SINGAPORE: After an online user shared a personal take on patriotism in Singapore and asked an online forum if Singaporeans are patriotic, many responded, sharing their opinions on the matter.
“Are Singaporeans patriotic?” This was the question a Reddit user asked Singaporeans on Thursday (July 27). “Since NDP is coming, patriotism comes to mind,” the post read. “In many countries, the citizens are actually patriotic and proud of their countries. Like in the US, people love to display the US flag everywhere and they speak good things about the US to visitors and foreigners.”
The netizen also used China and Korea as examples, saying, “In China, Korea and many others, their citizens actually strongly support their own singers, sportsmen, talents etc and are proud of their history and heritage. But in Singapore, everyone is always complaining and blaming things in Singapore (not just the government) both online and in real life and we almost never say or do anything positive in Singapore.”
Many online users responded to the post, creating quite a long thread where people came to share their insights on patriotism in the country.
“I’m not patriotic,” shared one online user. “But if a foreign element decided to invade Singapore with the intention of harming my current way of life or the people I care for, then I’ll do what I must to protect the country. I am thankful for Singapore and our forefathers for giving me and my family what we have now.”
Another wrote, “We are patriotic only one day per year, which is on the 9th August. The other 364 days we are probably not. Truthfully speaking, my guess is we will never really know until a real crisis and disaster strikes (war, terrorist attack, natural disasters) and the whole country is in chaos and a mess. We will then see how patriotic we really are. Until then, anything else is just lip service. Covid-19 is the closest thing we have to a disaster so far, but that’s nothing compared to what a war-torn country is experiencing.”
“(I) disagree with your observation,” another wrote. “Every country has its citizens complaining about anything and everything in the country, you’re just not looking in the right places.Singaporeans are surprisingly patriotic when we’re in a foreign land or among foreigners actually.”
Still, one user argued, “I find Singaporeans do care a lot about Singapore, and we are more resilient and level-headed than we are made out to be. We do show up for each other in small and big ways. Maybe the ‘lack’ of zealous patriotism has to do with how intertwined country and party are. People might have no issues loving the different cultures, aesthetics, and all the perks of citizenship – but are averse to the PAP’s we-can-check-ownself approach to things. Singaporeans are also quite a well-travelled and media-savvy lot so we’re constantly in ‘compare and contrast’ mode whether we do it intentionally or not.”
To another, the issue lies elsewhere. “Many Singaporeans can’t tell the difference between loving your country and loving your government,” the comment said. “That’s the issue.”
Are Singaporeans patriotic?
by u/LiveLaughLovesg in askSingapore
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