Filipino tragedy
…From where I stand, what is more patent is that most Filipinos would prefer being somebody else. Preferably, American citizens.
That is the Filipino dream. That is the Filipino tragedy. It is one and the same.
Something worth pondering this, well, we call it Independence Day.
That was a quote from Conrado de Quiros’s column last June 12, 2002, 104th Philippine Independence Day.
I just read it today.
Some more stuff from the column:
I’ve said in several columns that the one thing we need to prosper, or even just survive, is a sense of independence. Or nationalism, or patriotism, or plain sense of country, call it what you will. Nationalism isn’t just about being protectionist or anti something, as the people who like to say it has become irrelevant in this age like to reduce it to. It is also, and far more so, about embracing something, or being for something. It is not just about fighting colonial rulers, defending the country from foreign invaders and protecting sovereignty — though heaven knows we could do with robust displays of it too. It is also about having a sense of community, having a sense of home, being proud to be Filipino.
Call it what you will, it is the one thing we need — and it is the one thing we lack. We are astonished by the way other Southeast Asian countries have progressed, outracing us and leaving us far behind, and often think that is the product of the discipline that comes from an authoritarian culture. It is nothing of the kind. If it is discipline at all, it comes not from authoritarianism but from nationalism. The Thais have it, the Singaporeans have it, the Indonesians and Malaysians have it, the Vietnamese and Cambodians and Laotians have it. That is the one thing that separates them from us. They are proud to be what they are, they are not proud to be American clones.
You have a fierce sense of independence, you have a passionate sense of country, and you will not think of trashing your country, smug in the thought that your kids are studying in American schools and preparing to live in America anyway, and you yourself can always do that when things go from bad to worse. You will not think of ransacking the forests, poisoning the sea and air, and sucking in the wealth of the country like a vacuum cleaner all the way to the vaults of the Swiss banks. You will not think of saying how utterly helpless we are to solve our problems without external, preferably American, help, alms we can eat, sovereignty we cannot. You will treat your country with the ardent solicitousness of a lover. Or to use a rich Filipino word, you will have malasakit for your country.
We don’t have it. That’s what’s killing us. I beg to disagree with Jose Abueva’s findings that most Filipinos are proud to be Filipinos. Except for the sudden bursts of pride and passion you find during centennials and displays of people power, it is seldom patent.
It’s sad. Because its true. Many Filipinos still look up to America and dream of becoming American clones at the least if not become American citizens all the way. And it’s sad that the government nurtures that. Specially by bringing American troops here. I have talked a lot about that. I don’t need to reiterate. I hear they are formally going to sign a contract or something that would extend their stay and widen their rights to get involved in combat or something. Before you know it, the rebirth of American military bases in this country has commenced.
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