Sunday, August 9, 2009.

it's 44 years to the date that our mm cried.

indeed, as electrico suggests, what do you see?

i have absolutely no idea how i got myself so patriotic once again. some years, i turn stale and go OH IT'S THE SAME OLD THING AGAIN. but strangely, this year led to me spamming songs for a few days.

indeed, it's something fascinating how singaporeans are loyal to this country. some of them are die-hard loyal fans, some merely pay lip-service, while the minority would wish to get a green card or something else (of which these people can really go get their green cards. i don't really care.). of course, it's strange how the country's ne (some people claim it as brainwashing, i'm not so sure.) works.

this year's ndp song is very different. for years you got a mass sing-along song with the word Singapore in different permutations, peppered with tons of aptly-placed adjectives/nouns ('democratic', 'race', 'religion' etc, which all somehow appear in the pledge). then since 'home' it moved to a softer touch - nice melody, with much less hardcore 'brainwashing' and a 'softer' approach.

then this year, they invited rock bands to do the national day songs.

which actually show how much our society has matured! we don't need songs that spell out in capital letters "WE LOVE SINGAPORE", and we don't need any reminders of how our hearts lie somewhere no matter where we go (where is that somewhere o.0). if the organisers believe in such a song, it shows clearly that we are prepared, matured enough to accept such a form of patriotism (very subtle indeed - the few references i could pick out had to do with stars, crescents and millions)

but either way, it works.

what do i see? a matured singapore, with people patriotic enough to know that singapore is their home.

indeed! i am proud of being a singaporean. as i stood up for the pledge (which may sound like a way to get people to affirm their loyalty, but in actual fact should be viewed as a way for mass participation to occur), i was pretty sure i stood up, loyal and happy to say those few words.

it's hard to define patriotism, but it doesn't just entail NS and 2 years of 'slavery'.

it's more of a sense of knowing that this land, the land you stand on, is the land you feel for, you belong to. dying for it isn't really necessary.

anyway, what do you see?

Labels: Life, Singapore