Frustrated optimist, that’s how I could best describe myself when it comes to my feelings for the Philippines.
I am currently reading “That Used to be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World it Invented and How We Can Come Back” by Thomas Friedman & Michael Mandelbaum. When I came across the words ‘frustrated optimist’ I said to myself “Sapul! That’s exactly how I feel.”
I can’t help but feel frustrated at the things I see, hear & read about the Philippines. When I vacationed back in 2005 & 2006, I was expecting some significant progress. I’d been away at that point for eight years. We stayed in Manila, Olongapo, Subic & Baguio and went to Tagaytay. Ortigas is a larger & more impressive business district now, there are a lot of new malls & nice subdivisions. But there’s simply a lot more people everywhere & I get the feeling that for the majority of Filipinos, the poverty level seems essentially the same. The most common thing I heard was “Ang hirap ng buhay dito sa Pilipinas.”
Filipinos like me who live abroad cannot help but compare our lives in whatever country we’re in to life in the Philippines. And when we write of our observations, which oftentimes points to what we see is wrong or needs to be changed back home, we usually get comments along the lines of “Traydor, nakarating ka lang sa ibang bansa yumabang ka na. Don’t come back here, we don’t need someone like you. Why are you airing our dirty laundry? Puro ka reklamo, ano bang nagawa mo para sa Pilipinas?” If a foreigner does something similar, he’s called a racist.
I find it frustrating that we’re too emotional & too quick to play the victim card. We need to learn to be less balat sibuyas, less emotional, less concerned with what others think about us & more concerned with how we can change. Because bottom line, when you think about it, the problem isn’t government corruption, the problem isn’t someone or something out there, the problem is us.
I am frustrated that we are getting left behind by our neighboring Asian countries & I find that sad because most of the Filipinos I know are smart & hardworking. I’ve lived in the US, Japan & Italy. I WANT the Philippines to be just as progressive as these countries I’ve lived in & others I’ve visited.
But at the same time, I remain optimistic. I’ve met people, both in person & online, who give me hope that things can change for the better for the Philippines. These people are smart, educated, articulate, & are actively seeking ways to enlighten the masses. Thanks to the internet, people are more interconnected & slowly but surely people are becoming more socially aware through the things they read & see online.
My current job exposes me to people who are involved & passionate about serving the Filipino-American community as well as helping out in the Philippines through medical outreach services, donations of goods as well as money during calamities, educational programs and other endeavors. People like these make me hopeful that if more Filipinos, both in the Philippines & abroad, get together, share ideas & implement projects to help uplift others, more good can be done.
I am optimistic too because of three websites I’ve come across over the past several months which I highly recommend to help Filipinos become more socially aware. All three websites are chock full of articles, some short, some long, all informative & thought provoking. Joining their respective facebook groups will keep you updated whenever something new is written, and at the same time the facebook posts as well as the comments on these groups are at the very least interesting to read & informative as well. You may not agree with everything that’s written or with how it’s written, but I suggest you keep an open mind & think about what they’re trying to say. These three websites are:
http://correctphilippines.org/
http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/
One particular youtube channel which is effective at putting in video format the ideas espoused in the above websites is the one by Baron Buchokoy. Three of my favorite videos of his are:
I am optimistic that we will learn from our history, learn from our mistakes, be open to ideas that will change us for the better & adopt the best practices of other countries who have outpaced us.
There is hope for the Philippines, but it’s everyone’s responsibility if we want the Philippines to change. It’s not just the government’s responsibility, it’s not just the elected leaders’ responsibility, it’s EVERYONE’S responsibility.
Ang iyong optimism at patriotism ay nagbibigay karangalan sa iyo, Den. Talaga, few of our kababayans share such sentiments. I even appreciate your search for the causes ng decline ng U.S., nguni’t I must say that Thomas Friedman’s credibility is most questionable. Naisip ko you would get more accurate kasayasayan ng U.S. mula sa “A Nation Like No Other” ni Newt Gingrich, nguni’t lumalayo ako sa pinag-uusapan.
Tama ka tungkol sa paksang victimization mentality. Such an entrenched cultural attitude ng entitlement will be most difficult to alleviate, especially, sapagka’t it has been extant for many generations. The U.S. is experiencing such a dilemma din, at like RP, it requires legislative action and good leadership, para major positive changes can occur.
Until then, cultural change, one person at a time, is the least that can happen and GRPC and the AP Crowd are the forums which can serve as the engine for such change. Talaga, the first step is in opening the minds of our kababayans to such ideas, and I applaud you for such efforts. Keep up the good work!
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Very well said Den. I have always wondered… Filipinos are hardworking and well educated, but how come Philippines is behind. I think one of the reasons are: lack of unity and support for each other, “bahala na” (come what may) attitutude, or it could be the severe hopelessness among Filipinos.
I say, Filipinos are hardworking and educated, and yet, that maybe reflects my view of the world pertaining to the Philippines, for I have also become aware that majority of the Filipinos do not have access to education, and if they did, they area eventually posed with the challenge of not finding a job after school.
I agree when you said, responsibility belongs to everybody if change and progress is to happen.
Thank you for your perceptive observations!