The might of small things — issue #25

When I was reading history many years ago, microhistories were one of my favourite topics. I love understanding how small things, like folklore and fairytales, reveal a lot about our past.

Eventually, I wrote my Honours thesis on Singapore's national day stamps. I got a lot of laughs from it, because it seemed so banal. But my research found that stamps were little messengers of Singapore's carefully crafted historical narrative. Before emails, these little artworks were in every home. They influenced how we saw our country and helped build our sense of nationalism.

Stories about small things also teach us an important lesson on the power of collective action. A common rebuttal against individual actions is that their impact is futile. If we use one less plastic bag, will it really make a difference?

There is a Chinese saying, "一根筷子容易折，一把筷子难折断“—it's easy to break a single chopstick, but difficult to break a bundle of them. A single small action may be ineffective, but many can make for big change. I'm reminded of the Olympics and Japan, whose citizens collectively contributed their electronic waste so that medals can be made from them.

This leads us to a question we always ask ourselves at Kontinentalist: Are our stories making an impact? Have they changed minds? Do they spur action? Our reach is still modest, but our belief that small things can make big change keeps us going. We especially love to dive deep into the seemingly mundane—like historical maps and ornamental fish—to show you that these ordinary things are anything but.

Do you have any stories about small things that have made a big difference in your life, or that you may have encountered? Write in and share them with us!