We’re in the midst of the Halloween season so in The stories we tell ourselves. Curious, isn’t it? We, as humans, are masters of the art of story-making. Just as we design tales to project to the world who we are and what we stand for, so do nations employ similar devices to align its citizenry to a common set of ideals or principals.
Depending on who’s in charge, the lens might be adjusted, but short of full-scale revolution, the underpinnings of what it means to be American, German, Chinese, or Singaporean, remains largely the same. As long as the nation serves a purpose, tends to the interests of its people, and strives to create benefits for the whole, the narrative endures.
Updating the Tale of a Nation
Evolving the tale of a nation is no easy task. That’s the topic of my discussion in this most recent episode of Inside Asia. To help me unpack the subject, I invited Nick Fang onto the program. Nick is Managing Director of Black Dot, a Singapore-based media consulting and advisory firm, and someone uniquely qualified to address the subject. He’s built a career in Singapore as a journalist, a presenter, and a public commentator. He’s dabbled in politics and served as a member of a local think-tank. He’s also consumed with the idea of what it means and what it takes to evolve the Singapore narrative.
The 21st century poses new challenges. Immediate, pervasive and ubiquitous access to information has fragmented the collective narrative. Layer in the growing prevalence of fake news and it’s hard to know what to believe or who to believe in. One person’s view of a nation stands for is another person’s fabrication. Social media has the power to unite – as was the case with the Arab Spring movement, or undermine and polarize, as is the case in the U.S. at the moment.
Toying with the National Zeitgeist
Now and again, a leader comes to the fore who seeks to reframe the national narrative. He or she does so by first calling into question some of the founding principles, casting them as tired, or obsolete, then introducing new concepts in the hopes of shifting the collective zeitgeist. Hope and promise are powerful devices in the framing of the new narrative. But so are the darker descriptors of a nation under siege, in decay, or awash in corruption.
Attacking institutions designed to safeguard the national interest is one of the best ways to sow seeds of distrust. Those were the 20th century methods of Lenin, Mao, Hitler and Mussolini. Their rhetoric spoke to an undercurrent of rot and was sufficient to incite revolution and regime change.
Evolving vs. Devolving the Collective Narrative
But not all national narratives require discord or doubt. Some countries have the ability and the will to evolve a tale that captures the collective imagination. Singapore has oftentimes been seen as a country small enough to test new ideas and approaches and demonstrate to the world what’s possible. It is exemplary in every way, but most notably in the roll-out of infrastructure, institutions and incentive structures that keep this country on the cutting edge.
The hardware, as Nick tells us, is firmly in place. Advancing the Singapore vision, however, requires something more…something less tangible and more attuned to the feeling of what it means to be Singaporean. For this, the people of Singapore will need to do a bit of soul searching. Once again, Singapore might prove the shining example of what it means to frame a collective vision then carry it out. And god only knows, the world – now, more than ever before – could use a few shining examples.
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As always, we thank you for listening!
