A Singaporean Dynamics

There are certain things in life that have through the passing of time taken a form of their own, becoming almost a definite kind of phenomena that people become accustomed to. Through repetitive in-building, overt indoctrination or even through the ever popular historic words of "mass propaganda"; certain ideals, values and beliefs are naturally constructed into the minds of individuals.

And before we know it- such things become a basic part and parcel of life.

On this day that we celebrate National Day, it is worth revisiting the very fundamental parts of this inherent in-built ideals and traditions. The National Pledge is one such example. And along with it the list includes that of the National Flag, the PAP, National Day Rally and even the National Day Parade itself. Or as an cumulative adjectival noun would put it- simply as tools or defining symbols of the Singapore Identity.

Yes, the Singapore Identity. Now contrary to popular belief, I actually do believe that such an identity exists. Many people will instantly associate things like the HDB flats, ERP, GST, the 5Cs etc. as part of the Singaporean persona.

But I am not talking about those things here. I am talking about the heart of being Singaporean. There is a major difference between inborn nature and developed preferences for an individual. In a simplified sense, its like saying force can be defined as mg, kx, GMM/r^2, PA etc. etc. but we all know it all comes down to just 1 thing- MA. Now those of you going blank now, fret now, it simply means that of total resultant force. Or in other words, it just means the core idea or in our current context, the main persona. And very interestingly but aptly, you will notice the idea of resultant force itself is always neglected. Say take a TYS question on forces, asking you to label all the corresponding forces in a system, theoretically speaking you won't label "MA" in as it is the resultant force. How peculiar you may ask!

That is my point precisely. As a society, we have become so immersed in all the minute tangible creations like the idea of a Singaporean dream in the form of the 5Cs, that we have forgotten what our core identity really is. We remember the esplanade/durians, we remember the F1 grand prix, we remember the National Stadium, but we forget the very basis of all these "forces". We have forgotten the magnitude of the heavy laden mass that our founding fathers had to carry. We have forgotten the direction of the envisioned acceleration of our country by our founding fathers.

We have failed to resolve the net force of it all.

So what then is the heart of our identity?

I thought through that question for a really long time and I realised that nothing illustrate the concepts involved better than the NDP theme songs.

Now think about this: Looking back at all the past annual NDP songs, have you ever asked which of these songs does not have the word "Singapore" in it? Huh? What has this got to do with anything?

If you were to look deeper, many of those songs that involve "Singapore" all reflect the various forces very very well. But as I have repeatedly said, there is no resultant force.

Hmm, so you can probably throw away the really cheesy ones like "Singapore Town" and recent ones like "Shine for Singapore" are out too.

Then what about classics like you know- "Stand up for Singapore", "1 ppl, 1 nation, 1 Singapore"/"We are Singapore", "Count on me Singapore"?

Seems decent you may say to reflect the Singapore Identity? No. The lack of subtly utterly deconstructs the purpose of such songs. Its like in physics the question always asks "so whats the force on blah blah", they don't bold or even put the word "resultant" in.

Nah I am overenforcing the metaphor but the point is the concept of an identity should be an obvious matter that need not be probed and hammered across like a chunk of propaganda. It should be a natural characteristic that people immediately resonate with when they feel it. Its just like bees get drawn naturally to honey, earthworms to the earth, leaves and plants to the sun and guys to girls(no just joking about the last one).

And in that sense, for the matter of NDP songs, Singapore should head in the direction of subtle yet recognisable songs that people can identify with immediately without direct references to Singapore itself.

On a broader context, just like a good piece of art, literature or for that matter music should contain a level of nuance and intricacy; the construct of an identity must be a delicate, subtle yet instinctive feeling that all Singaporeans should have.

For Singapore, I think it all goes down to its unique place in a deep yet young history, characterised so much by minor(as viewed by others) yet significant struggles and differences that we all went through. And as cliche as it seems, it is truly the common ground and heart that all Singaporeans have that really defines us as who we are. You may not admit it, but comparatively speaking, Singapore has a lot to be proud of in terms of its small yet united nitty community that has seen so much truimphs over the ages.

And on this National Day, as we consider all external forces and influences such as the economic crisis or Swine Flu epidemic that have affected our country, let us remind ourselves that for a system like ours that has attained prosperous growth in so many aspects, we must not forget the substrative laws and ideals that have shaped our nation. And in physics terms, I daresay our determined and united self, always firm in the face of foreign adversities simply concurs partially to that of Newton's first law of inertia- that our system will always continue in our state of motion,even if external forces existed.

Over these 44 years, many Singaporeans have come and go, been to places all around the world, achieving pinnacles in their respective fields. But I am sure many of them will always go back to this inherent dynamics question of what the Singaporean Identity really is. And as long as we do not forget this search for the resultant force, we will find our answer. For that is what home is really, a place where our identity is the strongest.