#hen % was in the &hilippines' a friend of mine said ()athan' yo think too mch(. *ctally' %
heard this from a few +ilipinos. ,eally % mean' % know % tend to analy!e things' t (thinkingtoo mch( is precisely % how % dreamed p a way to modestly travel the contry for a year -
then write an in-depth article on +ilipino cltre an article that' gess what' +ilipinos seem to
.
Filipinos: I am asking you to think MORE .
leanor ,oosevelt said (5reat minds discss ideas' average minds discss events' small minds
discss people.( 6adly' perhaps de to coloni!ation and other factors %ll get to these later' the&hilippines may have estalished itself as a contry fll of (small minds( - people that were
discoraged from eing amitios' and kept from their potential . 8hose in power wanted to
keep it that way' and to some e"tent % elieve its still the same today. 8he masses areencoraged to keep consming prodcts and stay focsed on and distracted y trashy,
mindless TV and gossip. %ve seen it happen in the 6. It's good for the economy, t ad for
the culture ( it makes things easier for a government to maniplate its people and keep them
powerless ).
CONSUM!S "N# CO$%C"TS
8he &hilippines seems to e a contry fll of consumers and copycats. #hat do % mean y that
edia consmption - 8' radio' and %nternet...and its all designed to maniplate yo one way or
the other. ncoraged throgh the media is shopping - yove got to have the latest shoes, bags,and phones. therwise' yor value in society isnt very high.
;st like in the 6' its a very shallow' endless cycle of consumption, but Filipinos, what are you
producing & 'hat are you contributing to the world &
<o are widely known to e some of the (est )o*er+artists in the orld. <o can recreate
almost any song - sometimes even etter than the original= &inoy vocalist *rnel &ineda
ecoming the lead singer of the iconic *merican and (;orney( is a good e"ample of this.<ore sch gifted msicians and vocalists' and aside for the 6 and >' %m pretty sre you )an
speak nglish (etter than any )ountry in the orld - so where are yor own msical
contritions % know yo have some classic +ilipino songs' t %m talking aot internationalhits and +il-*m artists dont cont.
+ilipinos' perhaps hndreds of years of coloni!ation have left yo holding ack yor talent...and
feeling like yo dont have a voice - that yor opinions dont matter' and have no vale. 8hat isnderstandale given yor contrys repressive history' t we live in a different world now'
and % hope yo can egin to take the first few steps away from that oppressive past.
?)ote' if yo are sing %nternet "plorer and yo cant view the screen elow properly' yo mayneed to pgrade %nternet "plorer for free @,
)ow' with yor growing economy' yo are heading in the same direction as many wealthy
western contries. <o are (moderni!ing(' and that appears to e a good thing. Ao yo knowwhat the irony is' thogh %n our contries' the (higher standard of living( is not what yo might
think. ost of yo have plenty of (Bality social time(. 8he amont of time we have to reflect
and enCoy life with friends and family is shockingly little. Unlike most o2 yours, our 2amilies
are broken and very disconnected . %n the (developed( world' we seem to e losing our
humanity - we arely make eye contact when were ot in plic= <or 2amily+oriented )ulture
and sense of )onne)tedness is something that yo !"--% ha*e going 2or you in the
$hilippines.
%n or contries we work too mch' are completely stressed ot' and have contless new diseasesand psychological disorders that % elieve are popping p ecase of life in or hectic modern
world. " therapist is pra)ti)ally a requirement 2or li2e in any large "meri)an )ity. +ilipinos'
do yo even know what a therapist is )o 5ood. @aha: 8hese disorders Cst like therapistsare rare in the &hilippines. 8his seems to e the price we pay for eing (advanced and
developed( nations. 8he point is' % do hope yo can reak free from this (colonial( mentality'
t aside from that...
Filipinos: #on/t try to (e more like us, try to (e more like %OU. I (elie*e hat the the
orld needs no is more you, not more us.
%n my last article aot +ilipino cltre' % mentioned how a few people in anila seemed to eashamed to speak +ilipino with me. % didnt like thatD % hoped they wold e proud of their
cltre. % got the impression that they admired me so much - Cst for eing white= #hen % wold
go throgh secrity anywhere in anila' I as the only one ho ouldn/t (e sear)hed. %
seemed to get a f ree pass' again' ecase % was white. 8hat was something % loved aot Eeand the isayas...there' the secrity searched me Cst like everyody else. %t was fair . %n
general' people down there werent impressed with my white skin. I2 I as going to impress
them, I ould ha*e to earn it . 8hey were proud ' and % loved that. % dont mean to promoteregionalism hereD % Cst wold love to see all Filipinos develop that sense of cltral pride.
Truly the 3$earl O2 The Orient Seas3
+ilipinos from north to soth' please know that yor cltre and who you are is something
niBe and special in the world - something precios thats rapidly disappearing' in fact. &leasedont e afraid to e proud - % know yo prefer to e modest' t I don/t (elie*e pride and
modesty have to be enemies. % elieve yo can e prod withot thinking or acting like yo are
better than others. Fe prod of yor cltreD yor heritage.
&hilippines' % hope soon yo will ecome known for eing more than Cst a friendly contry withaffordale opportnities for foreign-owned sinesses. My hope is that you ill gain a
reputation as a nation o2 inno*ators and entrepreneurs...as creators. % have never seen so
mch talent e so under-utlilied . #ith yor stnning eaches and lsh montain provinces' yoare also poised and ready to take the worlds torism indstry y storm. @owever' yor
ecosystem is delicate' and it needs to e prote)ted and preser*ed. %d love to see yor contry
pave the way for environmentally-friendly torism. 8hat wold e an innovative and mchneeded contrition to the world=
*t the very least' % hope yo can share the Filipino way of life with the rest of the world' ecasee )ould )ertainly learn a lot 2rom it.
h= ne more thing. %f yo work in government' do not , forget yor responsiility torepresent the && - a people and a cltre with a lot to offer the world. < represent
