The Nation Essays
Singapore turns 47 in 8 days. I am no fan of the yearly circus that is the National Day Parade, although being far from home for most of the last ten started me on the habit of tuning in no matter where I was, just to feel like a part of it. It’s still no artistic or musical marvel and the overt nationalistic tones still grate, but that is the whole point, I guess.
August seems to be a month of political introspection for me. Two years since I began to think about how I could do more about the things that had made me choose to leave. Almost exactly a year since I started to think about my journey home. Where once it was hard to even say ‘home’ and know exactly where it is, I now do.
After all, I live here now, meaning I’ve spent more than 14 continuous nights here (which I haven’t done since 2008). I’m trying to compress my thoughts about Singapore, our politics, changing demographic, current and future challenges into smaller, digestible pieces. No better time to do that than now. I’ll be posting five essays in the new Nation Essays series that I’m starting here, that may or may not become a regular feature.
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