cost 50 cents, and I had lots of homework. Everyday at 1pm, the school bell would ring, and the school buses downstairs would start rumbling as the drivers switched on their engines in anticipation. The smell of exhaust smoke would fill the air, mixed in with the excited chatter of schoolkids glad to be free from the confines of the classroom, yet again.
Now, I look back at my old self in both amusement, and a familiar tingle of warmth. And it dawns on me that one thing still hasn't changed. Every year, on the 9th of August, people all over Singapore come together, and they celebrate being Singaporean. It is a euphoria that is shortlived though, as life in Singapore quickly settles back into a daily humdrum as soon as the public holiday ends.
I don't think any of us can truly understand what being Singaporean means, until you have been away. No matter where you go, a part of you will always yearn to return, and when you do, the happiness you feel is unadulterated. Singapore will always be home because it was the scene of many of my dearest memories. When I think of Singapore, I hear the laughter of my friends, I see the smiles, hugs and handshakes exchanged whenever our paths cross again, and sometimes, I imagine myself at the beach, where the smell of barbecues fills the crisp evening air, and the bicycles of eager young kids whizz pass. In the distance, the sound of the surf breaks upon sandy shores, and the orange glow of sunset gives way to the soft velvet hues of dusk.
I feel happy to be Singaporean, because I have come to recognise how rare the cohesive community we have here is. It is uncommon in developed cities, where alienation and a general sense of disconnect abound. Singapore is probably the only place where you will run into people you know all the time, because it is just so densely populated. Of course, this also means you run into people you can't stand all the time, but that is why there are pillars, trees and other obstacles around so you can avoid them.
I like coming back to Singapore because it is where I know I belong. I know this statement will set off bells of corniness as it is phrased exactly like National Education propaganda, but I do not say it lightly because I have considered seriously the possibility of living overseas for an extended period, and I know I will probably do so in the future.
This is the only place I will be treated like an equal, without having to endure the suspicion and general discomfort of people overseas who do not appreciate my presence in their midst. It is the only place where my manner of speech or my facial features will not elicit strange looks or the odd racist comment. It is where my personality matters first, before my race, and not vice versa. You might say that this is the result of an educational and social system where we are conditioned to neutralise negative associations to race, but I think it's enlightened because race blinds the eyes and minds of too many overseas, so much that they would associate members of other races as being less human than their own.
When I was overseas, it always brought me great happiness to meet fellow Singaporeans, because nobody else will know Singapore like another Singaporean can, be it the quirks of our people, the eccentricities of our political system, or the ridiculously sumptous variety of food adapted to our palates. We would share countless inside jokes, all in Singlish, and amidst our rapidfire chatter passerbys would look on quizzically, not understanding a single word, but completely transfixed by the joy that lights up our faces.
Sometimes, I do question certain aspects of Singapore. Then I step back, and walk around in our hawker centres. I look at the daily lives of our heartlanders. They are fiercely patriotic, and proud of being Singaporean. I ask myself why this is so, then I realise that there is nothing to be ashamed about in loving the country you were born in, because it's the little things that matter. The heartlanders harbour no illusions about Western ideals, because all the freedom of speech in the world would not give you stability if there wasn't a solid core of good governance behind it.
There is no need to pretend that Singapore isn't great, because it is. For all the Americans that would trumpet the lack of human rights and true democratic governance in Singapore, I would highlight that we do not have the same problems with gun violence and rampant poverty that characterises the United States. When you read the papers, you see bomb attacks and natural disasters, yet in Singapore, we do not even pay attention to such news because for most of us, it is that far removed from our reality.
When you look inside yourself, and see what really matters, you will find that you're really proud to be Singaporean. Because if there were a country that approached utopia on this Earth, Singapore would come pretty close. It's not perfect, because no country ever is. But it is perfect in the ways that matter. It is perfect because we have access to education, and our streets are safe. We have a standard of healthcare that rivals the best anywhere else in the world, and we have access to an education that ensures our young will be among the best and brightest. For a small nation, we have defied the odds.
It is where our children will grow up without ever knowing what hunger brought on by days of starvation on end truly means. It is where we can afford to complain about trivial things, and laugh it off at the end of the day, because the things that matter are well taken care of. It is where we can aspire to be the best we can ever be, because we are given free reign to be the masters of our own destinies.
But above it all, this is where I know I will always love, and be loved by the people who matter.