What's Wrong with Us Filipinos?

[dadz]

Leaders do we have leaders..............................

[Helios]

what's with the english language stuff again? i may agree that most things he mentioned in his article may be deemed patriotic but c'mon! we need to be as fluent in vernacular english just as much as in pilipino, and if possible even in spanish/chinese/french as we've been known to be trilingual like we've always been in the past. my grandparents used to enjoy all its potential uses in all their travels abroad, and they've always believed that the inability to express oneself effectively contributes to our poor literacy rate in the country. speaking of china we know for a fact that we're sending esl teachers overseas bec of the current high priority among asians to learn english and other foreign languages simply due to globalization. and globalization is a reality we couldn't ignore. Rather we must find a way to live along with the rest of the world and exploit it just as thoroughly it exploits us. that's the nature of the beast; though it has its own weakness, it has the capacity to destroy ideologies like colonialism, communism, imperialism and even socialism. giving up our edge in english or any other language is tantamount to giving away another opportunity to fight poverty. poverty as we all know is a major cause of corruption while corruption feeds on poverty. a narrow minded, archaic approach like his will not end this vicious cycle of misery. i'm sure pips here at tsikot can come up with a better solution. in worst cases can't we all celebrate the diversity of each other's choices instead? i mean leave it as an option for those willing to embrace international integration.
"shut yar pie-hole helios!"- ayan ako na ang bumira sa sarili ko

[ab_initio]

while we were negotiating a portion of the bukidnon-davao road, the sight of verdant mountains, seemingly eternal field of the greens, which up to this time still awes me, the airwaves started to play this song: "pinoy kapwa pinoy ang naglalaban doon sa Mindanao...Mindanao....marami na'ng dugo ang dumanak sa lupa ng Mindanao...Mindanao"

that song is real...i just can't ignore too, how mindanao has, up to this time, continued to impress me...to amaze me. equally disturbing is the thought that there are also victims of this struggle...di ko minsan alam kung maging masaya kung iniisip ko sila...yung tulong ko di naman sapat vis a vis the problem of inequality that is too gragatuan to address...

it boils down to the inability and unwillingness of this government to empower its people by implementing a genuine, lasting agrarian reform...tingnan mo kung ano ang ginawa nila sa sumilao farmers...look at how the powers that be circumvented and prostituted the law...you also look at how cheap it is to maintain a private army...these pseudo soldiers are paid too low that they can't even send their children to school...

lupa lang po ang kailangan...there's this character in greek myth na habang nakaapak siya sa lupa, no one could ever kill him...the Filipino as a nation, habang may lupa ang bawat juan dela cruz di po tayo magugutom...

now, with english proficiency, kelangan pa ba nating i increase ang pressure to be english proficient and swamp the market with english speaking Filipinos kung nasa farm ang marami, doing business with Pilipino speaking Filipinos?

but then again, this is not our priority...we want somethimg else...we want easy money. we never find joy in toiling and being able to eat from the sweat of our brows...we are growing old arrogant and dull.we deserve the leaders that we catapulted to that supposedly sacrosanct seat...what are we having now?

on population explosion, there is just one key, invest on human resources. don't suppress it's growth...

instead of killing the unborn, build schools as a way of welcoming the unborn and the youngs, provide feeding centers, i

nvest on at least third level health care facilities in the countryside...espouse the growing of vegetable in every family's backyard, inspire everyone to be generous...SHARE. wag maging swapang at kurakot...wag mainggit...rendahan mo vision midline mo and be focused on making this nation great again...

let's go back to the basics while moving on...

palagi ko iniisip ang responsibilidad ko na mahalin ang Pilipinas...gusto ko siyang mahalin, i'm always trying. pero sadyang ang hirap mahalin ng Pinas, lalo na kapag daming matigas ang ulo...may mga swapang...may mga garapal...may mga pobreng alang pagpapahalaga sa sarili...pagbili ba naman ng 20 pesos ang boto...tangina, isang tempura itulak ng tubig, at sasakay ng pedicab pauwi and pwed lang nito ah...let me reiterate:

we deserve the kind of govn't that we designed...masakit lang dun damay ako, at ang iba pa...na walang kinalaman.

[roberto_minosa]

This is my own story about Mindanao. It's in English because I can express myself better in this language.

I've travelled that same road from Cagayan de Oro to Bukidnon to Davao. Mindanao is simply incredible. I love that island. Sometimes I feel that no one else does. But at least I know someone else who drove down that highway to see and feel what it means to be in Mindanao.

Here are a few premises that go for or against the premises presented earlier.

What's wrong with us Filipinos?

Well, we don't lack national pride. For me, it's not simply national pride that makes a country "good". I'm very sure that our leaders love our land. It's not love for the land that pulls us up but love for others. Exactly what elitism extinguishes. Which eventually leads to:

The stigma that "we" who speak English are superior. I can only wish that it did (just kidding). Sure, a "standardized" language across vast territories is prerequisite to development. But it does not guarantee $$$$$$$. That stigma is a load of bs! Bs that showbiz people fall for. So why does English have that reputation? Well, elitism does all the work, of course. Because of:

Stupid people in general. They have no idea on how to rise up and level out the differences among "classes". They are not empowered to do so. They have brain dead logic. The same logic that made English = $$$$$$$. That's why elites use the opportunity to remain on top. To paraphrase a quote from Machiavelli, "the aristocrats will do anything to preserve their status". They'll do things such as:

Let loose the runaway population. The most stupid people is the easiest to dominate. You cannot be or even attempt to be a dictator of a state with 25% of the original population but with 100% intelligence. Mind you, intelligence. NOT literacy. A large population is also an environmental hazard.

My final argument:

Hindi tayo marunong pumila. Think about it.

[jpdm]

Two words....NATIONAL PRIDE.

Germany and Japan are two nations that exhibit this characteristic--even way beyond for good comfort (witness their imperialistic stance, Germany in the early 20th century and Japan about 50 years ago and suffered defeat of immense proportion). But they nurtured it back.

South Korea and Vietnam also suffered similar fate due to wars with its brethren.

This sense of nationhood is shaped by good leadership.

And wars esp. among us (civil war) seems to be a rude awakening that we have to be one in order to move forward.

I really hope that our leaders will have to consider this---in growing discontent, armed revolution may be the way, and it may break or heal us in the aftermath.

Remember, the United States achieved industrialization and start its way into being a great nation just after the civil war. War is a cure for a divided nation.

Hope we do not have to undergo this painful process. It can be done just like Malaysia.

Its up to our leaders........

Agree!

[jpdm]

^^

mas malupet ito

di kaya ng powers ko mag understand at mag comprehend ng isang napaka sophisticated na article

correct!

[jpdm]

E kung ikauunlad ba natin baket hinde?

Definitely Agree!

Those countries that belong to the so-called G-7 once upon a time embraced protectionist policies i.e. mercantilism and import substitution industries (e.g. UK, US, Japan)

Japan, Korea and Malaysia grabe pagiging protectionist ng mga yan...until this very day...

Japan became a economic behemoth not because of English...but because they learn another VERY IMPORTANT LANGUAGE called TECHNOLOGY.

They adapted and manipulated to their advantage western technology....

Nationalists are revered in Japan including the extremists (KAMIKAZE)..

Despite opening Japan to foreign influence (Meiji restoration) Japan remained for japan and in fact became very powerful by protecting her local industrialists called ZAIBATSUs e.g. Mitsui, Sumitomo etc. (in Korea i.e. Chaebols)

Dito..ala tayo.pinapatay natin sarili nating mga kapitalista.

[v6dreamer]

E kung ikauunlad ba natin baket hinde?

Tama....Sumasangayon ako sa iyo.
Teka, ano na nga pala ang tagalog ng 'Bra" .

[Stoner]

Hm... with regards to the article, how come I don't see Cory's name mentioned?

As far as I know, she bungled through her Presidency as well...

[donbuggy]

^ During Cory's time, I remember reading a Newsweek article titled "Finally, the Economy Recovers" about the Philippines. Then a week later Honasan launches a coup attempt. And we were all back to sqaure one. Cory had her shortcomings (she was so naive in letting the communist head Sison free), but there were forces that sought to bring her down.

Is Arroyo as bad as Marcos as the article says? Are Arroyo's relatives / cronies as greedy as Marcos' cronies? Below is the story of how DMG (assembler of the VW Beetle) was taken over by a Marcos crony. Is something like this happening now?

http://rfc.guevent.ph/founder.php

And so, like other companies at the time, DMG sought out government support. This move, however, brought ruin to the business, as DMG became vulnerable to the government's imminent take over.

"When the economy started to falter, we tried to ask for government support, like the other companies. At the time, through some intermediaries, we were asked to negotiate with the Romualdezes in order for us to get some support. But Dad never agreed to the conditions. What he agreed to was that it had to be a buyout," said Mr. Guevara.

Under the terms and conditions, a sum of P10 million was to be paid to the Guevara family as payment for DMG, Inc. After the turnover, the new owners were to manage the business and pay the sum in a succession of years.

"Ten million pesos at that was a big amount. So we already turned over the company to Romualdezes, but we were not paid." He disclosed.

Meanwhile, D.M. Guevara went into self-exile in the United States after the loss of DMG, Inc. He came home only after the ouster of Marcos...

A tragedy. D. M. Guevara had big dreams for the Philippines.

D.M. Guevara spent a lifetime trying to create a market of all-Filipino products. His dream was to uplift national industry by creating products that were 100% Filipino - from the raw materials to the labor to the finished products themselves. He firmly believed that this was the key to getting ahead of neighboring countries, especially in the lucrative industries of electronics and automotive.

Mr. Guevara explained that, if fate and politics had been more indulgent, his father could have helped the Philippines in coming out with its very own brand of passenger cars.