Friday, July 15, 2005
Fabric of the Nation
by venitha
Last weekend we chanced across the exhibition of Fabric of the Nation, a community quilt made in celebration of Singapore's 38th birthday. We wandered mesmerized for some time, entranced by glimpse after glimpse into the Singaporean mind.
Little girls' minds appear to be the same the world over. Definitely time to buy some Hello Kitty stock.
Tragically, Disney has worldwide appeal. There's quite a bit of excitement in the paper here about the new Disney Hong Kong.
Many of the quilters displayed their national pride by depicting the Singapore flag or their Lion Symbol.
The cynic in me laughed when I first saw this square, and now I wonder at the motivation behind it. Pride? Sarcasm? The start of a revolution? Gahmen propaganda? Singapore is indeed a democracy, for some definition of that word. I guess the same can be said of the U.S.
Unity is a popular rallying cry in Singapore; a community quilt provides an appropriate metaphor.
I wandered amongst the quilted panels and was touched by the obvious love Singaporeans have for their country. I believe I was truly blessed to have been born in the United States, and it's humbling to be reminded that people everywhere have this belief about their own country. In a strange way, this is something we have in common. We all have the same pride in our history, we all have the same love of our traditions, and we all get the same choked-up feeling listening to our national anthem.
If you were to contribute to such a quilt for your country, what would you make? As for me, my square would have ski tracks shishing down majestic mountains. What the hell am I doing here?
venitha
* Gahmen is the Singlish mispronunciation of government. Click here to return.
Little girls' minds appear to be the same the world over. Definitely time to buy some Hello Kitty stock.
Tragically, Disney has worldwide appeal. There's quite a bit of excitement in the paper here about the new Disney Hong Kong.
Many of the quilters displayed their national pride by depicting the Singapore flag or their Lion Symbol.
The cynic in me laughed when I first saw this square, and now I wonder at the motivation behind it. Pride? Sarcasm? The start of a revolution? Gahmen propaganda? Singapore is indeed a democracy, for some definition of that word. I guess the same can be said of the U.S.
Unity is a popular rallying cry in Singapore; a community quilt provides an appropriate metaphor.
I wandered amongst the quilted panels and was touched by the obvious love Singaporeans have for their country. I believe I was truly blessed to have been born in the United States, and it's humbling to be reminded that people everywhere have this belief about their own country. In a strange way, this is something we have in common. We all have the same pride in our history, we all have the same love of our traditions, and we all get the same choked-up feeling listening to our national anthem.
If you were to contribute to such a quilt for your country, what would you make? As for me, my square would have ski tracks shishing down majestic mountains. What the hell am I doing here?
venitha
* Gahmen is the Singlish mispronunciation of government. Click here to return.
