A visitor to GetRealPhilippines.com sent a letter by email dated 31 October 2005 that, in a nutshell, best describes the whole problem with our society’s regard for the youth. Here is an excerpt:
we filipinos are so hypocrete. we live on lies and half truth.
when I was a kid (am now 40 [years old]) our elders never give us straight answer. one day while playing to my female friend, we were both taking a bath (nude and I was 5 [years old]) I shout “ay pepe” [referring to my friend’s privates, and] my aunt scolded me for saying bad words.
another was, when I ask my aunt again how did I come out in this world. and without hesitation she said “galing ka sa puwet” [you came from the rectum].
there’s a lot more lies and half truth i learn from my elders, when we went to US at my age of 10 [years old], I was so surprised how ordinary folks explain everything as if am talking to them as the same age as mine. up to now am still wandering why we filipinos doesnt treat kids as intellectual and the future of our country, in the philippines, youth are deprive of ideas what is better for them.
If you will pardon the grammatical and spelling errors of the text, you will find that this person’s message comes straight from the heart.
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It seems that at an early age, Filipinos are already systematically desensitised to lies and half-truths. How then can we presume to build a society underpinned by a continuous effort to acquire the truth? If we do not find joy in the inquisitiveness of our children and do not dignify their questions with well thought-out answers, isn’t it a bit hypocritical of us to expect our own leaders to respect the concerns and objections we raise? A very simple challenge I routinely field in Filipino on-line discussion forums — cite specific points that substantiate whatever hope of a prosperous future we may harbour — is routinely met with scorn and condescension. It is a question a child could have asked of a typical “nationalistic” sloganeer encouraging his fellow compatriots to have “hope”.
Hope in what exactly?
We seek comfort in the idea that there is hope in seeing a prosperous Philippines someday but balk at responding to a childlike inquiry on what exactly the basis of this hope is. Even more bizarre, we are quick to latch on to the empty promises of the next politician heckling a sitting incumbent from the streets. Hope in the Philippines it seems rests on nothing else but the shoulders of the very politicians Filipinos love to hate.
We are indeed hard-pressed to find things to substantiate hope that the Philippines will be a prosperous country someday. I have issued the substantiate-our-hope challenge so many times and very few if any have come up with a convincing response. Notwithstanding all this, I believe the rock on which Filipinos can potentially build any semblance of hope for a better future is the youth. However I say “potentially” because the Filipino youth is certainly not going to be the next hero that will gallop in on horseback from the horizon anytime soon. Like anything else, they are an asset that needs to be developed. This requires foresight, a bit more in fact than what we are known to exercise routinely. Our regard for the youth needs to change, and our investment in them stepped up. The starting points are obvious. Spending on public education is amongst the lowest in the region and our entertainment industry is feeding them junk. We ourselves should stop feeding them the lies and half-truths we have become accustomed to in our own youth and teach today’s youth to demand the truth and critically evaluate situations for what they are.
[This article is an excerpt from the book Get Real Philippines Book 1 which can be downloaded for free here.]
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
“I stumbled upon your quaint domain while searching google for ‘Philippine Achievements’. Lo and behold, a whole site dedicated to bitch about my fair country. I do not know if you intend to be the bitter pill, the faint voice of reason in this corrupted little country of mine or just playing. While I do have an undying hatred of society, I do not share your way of narrowing down on my motherland. NO! Every social organization that involves great numbers of people will almost definitely be inefficient and ineffective in establishing control and handling individual issues.
It just so happens that we have been deprived of free thinking and creativity by our captors and that even reflects in today’s society. That, in turn, leads to a lack of self-image and confidence in our nation. You may have a fancy-shmancy site and a fancy-shmancy book…”
I was thinking of posting this till I saw your mission. Thank you, good sir, as you seem to be the dire commodity that we need(what I’ve always yearned for). But please note, sir, that the way you express your “insights” do come off to some people as hate.
I welcome you, sir, but remember that we are passionate people. Write with regard of your readers who are quite sensitive to this style of yours. 🙂
Thanks. Rest assured, I believe both the original comment you were going to post (before reading our Mission Statement) and the one you actually did post (without the quotes) are both fair reactions to the content of this site. Glad you decided to stick around. 😉
Gone will be the days that the meaning of truth expressed only in showbiz gossip shows, especially some sensational (but unnecessary) segments that would open the floodgates to sabotage, libel, or even a generations-old feud!
Gone will be the days that the meaning of peace is expressed only in genocides, bombings, and cultural insanity!
Well, José Rizal must have been turning in his grave when we failed to learn the message of his “El Filibusterismo.” We and our parents have been studying the novel as part of our Fourth Year Filipino subject (since ’56!), yet we have been wandering around in the dust.
I consider this article worthy of having it commended as a “Rizal’s Sesquicentennial Special” despite the exhilarating parties being celebrated last Sunday.
We are a dysfunctional nation; with dysfunctional families…The Aquino family is the best example of dysfunctional family…renegadism and opportunism, became heroism…amoral daughter, in show biz with several marriages; approved by the Catholic Church, became the guide of our morality…Politicians steal, became rich, and are elected in higher positions, by deluding voters…we are a failed state already…Crookedness with self-respect; Duplicity with honor..
Looking at the photo with all those happy kids jumping inside the street hole; reminds me of the TheFilipinos children of the spanish era,
The Filipinos children from the american era,
The Filipinos children from the japanese era and the current Republic era, when kids are innocent and naive but the responsibles are the parents, not the government. Good governance starts at home.
I can agree with this but this is just a small reason for the country’s problems. Asian culture in general has a tendency to act like this “I am older so whatever I say is true with no explanations”.
Yet even these other Asian cultures are similar to this regard they are not facing the same problems the country is facing.
Ultimately it still boils down to our leaders and citizens and other factors in our mindset and inherit culture.
Dear manager/President, official, citizen and senator,
People earn money nearly to lose their life or suffer from many pain.
Low interest rate is not fair to them. Government official want their
property to be more valuable and only help enterprise unfairly. People, killed by low interest rate,
will go to murder president,
official ,senator, European central bank in charge!
They will be poor and sick animal next life in Buddhism scope!
The only way to save economy is no tax and QE money is used to maintain
saving interest at least 4%, same as Year 1998 and government expenditure.
USA court sometime compensate too much money to victim make entrepreneur dare
not to invest to USA .
QE money has already been speculated in many house in Hong Kong, Singapore and
Malaysia. Many citizens suffer from high rent, unable to buy house or bankruptcy.
USA is a theft! Extreme wealth or poor is more seriously. CEO or director may
get more bonus or easily lend money to get their own benefit. Government should
join the problem company or bank’s management and control cash flow .It is
wrong to provide large amount of money to them.
Return tax and no tax is better than QE. Some China bank
lend 4 million mortgage. The actual mortgage is 2 million. The bank
staff get 400,000. Therefore, many cheating method will generate to
get QE money. No effort or bad management should not survive or change career!
All QE money, inducing inflation of house and speculation of share market
in Hong Kong, should be get back to USA. Otherwise, typhoon or many disease
such as H1N1 will attack USA later again.
QE make currency expensive damage China economy and export and cause Hong Kong building very
expensive. The money can be only used in government expenditure but
not support private enterprise. USA president and citizen will be poor animal
and sick pig in next life. China is responsible to strictly prohibit USA
QE anymore!
Some Hong Kong people infect H1N1 although they have input prevention H1N1 injection.
Therefore, it waste money and useless. The only method is to teach H1N1, SARS, H7N9
patient not to put their secretion tissue to public area. They should be put to boiling water
or their own pocket because that kind of bacteria are strong enough to climb to
people’s nose. Please see http://www.buddhism-food-cancer.org.hk