Week 1 Blog Prompt

Reflections on NS after reading 'the soldier'
I feel that National Service is compulsory in Singapore because it helps Singapore to solve its problem of lack of proper defense and also help to ease racial and religious tensions as all males in Singapore will be together during National Service.

It is also important as it gives young men a sense of belonging while they serve their country. After all, Singapore is their home and all the more they should protect it.

I also feel the same spirit of patriotism as 'the soldier' although not to that much extent but I may feel a greater sense and spirit of patriotism for Singapore in the future. I do have the patriotic spirit for Singapore because it is my home and has helped me to be what I am now. It is safe, and very well-to-do as compared to other countries where there are many incidents of violence, riots and strikes. Many other countries around the world are also not as good as us in terms of living like in those third world countries. People there do not even know when or what their next meal will be while here we are in Singapore choosing what our next meal will be like. This make us very fortunate so we should not grumble about National Service or complain about it.

Nowadays, I find that there is not much patriotism in young men here in Singapore. I think that this is likely due to the fact that they are to pampered and do not like the discipline life in National service. Some others also feel that they are wasting their time. In fact, they might instead become tougher and more mature and even gain something out of National Service. They should be optimistic and think of it as giving back to Singapore after all Singapore had done for them. This is quite saddening and I hope that they will be enlightened and not complain about it.