I've never been a National Day enthusiast. While growing up i do recall attending a few parades (specifically remembering one in the 80s at the old National Stadium when they gave out giant green and orange enlarged hand thingies, as well as the Silver Jubilee one held at the Padang in 1990) but i was never really enthralled by it all. As i grew older i also grew more disinterested in the celebrations, in part due to having become more cynical in general (another story for another day), but also due to (wholly coincidentally) also having developed an aversion to both crowds and loud noises, both of which are hardly in short supply at any parade. No surprise then that my favourite National Day so far hands-down is the one in 2006, for the simple reason that it's the only National Day i've spent out of the country; being a whole ocean away meant i didn't have to go out of my way to avoid what i considered to be a big fuss.
This year's festivities certainly didn't help change my mind. The whole SG50 thing was too much for me even from early this year, let alone as August finally came, and some of the painfully contrived ways in which it has been shamelessly used (and abused) have been plain cringe-worthy for me. I've never been a fan of overt displays of (sometimes so-called) patriotism, so having SG50 figuratively shoved down my nose and throat was hardly helpful in doing this. At the same time, try as i might, i cannot understand how some (or perhaps more accurately, the majority) of those i'm acquainted with still seemed to have been so excited about the whole thing. Certainly too, i cannot agree with the sheer costs involved for this year's celebrations in particular.
To each one's own, of course. I most certainly respect my fellow Singaporeans' right to celebrate (and indeed there is a lot to celebrate). I just wish that i had more breathing space to stay away from it all. I shall just take it as yet another thing i'd just have to deal with. Better that than to try to force myself to fit in.
