First principles of nation building

"We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society based on justice and equality so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation."

I have been reciting this pledge since 1965, when I was just in junior school.

We were the first batch of primary school students to do so, and in the next 50 years generations of children have followed in our footsteps.