think this is quite a good article for national day. 
Small Singapore has much to be proud of
UNFAMILIAR eyes are sometimes the most sensitive in perceiving
nuances of reality. As I pass my second National Day as a resident
of Singapore, I reflect on how my life has changed by coming to
this country.
I have found contentment in moving from a land of abundance and
space in America to a small rock devoid of natural resources. My
attachment is not to Singapore's skyscrapers, or to the Botanic
Gardens, but to its remarkable people.
This feeling does not arise out of sentimentality, for Singaporeans
are not always warm, nor always kind. What I marvel at, however, is
the tenacity of their spirit and the honest resourcefulness of
their intellect.
In a country with oil or land, with fertile soil and mineral
wealth, life is easy. But in Singapore there is really nothing
except heated stone surrounded by undrinkable salt water. With
these conditions, Singapore is an improbable nation whose existence
is, in itself, astonishing. It is, however, precisely those absurd
odds that I marvel at in the Singaporean people - that scrappy lot
of immigrants who came and created something out of nothing. Not
content with simply surviving, Singaporeans excelled.
Health was wrestled from squalor and disease; wealth was created on
the hands, backs and brains of people from common stock. If
humanity is distinguished from other species by its ability to
think through problems and even to triumph under impossibly adverse
conditions, then Singaporeans should be the epitome of
humanity.
Singapore's confidence has been badly shaken by the shocks of
economic retreat, terrorist assaults, and, most recently, Sars. So
it is easy to disparage one's self-image as a small, vulnerable and
dependent nation. But it is none of these. Singapore's vision is
vast, its small but sinewy body strong, and its soul,
resilient.
Just as the United States has been the home to global aspirations
of freedom and democracy, Singapore, to me, is the spiritual home
to all those who believe in the strength of humanity: creating
something out of nothing, triumph in the face of certain demise,
community in the midst of potential chaos.
Small Singapore, raise your head; you have much to be proud
of.
DR EDISON LIU
