The night before, I had just witnessed the biggest party in the biggest country in the world and on the morning after, I was returning to the biggest party in one of the smallest countries in the world.

(Pic) Singapore at the Olympic march past

The date was August 9, 2008 – the morning after the opening of the Beijing Olympics in which China stunned the world with a superlative ceremony, and the day of Singapore’s National Day Rally.

I was flying from the Giant Red Dot to the Little Red Dot, one big enough to command the world’s attention with a mere sneeze and the other so small it has to constantly be on its toes to be noticed by the world.

Other than a common Chinese ancestry, they also share one more thing – a deep sense of national pride instilled by a strong government.

Anyone who’s lived in Singapore will tell you the fervour, pride and effort which go into each National Day celebrations. Before the big day, there are a few rehearsals and in the days leading up to the date, private buildings and public housing display the Singapore flag and taxis drive around, flags flapping in the wind.

It is a show of patriotism, bar none. The Beijing Olympics was of course on a bigger scale but it is also a show of patriotism bar none.

Events such as national day celebrations and the Olympics bring out the patriots in many people.

(Pic) FedEx, Switzerland's flagbearer

During the Zhang Yimou-directed part of the Olympics opening ceremony, it was hard to tell who was from where in the crowd as we all oohed and aahed at the spectacle unfolding before us. Other than the men behind us, who kept shouting into their mobile phones, and we could tell they were Russians, all of us were truly caught up in that “one world, one dream” vision.

But the minute the march past of the athletes began, off came that universal cloak and everyone showed their true colours.

Out came the flags and the banners. One woman sitting in front of me had an Australian vest that she put on over her T-shirt despite the heat under the Bird’s Nest. The couple next to me who had been sitting very quietly throughout the ceremony suddenly leapt up in the air and screeched when the name of Belarus was called. The men behind me cheered loudly when Russian President Putin’s face appeared on the screen. A group of Taiwanese jumped up and down in the air when Chinese Taipei came on.

Feeling a bit lost amid all the display of patriotism – everyone seemed to know exactly where they belong to – I was relieved when Ray Stone, Accor’s marketing chief sitting next to me, stood up and cheered for at least a few countries. Thailand, because he lives there; Singapore, because his head office is there; Greece, because he spent some very important years of his life there; England, because he is originally from there; Australia, because he lived there prior to Thailand; and Colombia, because his wife is from there.

(Pic) Malaysia, Truly Asia

I meanwhile cheered for Malaysia, because I was born there; Singapore, because I live there; Hong Kong, because I spent an important part of my life there; Thailand, because I have spent so much time there it’s like my third home; Cambodia, because I love the country and its people; Australia, because I have so many good friends living there and I also happened to be sitting with Australians; China, because it’s my father’s country …

And it made me wonder with the next generation of dual-passport youths and more “hyper nomads” emerging, will there come a time when more of us will cheer for more countries than the one we are born in or live in? Will we truly become “citizens of the world”, as the late Peter Ustinov said he was.

John Naisbitt in his book Mega Trends written several years ago said that as we globalised, the world would increasingly become tribal.

On dictionary.com, tribalism is defined as “the customs and beliefs of tribal life and society” or “strong loyalty to one's own tribe, party, or group”. Patriotism meanwhile is defined as “devoted love, support, and defense of one's country; national loyalty”. Excessive patriotism however becomes “nationalism”.

Perhaps we need a new term for the new world – universalism – but that, if spelt with a capital U, can also mean “the doctrine that emphasises the universal fatherhood of God and the final salvation of all souls”.

Globalism meanwhile means “the attitude or policy of placing the interests of the entire world above those of individual nations”.

Nah, I don’t think our world is ready for that yet.