This article appeared in today's The Straits Times. Singapore's Chief Justice gave a talk at an international conference, saying that multiculturalism is a vital ingredient of national harmony in Singapore. Singapore is successful in managing the many cultures within its shores.
"Singapore is a small state which suffers from a degree of political and social vulnerability that large states are unable to understand," said Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong. "If demography is destiny, then Singapore's destiny is to be a multicultural state."
Singaporeans from a young age have been taught about our multicultural heritage so that we understand shared values. Race has essentially been erased from our mindset. We no longer say, "I am Chinese" or "I am Malay" or "I am Indian" but instead, we all say "I am Singaporean".
The world today is getting increasingly multicultural. Inter-marriages between different ethnic groups is getting more and more common. Singapore has yet to be a real melting pot like Hawaii, but I think we're getting there. The real key to harmony is learning about my neighbour's culture and enjoying it with them. It helps to always take the attitude of a student (see my post: I am a student ).
I am a Singaporean and proud to be one. I am also proud to be of Chinese ethnicity. The 2 are not exclusive. They make up a large part of my being. I also enjoy eating all the different ethnic food in Singapore, and manage to communicate fairly well with the different ethnic groups that make up multicultural Singapore.
Let's learn to appreciate everyone's culture and language! The world is made more beautiful because of the cultural diversity!
P.S. Want to get started? Take a look here to find a book on culture today!
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