The national anthem blared over the usual hubbub of Glutton's Bay, making a few tourists jump. As families bent over plates of sambal stingray and chicken rice, a massive Singaporean flag was flown over the bay – part of the National Day Parade rehearsals.

I'll admit that my vision momentarily blurred with tears. Part of me wanted to spring to my feet with national pride. Despite all the criticism I have for the policies of the Singaporean government, despite all my skepticism of patriotism, there was still something about that moment that tugged at my heartstrings.

Banal nationalism is with us every day of our lives; notes, flags, photos of our President and First Lady, headlines in The Straits Times constantly remind us that we belong in the nation-state known as Singapore, that this is the 'tribe' we belong in.

The National Day Parade crosses the line from banal nationalism to full-blown fireworks-and-tanks-f**k-yeah nationalism. The run up to SG50 will bring us even more symbols of nationalism to culminate in what will no doubt be an OTT patriotic pride-fest next August. Which makes it the perfect time to ponder the subject.

My views on nationalism are conflicted, mixed and messy. I reject the idea of patriotism and "dying for my country". I dislike the notion of pledging my complete loyalty to a nation-state, as if the only things worth caring about lie within man-made borders. I think that the idea of the nation-state, although now pervasive throughout the world, needs to be questioned.

But if that's the case, why did seeing those bloody helicopters with that big flag bring tears to my eyes? Why did it make me want to look around at the tourists around me and go, "Yeah, I'm Singaporean, and that is awesome"?

It just goes to show how complex the issue of nationalism can be. It's emotive and difficult to separate from talk of politics and values and home. But what we should always remember is that nationalism – and the whole idea of the nation-state – is a construct. It is not, and has never been, set in stone.

One common rebuttal to anti-foreigner sentiment is that Singapore is a nation of immigrants, that we were all once immigrants. What we should also remember from this period of history is that the concept of the nation-state was not quite the same. We didn’t have a nation-state, and migration was very different in those days. There was also simply no concept of who or what a Singaporean is or was.

That concept was something that has evolved over years of history and living together on this island (and a fair bit of social engineering, too). But somewhere along the way some of us have begun to take it for granted, as an everlasting truth that has always been and will ever be.

It is this fixation with the nationalism of who or what is “Singaporean” that reinforces ‘Us versus Them’ rhetoric, turning the world into segments of “Singaporean”, “not Singaporean”, “not Singaporean but possibly acceptable” and “not Singaporean and not acceptable”. The sorting of people into these categories involves a complicated and hugely problematic calculus of economics, race, class, social and political capital.

It is this insistence on particular ways of being “Singaporean” that lead us to disown Singaporean athletes who are deemed not Singaporean enough. It is the belief that the idea of “Singapore” is static and sacred that leads us to even use the term “true blue Singaporean”, as if the concept of who or what is a Singaporean was ever pure and easily identifiable. It is this insistence on setting “Singapore” apart for veneration that leads to people objecting to the very idea of having a visible Filipino Independence Day celebration in our country.

I can completely understand the human need to connect to a place that one sees as home, and to connect with the people who have some shared experiences. I can understand feeling pride in one’s country. But we should remember that this is not the only way we can connect or share experiences, and that feeling attached to one’s home does not preclude other attachments, or require a single-minded loyalty at the expense of all else.

As we celebrate our 49th anniversary of independence this year, we remember the journey that we have been on and the struggles that people have been through. There is no better time for us to also remember that we, as people, made the ideas of “Singapore” and “Singaporean” into what they are today, through many moments of flux. As we come up to yet more moments of flux in the near future, we can and should mould and even remake this idea, again and again, to make Singapore a more inclusive, decent place for everyone to live, regardless of their ‘original’ nationality.

Photographs from NDPeeps 

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