Too elaborate a gesture

National Day is coming. And like all National Days in the past, we will have a big celebration in Singapore with the traditional National Day Parade. Only that this year, it will be in a different location (over water). There will be so much more displays compared to the past, where we had military contingents marching, and people performing mass displays. This year, there will be other, more spectacular performances taking place over the water.

Now, are we putting too much effort and money into this? Yes, being able to hold such a parade each year speaks well of the coordinating and organising abilities of our military and the nation as a whole. It is a deterrent in itself. But must each year be better than the last? When do we stop pushing ourselves? When will it become a waste of resources rather than a show of ability? How much bigger must our National Day Parade be before it becomes a costly show for the sake of being a show better than the last one?

Is there a need to outdo ourselves each year? Or should a parade just be a parade, and once it has shown that we can do it, stop at that?