Q1. We need young men to do national service annually. Why do you think national service is compulsory in Singapore and why is this important?
Q2. In the above poem, the speaker expresses his love for his country, England. Do you have this same spirit of patriotism towards Singapore? Why?
Q3. Do you find this same spirit of patriotism in Singapore?
Q1. Singapore is small and without natural resources to sustain itself, therefore it can be viewed as vulnerable to attacks and sieges. Constantly forcing young men to do national service can strengthen the military forces so as to be able to fend off attacks. National service also imbued a sense of willingness to defend Singapore, as the men would go through hardships together and bonds would be forged between them. They would finish off their service as good friends, and would be more than willing to defend their homeland, where their families and friends belong. Lastly, national service pushes these men to their physical and mental limits, training their endurance and therefore allowing them (as the future of Singapore) to be better equipped to empower their country and to allow it to soar into greater heights.
Q2. In the poem, the poet conveys a sort of radical and perhaps exaggerated view of patriotism. His patriotism went as far as to declare that his homeland, England, is heaven. Perhaps that might not be his actual thoughts, since he wrote that poem just to urge his comrades to defend England with all their might, and inorder to achieve this objective, exaggeration might be necessary. Since the poem might be an exaggeration, it is obvious that I would not share such radical sentiments, however i do feel a sense of patriotism towards Singapore, undeniably.
Q3. Today is a special day. As one walk on the pavement of a typical neighbourhood, he would be able to see people, clad in red shirts and white shorts, walking about. As one looks up, apart from the familiar sights of bamboo poles sticking out of the towering HDB flats, he would be able to see flags hanging out of every unit. Red on top, white below. A moon on the left of the red portion, right of the moon there are 5 stars, arranged in such a way that if there were lines to connect them together, one would be looking at a large star, or even a pentagon. As one walks past his neighbour's unit, he would be able to hear cheers. if he were to be piqued by curiousity, and were to look the screen of the neighbour's television, he would be looking at large groups of people, marching in an orderly manner. Some of them in the army costume, some in the police uniform, some carrying banners. When he suddenly began wondering what day is it, and why it is so special, he would take out his phone and take a look at the calendar. Then, the date, obviously, is 9 August.
That, is patriotism in Singapore
I do not quite agree with the point that the poet is radical. I think that a true patriot is one that respects and loves his country dearly.It is not wrong for a person to articulate his deep love for his country like a father. Thus the usage of the word "fatherland" here is appropriate. Regarding the third question, I would take your description as a Singaporean identity instead of patriotism.You should be describing how proud you feel of Singapore rather than describing a general scenario of common life here.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point about NS being important to Singapore. The points you raised were very relevant, especially the one about pushing your mental and physical limits, which would be a very valuable quality for anyone when they eventually enter the stressful society. This perseverance and self discipline is a very important aspect in life, and NS is one of the best ways to train up this type of qualities. Well, i do agree with you that this poem is exaggerating, however it has to be as i think that this is supposed to be a motivational poem for his fellow soldiers, thus it is inevitable that it is a little exaggerating.
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