<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Don't underestimate Survivor Singapore
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I WAS disturbed when an Australian told me: 'No city-state has ever survived for long in history.' My country is a city-state on a tiny rock, inhabited by descendants of immigrants or immigrants who became citizens for economic reasons. What can motivate our patriotism? Devotion to a ruler who is supposedly a god-man? We pooh-pooh such an idea.
Inspiration by an ancient civilisation? There are some toilets in China which are older than Singapore. Defence of a great culture? The great cultures we have are imported.
Love of a big and beautiful country? Singapore can be walked across in less than a day. Loyalty to a supreme race or a dominant religion? Good heavens, we are multiracial and multi-religious.
Enjoyment of modern amenities? More and better ones are available elsewhere, especially for those who are capable and mobile.
The only motivation is to care for one another so every citizen will feel that he belongs and is wanted here and will be cherished and treasured by family, friends, neighbours and community.
Singapore must also be where each citizen has opportunities to develop and share his talents and interests. Patriotism can be cultivated and nurtured by the right environment. There is no stronger cement than human affection.
Patriotism is basically self-interest. One will defend what one treasures. Paradoxically, such self-interest, to be practical, cannot be self-centred. Who can defend his country without working with his fellow citizens?
Impressive ceremonies and rousing speeches can create feverish emotion that is at best ephemeral. On the battlefield, the most formidable soldier is not the one with the most modern and powerful weapons. It is the one, armed with such weapons, who is educated enough to use them skilfully in cooperation with fellow soldiers, and motivated sufficiently to fight to the death if necessary to defend what he and his comrades hold dear. This is what chairman Mao Zedong meant when he said: 'Man is more important than weapons.'
I hope no government will be so unwise as to treat all critical citizens as unpatriotic. Even in countries with governments which were strongly disliked by citizens, patriotic wars were fought heroically to repel common enemies.
My most irritating critics are my own family members but I know they are also the ones who love me most. It is the silent ones, who could not care less about what is happening around them, who need our attention. Never mistake political affiliation for patriotism or political dissent for disloyalty. No other mistake can be more destructive to patriotism.
May we so live that, in future, someone can say: 'A city-state can survive and even prosper. Take Singapore, for example.' Ee Teck Ee
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I WAS disturbed when an Australian told me: 'No city-state has ever survived for long in history.' My country is a city-state on a tiny rock, inhabited by descendants of immigrants or immigrants who became citizens for economic reasons. What can motivate our patriotism? Devotion to a ruler who is supposedly a god-man? We pooh-pooh such an idea.
Inspiration by an ancient civilisation? There are some toilets in China which are older than Singapore. Defence of a great culture? The great cultures we have are imported.
Love of a big and beautiful country? Singapore can be walked across in less than a day. Loyalty to a supreme race or a dominant religion? Good heavens, we are multiracial and multi-religious.
Enjoyment of modern amenities? More and better ones are available elsewhere, especially for those who are capable and mobile.
The only motivation is to care for one another so every citizen will feel that he belongs and is wanted here and will be cherished and treasured by family, friends, neighbours and community.
Singapore must also be where each citizen has opportunities to develop and share his talents and interests. Patriotism can be cultivated and nurtured by the right environment. There is no stronger cement than human affection.
Patriotism is basically self-interest. One will defend what one treasures. Paradoxically, such self-interest, to be practical, cannot be self-centred. Who can defend his country without working with his fellow citizens?
Impressive ceremonies and rousing speeches can create feverish emotion that is at best ephemeral. On the battlefield, the most formidable soldier is not the one with the most modern and powerful weapons. It is the one, armed with such weapons, who is educated enough to use them skilfully in cooperation with fellow soldiers, and motivated sufficiently to fight to the death if necessary to defend what he and his comrades hold dear. This is what chairman Mao Zedong meant when he said: 'Man is more important than weapons.'
I hope no government will be so unwise as to treat all critical citizens as unpatriotic. Even in countries with governments which were strongly disliked by citizens, patriotic wars were fought heroically to repel common enemies.
My most irritating critics are my own family members but I know they are also the ones who love me most. It is the silent ones, who could not care less about what is happening around them, who need our attention. Never mistake political affiliation for patriotism or political dissent for disloyalty. No other mistake can be more destructive to patriotism.
May we so live that, in future, someone can say: 'A city-state can survive and even prosper. Take Singapore, for example.' Ee Teck Ee
