flâneur

if you meet the singaporean on the road - eigenmoomin

eigenmoomin.substack.com · 2,313 words · saved by 1 readers

We are the descendants of those brave few who, fleeing war, fleeing famine, or perhaps just seeking their fortunes, gave up their whole world to move to a new life on this island. They built a country which works so well, it has tamed the utter chaos that historically defined most of our forebears’ lives and given us all a neat, packaged life. A life which most of us can live formulaically, sleepwalking through it without doing a single brave thing. You are, of course, still expected to work hard, but we hold the honour of being the first immigrant nation to have so thoroughly self-domesticated, to have ourselves doused the ambition which ferried the droves of hungry poor, desperate and begging for better lives. We are a rich land, and we have been a rich land for decades. Our people are industrious, hard-working, and well-educated. Our universities are nearly world-class, and they will only get better with time. We hold the privilege of being the only nation in this world with a sane

We are the descendants of those brave few who, fleeing war, fleeing famine, or perhaps just seeking their fortunes, gave up their whole world to move to a new life on this island. They built a country which works so well, it has tamed the utter chaos that historically defined most of our forebears’ lives and given us all a neat, packaged life. A life which most of us can live formulaically, sleepwalking through it without doing a single brave thing. You are, of course, still expected to work hard, but we hold the honour of being the first immigrant nation to have so thoroughly…

related reading