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The Layman Says His Word

-by Kelvin Yang

“Celebrating the Singapore Spirit” will be the theme of NDP 2008. But what exactly is the Singapore Spirit? A particular way of doing things that is Uniquely Singaporean? An attitude towards life that foreigners easily identify as that of Singaporeans, and us, that of our fellow countrymen? Or simply an indescribable feeling that rushes through us each time we come in touch with anything that ignites the patriotic flame within? This article, the first in a four-part series on Celebrating the Singapore Spirit, explores the ways in which the layman (otherwise known as you and me) can possibly come to celebrate this most abstract of concepts: the very Spirit that embodies Singapore.

Admit it.  You know it, and so do I.  Singapore is different.  There is something in this little red dot, among this population of 5 million, which sets it apart from the community of world nations. 

It is not quite difficult to find something about a country that stands out from the crowd.  France with its haute culture and cafés and China with its glorious history and many cultural sites stand out as obvious examples.  But what about Singapore?  It is the inexplicable nature of this question that makes the theme of NDP 2008 all the more fascinating – Celebrating the Singapore Spirit.

“An attitude or principle that inspires, animates or pervades thought, feeling or action.”  Or so a quick dictionary check tells about the word “spirit”.  Back to our earlier example, France’s spirit is easily defined by the French Revolution, encapsulated in that historic moment: the Storming of the Bastille.  Speak of China’s spirit and the Chinese Revolution, along with the Long March, come to mind.  Singapore’s spirit is not so easily attributed to a single event in history.

Much has been made about certain perceived qualities of Singaporeans – the willingness to show care and concern to those in need, for example.  Rallying together to support causes, seeing the underprivileged write about their plight in the papers one day, and receiving numerous offers of help the next; these images have long taken root in the minds of most Singaporeans.  Or take the love for excellence.  Singaporeans wanted a world-class transport system.  That was what they got.  Singaporeans wanted their children to be world-beaters in terms of mathematics and science.  And so they became.  More recently, Singaporeans wanted their country to win the bid to host the 2010 Youth Olympics.  And that was what happened.  Indeed, it is only human to want to be the best and achieve the most.  Yet this Uniquely Singaporean attribute of wanting to be a cut above the rest surely deserves an honourable mention.

With the many distinct qualities that Singaporeans embody, what then is the difficulty in defining the Singapore Spirit?  Despite being the distinct qualities that they are, none of them hits the spot in the effort to characterise Singapore.  Yes, many in Singapore love to be number one.  But is it even remotely possible to define a country solely by its citizens’ desire for excellence?  It might suffice to be a constituent portion of a larger definition; yet to be the one and the whole definition, one yearns for a more fulfilling explanation.
Perhaps then, the Singapore Spirit is easier defined by experiences.  Speaking of experiences, the SARS period of 2003 springs to one’s mind in an instant.  The sight of everyone, from nurses to cleaners, working for a common purpose amidst the plague everywhere was enough to drive even the coldest cynic to his knees.  Standing inside the conflux of death and destruction, one could profess to understand, albeit momentarily, the true meaning of being Singaporean.  On a grander scale, the nation felt what could reasonably be named the Singapore Spirit.  Other similar instances like the 1997 financial crisis generated the same energy through the rallying of Singaporeans to a common cause.

Yet if specifically perceived qualities are limited in dimension in the effort to define the Singapore Spirit, specific experiences are surely limited by virtue of their transitory nature.  Perhaps then, we would experience more success looking at individuals whom we regard as epitomes of the Singapore Spirit – take for example the sportsmen and sportswomen representing Singapore at Beijing 2008, or the many others, regardless of vocation, who have done us proud at the international level.  However, exactly how we may derive a common set of principles or values constituting the Singapore Spirit from a body of people so diverse remains a point of contention.

Here, it is useful to draw attention to the difficulty of precisely characterising the “spirit” of any country.  For everything said about the defining moments or characteristics that constitute the “spirits” of other countries, they remain mostly enigmas – inexplicable from the point of view of the man on the street, or wherever explainable, the results too diverse to count.  Having said this, the author of this piece makes a bold proposal – perhaps there is no definitive answer to what the Singapore Spirit really is.  Rather, it is what we ourselves make of this melting pot of cultures and thus differs from person to person.  From all that we, as Singaporeans, make of our city, the Singapore Spirit then rises as a totality of our attitudes, beliefs and dreams.

And if that is so, given the success Singapore is today, we truly have much to celebrate in the Singapore Spirit.