Today is Thanksgiving in
America. Rather than the usual posting
on the AEC, I provide a link to an op-ed article published in the Straits Times today. An excerpt is below:
As
the "American" season in Asia, which began with the APEC summit in
Honolulu, closes with the end of U.S. President Obama's visit to the region,
readers are bombarded with analyses focused on the diplomatic and economic
impact of America's so-called "pivot" towards the
region. Yet the end of this season also coincides with that most
American of holidays, Thanksgiving, which perhaps more than any other US
holiday, is an expression of American exceptionalism, the belief that America
is a unique country with a special mission in the world. This week’s
Thanksgiving holiday is an appropriate prism to consider how Asia interacts the
other aspect of American influence in the region, that of its culture.
Unlike
other American holidays such Valentine's Day and Halloween, Thanksgiving
offers no commercial opportunities to exploit overseas. Unlike other holidays devoted to the
American
state, such as Independence Day or Memorial Day, the underlying concept of Thanksgiving,
of giving thanks, is not limited to America by definition. Thus, the U.S. Thanksgiving
holiday remains sui generis, an American holiday that remains purely
American for reasons beyond mere nationality.
In
my view, Thanksgiving represents the ultimate expression of American culture’s
uniqueness. The roots of Thanksgiving are in the celebratory feast of the
Pilgrims in the Massachusetts colony, during the earliest days of America’s
founding. They celebrated having survived the voyage across the Atlantic, the
harsh winter, and the dread illnesses that befell them. These survivors had
made personal choices, most for religious reasons, some to seek fortune, others
for their own reasons; however, all had voluntarily chosen to make a new life
in a new world, a choice made by individuals, not by the state.
The
Pilgrims thus represented the core nature of America. The American people, for
the most part, are a self-selected people. There is no "typical
American" now. Based on their own choices or those of their
ancestors, Americans can be of any race, religion or ethnicity. More
than any other country then, Americans are defined by the belief system they internalize
within themselves, and not by any particular national attributes which have
been externalized.
This
sense of individualism remains the most attractive attribute of America to
Americans and non-Americans alike. Self-identification
and re-invention based on individual considerations are the aspects of American
culture most copied in Asia, where individualism is less favored. Individualism seeps through American media,
culture, business and politics. This
diversity can be both fascinating and frustrating, and is appealing to many.
Yet
unbridled individualism is a caricature, which if adopted without limits,
results in the worst abuses. Selfish disregard of greater society is what
motivates factory owners to put melamine in milk or company officials to force
their workers to gamble in casinos.
Such
destructive behavior comes from incorporating a superficial understanding of
the American way of life without understanding its full context. A further discussion of Thanksgiving provides
such context.
More
than any other American holiday, Americans spend Thanksgiving with their
families. They rush through airports and
highways on Wednesday to get home. They spend Thanksgiving cooking, eating and
watching football. They spend the next
day, “Black Friday,” shopping for
Christmas presents. Americans may each have
different variations of Thanksgiving – I remember my mother trying to cook soya
roasted turkey, and we still cook turkey rice porridge – but the holiday remains
centered around the family.
The
holiday also originated as an informal, regional celebration. Hence it is a “bottom-up” institution,
adopted originally by families celebrating the fall harvest and commemorating
the efforts of the early settlers. However, it was the state, the U.S. federal
government, that gave it a uniform day.
President Abraham Lincoln ended slavery, but he also created
Thanksgiving as a national holiday.
Thus,
Thanksgiving, like American society in general, is the product of a balancing
of individual, family and the state.
That balancing is done by the people of every country. Ultimately, each country must strike its own
balance and continually struggle to maintain that balance. In this way, America is exceptional in its
weighting towards the individual, but it maintains a balance, just as Singapore
has successfully managed to achieve its own balance. Yet the struggle to maintain that balance in
a constantly changing world remains a difficult but necessary proposition.
This
will be my fifteenth Thanksgiving in Singapore.
When I sit down with my own family for Thanksgiving dinner, our celebration will blend American,
Singaporean, Chinese and other traditions.
I will be thankful for an America that provided educational and social
opportunities unavailable elsewhere. I
will be thankful for a Singapore that provides a secure environment to raise
our family and earn a living. I will
be thankful for the difficult choices made, and continue to be made that allow
us to enjoy our way of life.
Perhaps
Thanksgiving will remain a uniquely American holiday. However, as we come to the end of a difficult
year, we can all take a moment to reflect and
give thanks for our personal and national condition. Then we can gather our strength for the tasks
ahead.
We’ll resume AEC comments
after the holiday (there was a lot from the summits!). Happy Thanksgiving!
