I went yesterday with VL and ML (no relation) to the National Museum. I didn’t expect a whole lot out of the affair because Singapore is (1) very small and (2) has a short history as a nation. I ended up realizing, however, that, such as with many things in life, it is not the size that counts, and nor is it the age.
I won’t bother recounting anything about Singapore’s history. If you want to find out, a quick Wikipedia search will be much more succinct and concise, so look there.
Many people here, even including myself before yesterday, make jokes everytime there is some mention of Singaporean history of culture. This comes about largely because when you are here, you are either (1) eating, (2) shopping, or (3) looking at something “historical” that is less than half a century old. Most people just get out of here to experience Asian “culture”, and it is true that other places in SE Asia are more interesting (i.e., raw) in that respect.
But then I think about the fact that I’m from the United States, as are most friends, and a couple people are from Canada. Who are we, from our relatively pre-pubescent countries, to look at Singapore and make jokes about the youth of a nation, when compared to places like Europe, Africa and most of Asia, our own countries are practically infants. When people visit Boston, one of the things they talk about is how everything is so old and historic. But when you visit England or France or China or Japan or Egypt or wherever, suddenly a 250 year-old building or historic sight becomes just another part of the city.
Furthermore, what kind of culture do we have that has its roots in some medieval or ‘ancient’ source? None. Ours in the United States is a hodgepodge of cultures, thrown together by generations of people from all over the world coming together- a sort of popular thesis, antithesis, and synthesis- to form something new. And I’m not, nor will I play the part of, one of those that diminishes North America’s worth merely because a lack of history and a lack of culture that reaches back to the Dark Ages, but I do think it is a bit hypocritical to look upon a fairly young country like Singapore and make stabbing comments about the worth of its culture and history merely because of the way in which it was formed.
Singapore has done a lot with itself, and, though most know nothing of it, Singapore does have an interesting culture. From some British dude (yesyes, it was Raffles) landing on the island and seeing potential, to its formation into one of the most active trading areas in Asia a hundred years later, replete with underground secret organizations and rampant piracy, to one of the pre-eminent seaports in the world with advanced financial and business services, Singapore has definitely come a long way, and handled itself well.
There is probably more I could say on the topic, but I grow weary. I’m thinking of expanding this blog to encompass more than mere journeys and travel-thoughts, though I do have a few more trips ahead that will certainly be fun. I’m considering openning this up to various things, like reading and books, current events, etc. etc. I do not intend to make this a personal-life blog (though it would certainly creep through at times), as those are only interesting to me when I’m personally interested in the author. Thoughts?
I’m a Singaporean, and sometimes I think perhaps we in this little island have a lot in common with the United States, although some of our founding precepts may differ.
But to some of us, it’s the relentless search for a strong, independent Singaporean identity and preserving it with all our might for our children that keeps our hearts beating red and white.
My fathers’ generation has sung three national anthems in their lifetimes; God Save The Queen during the British colonial period, Kimigayo during the Japanese Occupation and today we have Majulah Singapura (Onward Singapore). We will not want to sing a fourth anthem, and by hell we will not let anyone dictate to us how we’ll exist in the world as much as we can help it.
Sounds familiar? Perhaps some of it might.
Cheers!
Very good comment- thanks for posting. I think that the /search/ for identity can be more powerful than the presumed identity that many of the ‘older’ countries so popularly express.
You’re right about the Sg-US comparison, as well. Just because there isn’t some long-recorded history doesn’t mean that it won’t develop a unique, valuable culture of its own.
Thanks for reading-
Good post but you should be careful about saying things like North America lacks culture. Culture is not something that comes with age? Deep-seated traditions? Yes. Culture? Not the way I see it. I think it is hard for a lot of white Americans with long family histories in the United States to understand that the U.S. has a culture because those Americans are part of the majority culture. For whatever reason (actually, I could go into the reasons but that’s an essay in and of itself), the American majority has taken to identifying culture as something belonging to minority and ethnic groups, because it is “unique”. By that definition, most white Americans have no culture, because they are part of the majority.
I find that definition insulting, imperialistic and paternalistic. Chris, I don’t believe you are any of those things, but I do believe you are using, out of convenience, this unfortunate definition created by the majority. Such a definition of culture essentially makes novelties of minority or ethnic groups. Something different to look at and marvel at…something that the “other” partakes in, but that the majority would never do because ultimately, it is just a novelty, not a way of life. I am making a sweeping generalization, yes. But I am claiming that this is a general outlook held by a large number of people in a group, not every individual in that group. I also think this is one of those outlooks that everyone will deny having, because they don’t understand that they do (in the same manner that many women’s rights groups don’t understand that they marginalize women of color). Anyway, I could go on and on about this but I won’t because it is not entirely related to your point and also this is not my blog. These are also just thoughts spouting out of my own brain and I’m sure scholars somewhere have written much more coherently and cogently on this point.
Thanks for commenting Parny Bear!
The main qualm I have with this comment is your description of how people (majority) view culture. I think about Europe, for instance, and the ‘culture’ that I ascribe to it IS the culture of the majority. Furthermore, when I think of ‘culture’ I think of distinctive architecture and art and cuisine, etc. Now, when I allude to the idea that “America has no culture,” for instance, I’m referring to comments that could be made by people from “older countries,” countries that everyone assumes have bountiful culture. However, I acknowledge that America has a majority culture, though vastly different than home cultures (think: immigrant source countries), that people don’t always acknowledge. We have Americana, we have Walt Whitman, we have Frank Lloyd Wright and the Sears Tower and the Wild Wild West, etc. etc.
Also, when I mention culture in North America, I’m not saying that culture resides in minority populations alone. I instead said, above, that culture in NA aggregates from all the people from all the various nations/culture that make NA their home. I don’t apply the label ‘culture’ to minority groups, though I definitely acknowledge that each ethnic and minority group has a culture largely apart from the majority’s.
With regards to minority culture as novelty, I’ll say that everyone “novelty-izes” (what would that word be? Noveltizes? ha!) cultures when they seek out a new place to visit on vacation. Not like you, for instance, going to India, because that culture is associated with your home culture, but like if I were to go to India- the newness of it, the novelty, necessarily creates an idea of the ‘other’ that we can’t or won’t ever be able to fully participate in. And I DO think this occurs to a lesser extent in the US; think about what it would be like if you visited my home town, with the flat dirt landscape, the country music radio stations, and the churches on every corner. It would be a case of you observing it from the outside, from the New York perspective, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. That is the way it is when people deal with people that live and look differently, for better or worse.
/enduneditedmindlessness
Just dropping a note to say I read this but I have to go because my mother has guests and will kill me if I don’t say hello. I’ll respond more fully later, but in my earlier comment I was just responding to what you said re: North America’s “lack of culture”. I’ve actually had people say they were jealous of me because I had culture and they didn’t, so that is where I was coming from in my earlier post.
Also, in the last paragraph, I think you meant US rather than UN, right? Otherwise I am a little confused.
changed to US! And it is absurd that white people would say that to you. I get your perspective, and yeah, I agree that creates an us-and-them dynamic.
I won’t go into the whole Singapore and culture debate because people write their theses and dissertations on this topic, except that there’s this one quote by Simon Tay that goes culture is plastic, moulded by politics. Pretty true, in Singapore’s context. That’s just my opinion, though.
And yes, just open up your blog to other categories lah! Confirm plus chop plus lifetime guarantee people will read one. Don’t paiseh!
Can lah! Though dunno what topics yet lor - lanlan think hard about it.
Hey I just remembered this.
Some thoughts on your comment. I don’t think your Europe argument works here. My point is that people in the U.S. create this unfortunate and incorrect culture definition. Europe is still “other”, and those who very closely identify with a European group would still be considered part of an ethnic group minority by the vast majority here.
Also, note that I am not saying that you think culture only resides in minority groups. I know you know better. I was merely pointing out that it is easy to use this widely used definition about which I was complaining out of convenience. That is what I read you to be doing when mentioned North America’s lack of culture. I take your point that you were coming at it from a perspective of an older culture. I agree with you, that viewpoint, that newness = immaturity and lacking in value, sucks.
True, everyone “novelty-izes” to some degree. I bet we could come up with a catchier word for that.