Today is a national holiday in our beloved country, the Philippines. It was on June 12, 1898 when Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo raised the first Philippine flag at the balcony of his home in Kawit, Cavite as a symbol of the country’s sovereignty and independence from the Spanish conquerors. It was also on this date when the Philippine national anthem entitled Marcha Filipina Magdalo or now called Lupang Hinirang was played.
More than three hundred years of oppression, indoctrination to the Catholic faith and inculcation of the different Spanish habits, values and ways, a lot has changed since then. We Filipinos are a multi-cultural people, having been under the colony of different countries even before the Spaniards came and after they went.
Last night on our way home, my husband, Ate and I were discussing about being Filipinos. I asked them if they are proud to be Filipinos. Kuya asked what “proud” means. We explained that being “proud” means you like what is happening, that things are very good. (But we also told him that the other word proud means talking about something that is overdone. Or bragging.)
Anyway, Ate said she is proud to be a Filipino. Matter of fact, she doesn’t like the idea of me going abroad to teach. We enumerated the good things that make us proud to be Pinoys. The resilience, the hospitality, the sunny smiles, the perseverance to do their best despite the odds, the creativity and so much more…But as an afterthought, I said that there are times when I am not proud to be a Filipino. And I enumerated some of the ways that make me feel that way:
- trash just thrown everywhere
- istambays (standbys) loitering the streets, drinking alcohol which at times, turn to fistfights or heavy discussions which in turn has someone ending up dead
- how people who do not have the financial means to feed themselves succumb to the habit or way of begging or asking for things for free (last Sunday, Ate was asked to buy a liter of soft drinks at the nearby store. On the way to the store, which was just across our house, a small child approached her to ask if she could just give the bottle to him). This of course irritated her so much she can’t seem to stop talking about it whenever she remembers it.
- how our neighbors make our side of the property their “resting/siesta place” How? Because we have trees which offer a good deal of shade during day time, they put their benches under the trees to rest. Do they ask permission? No.
- how people show arrogant road behavior, not seemingly respecting lives at stake
I may choose to ignore these things but I can’t. So what do I have to do?
Even if I want to say my piece on some of these happenings, sometimes it is best to keep quiet lest I get into trouble even if I am not the one causing it. It is best to explain to the children about following rules, about respecting other people and Mother nature, about being self-reliant and independent.
How about you? Are you proud to be a Filipino? Or not?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 12th, 2007 at 12:44 pm and is filed under Lessons in Life, My Thoughts, Philippines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
