We deserve a Singaporean Thanksgiving

It's easy to criticize, and yes, we should, as right-minded citizens, always question and demand the best from our government. But lets also count and appreciate our blessings.

We deserve a Singaporean Thanksgiving
— Richard Hartung

On the fourth Thursday in November, the United States virtually comes to a halt as Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. The story of Thanksgiving dates back to 1620, when the Pilgrims arrived in what is now Massachusetts after fleeing from religious persecution in England, then celebrated the success of their first harvest with a thanksgiving feast a year later.

Today, Thanksgiving is said to be a bigger celebration in America than even Christmas, since it’s a secular holiday all can embrace. Millions of Americans travel by car, plane or train to celebrate the holiday with family and enjoy a feast of turkey, cranberries, pumpkin pie and other delectable traditional dishes. And with the emergence of everything from tandoori turkey to kimchi side dishes, Thanksgiving has become a multi-ethnic feast in many households.

Here in Singapore, thousands of Americans will head home this evening to a traditional Thanksgiving repast with turkey and all the trimmings. Just like in America, they’ll give thanks for the many blessings in their lives.

Even though Thanksgiving is an American holiday, it’s worth taking time to stop for a moment on this particular day and give thanks for all that we have here in Singapore.

We can be thankful that we enjoy an abundance of foods from around the world that pour in to replenish our kitchens. From turkey and tofu to chilli and kangkong and more, supplies are available to make everything from local delights such as char kway teow to traditional American Thanksgiving dinners. For those without enough food, organisations like Food from the Heart and the Jamiyah Welfare Association help to make sure needy families receive the supplies they need.

We can be thankful that we enjoy this food in our own homes. Singapore’s home ownership rate of nearly 89 per cent is one of the highest in the world. The Housing and Development Board has helmed an amazing programme that has built high-quality flats housing millions of Singaporeans, and in the private market we have choices of everything from shoebox condominiums to waterfront landed property villas as well.

We can be thankful that our children enjoy one of best education systems in the world. Whether they attend a local school or an international school, students receive an excellent education. Singapore ranks near the top globally in maths scores, for example, and schools around the world have started to use Singapore’s maths curriculum.

We can be thankful that we can head around the corner to a clinic or a few kilometres down the road to a hospital to receive superb medical care if we fall sick. The World Health Organisation has ranked our healthcare system in the top 10 worldwide, and the relative cost is among the lowest in developed countries.

At a time when individuals in many countries struggle to make a living as they experience high unemployment and even higher underemployment, we can be thankful that Singapore faces exactly the opposite situation. Unemployment is low, there is a scarcity of workers, and we may need to bring in more people to fill the gaps.

The pilgrims who went to America seeking religious freedom could hardly have imagined the situation in Singapore. We can be thankful that we can walk down the streets in safety and worship in the temples, synagogues, mosques and churches scattered across the island in multi-religious Singapore.

It’s easy to complain about the difficulties that underlie many of these accomplishments and how families are facing challenges. This writer and others also occasionally provide well-intentioned commentary on opportunities to make a good system even better. Yet as we look around us we see an amazing Singapore that has perhaps exceeded even the wildest dreams that founding fathers like Lee Kuan Yew and the late Dr Goh Keng Swee had when they set out to build the modern Singapore decades ago.

So, today is perhaps the right time to join with Americans in pausing to give thanks for the many good things in each of our lives, which we often take for granted. And while Canada, Grenada and Holland are the few other countries that celebrate a thanksgiving day, albeit on different dates, perhaps it’s time to start thinking about a day of thanksgiving here in Singapore too. For we truly have much to be thankful for.