Whenever National Day rolls around, I’m reminded about army, and my time doing National Service. Mostly because my cohort of officers are leading the parades now. We’re that old, and that senior I guess.
As I watch, I’m reminded how much I hated marching, until the end. I am glad I didn’t have to take part in my reservist parade, although I’m sure the guys enjoyed doing it. It was probably a good bonding moment, but I’m okay not having to do that.
Singaporeans are not really patriotic, until we compare ourselves to the other countries around us. We’ve got no issues with peace, and we’re actually really secure. There’s a huge sense of peace, and we don’t look for trouble internally too. We might jostle each other in the trains or moving around in public places, but no one really cares. At the end of the day, everyone just wants to go home as quickly as possible, and escape dealing with everyone else. We have limited social capacity, and we’re quite proud about it.
So seeing everyone gather at the National Day parades, it’s really something. Not many would bid for tickets for it, but for those that do, it’s quite a fun show. But then again, I’d rather be at home, chilling with the family and watching everything from afar. A lot of people take short vacations over the weekend, and travel. That’s another popular option too.
But I don’t know, am I patriotic? I guess I am. I’m happy to introduce Singapore to people around, and I’m happy to talk about the work I did to protect the nation during my NS. I also think I’m well aware of the perks and benefits of such a safe country, and I do my part to remind people about it.
It’s a good day to remember that, National Day. It’s also a good day to remember how hard it was to get here. I don’t take that for granted either, and I am glad to explain that to Clarice, and later Allison, about the safety and security we flex during National Day. It’s obvious, but sometimes it helps just to say it again.
Onward, Singapore.
Leave a Reply