Okay, before we begin, I’m pretty sure some of you will be wondering what an “idiocracy” even is. Well, in case it’s not obvious enough from the words that compose it, an “idiocracy” is a nation or state that is ruled by idiots. This is a kind of place where being an idiot is actually “cool” and being smart or practical is embarrassing and generally avoided. In an idiocracy, approaching a topic with sound reasoning and rational thoughts is unthinkable and the simplest and easiest conclusion will always be chosen over complex but correct ones. Solutions for problems in idiocracies will always be the “shortcut” kind as well thought-out plans run counter to what is desired in an idiocracy.
The idea of an “idiocracy” essentially came from the 2006 film of the same name and watching that film will give you a better idea of what it actually is…
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Anyway Zaxx, in one of his previous articles, implies that language equals thought and that, if everyone spoke fluent English in the Philippines, the country’s overall intellectual capacity might actually improve. While certainly thought-provoking, I beg to disagree with his sentiments as I’ve come to discover that it’s not really the language that makes one dumb or smart. Remember, the Japanese and the Russians aren’t exactly too savvy with the English language but can hold their own as progressive countries.
The problem, I think, lies not with our language of choice but what we choose to talk about. You see ladies and gentlemen, just because a person speaks English doesn’t necessarily mean he or she is smart. It also depends largely how they use the language and what they choose to talk about. We can speak any language we want but if our conversations lack any kind of substance or significance, then we’re still not any smarter as a people.
Here are three big points that has led me to believe that we have indeed become an idiocratic country as opposed to a democratic one:
The Local Media Has TINY Reference Pools
This is why I almost have a massive beef with the local media. Now, from time to time, there are shows that somehow insert some pop-culture jokes and concepts into their show. I was once even impressed with a show that managed to include some of the various quotes made by Jose Rizal in Noli Me Tangere. Other than that though, I have seen so little reference pools used in any of our shows if they are even used at all. It’s as if the producers seem to think that referencing another work will fly over the heads of viewers and which probably will considering how dumbed down our people have become over the years.
Now I have met and certainly gotten along with fellow Filipinos who have at least a decently-sized reference pool. Indeed, thanks to Filipinos’ love for films, there are few who don’t know what Star Wars is or who is James Bond. Nonetheless, I find it more than a little infuriating when there are people who think you’re talking about porn when you mention Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.
It might not be too obvious but I have come to learn that since the media in the modern age permeates nearly all societies, they have a hand in shaping nations into what they are. Truth be told, the media isn’t just about entertainment, it should also be about the exchange and enrichment of ideas. By referencing various works throughout history and the world, you can tweak a person’s interest in exploring a given idea and improve his or her outlook on the world.
Unfortunately, all that’s really shown in the local media today is infidelity, shallowness and immorality. If this is all our people are exposed to, is it any surprise that the common Pinoy tends to adhere to a clannish mindset and a blatant disregard for others?
Our Sense Of Humor Is Crass And Shallow
The ability to tell a good joke speaks volumes about a person’s mental aptitude. This is especially true when it comes to things like irony. Unfortunately, not all Pinoys are gifted with a deep sense of humor. More often than not, humor to your typical Pinoy is usually either about slapstick or plain old vulgarity.
Now, I’m not saying I don’t like shallow humor. Heck, I engage in nastiness in my own gaming community on a regular basis. Unfortunately, we have so little to offer when it comes to more mature forms of comedy.
Individually, Filipinos can be smart as I’ve come to discover, but as a whole we are all too often onion-skinned and mean-spirited when it comes to comedy. We prefer to make fun of people whom we don’t find attractive such as those who have dark skin or flat noses instead of engaging in and sticking to humorous wordplay or throwing in a reference joke. Then, when the tables are turned and other nationalities either call us out or make fun of us, we cry bloody murder. Is it any surprise then that there are those who see Filipinos as dumb and backwards because of our often juvenile sense of of humor?
We Don’t Focus On Relevant Issues
As Mike Portes pointed out in one of her previous posts on FB, it all started with the Roxas vs. Duterte vulgarity fests. Now we have Grace Poe’s son who’s being called out on buying expensive shoes. Look ladies and gentlemen, I’m sure these are also issues to be discussed in some other point in time but these are not relevant topics when it comes to the presidential election.
Heck, as an example, I can tell you that my circumcision was nightmarish ordeal because I refused to be sedated throughout the procedure. Now, let me ask you: Does it have any real bearing in how I can establish a successful career.
I find it very deplorable that instead of focusing on presidential debates, our media instead focuses on shallow and irrelevant banter and insults between presidential candidates. What’s sad is that to a lot of us out there, Duterte’s promiscuity, Poe’s materialism and Roxas’ circumcision is somehow more important than what they can do for our country as leaders. It’s an entire new breed of stupid when one cares more about the state of a president’s genitals rather than what kind of person he is and what he can do as a leader.
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Please ladies and gentlemen, our country is already facing several crises from the onslaught of natural disasters to territorial disputes with our neighbors. Let’s focus on what’s important for the betterment of the country and save petty issues when we have the luxury to argue over them. This is not the time for shallowness but for thorough and planned decisions.
I HAVE RETURNED TO LAY WASTE TO OUR ENEMIES!
Filipinos are dumb people…Mar Roxas circumcision may have to do with Korina Sanchez liking the result of his circumcision.
The Media in the Philippines are for Juvenile minds; not for adults. It entertains children.
The Media is even used by politicians, like the Aquinos, to twist facts, to their advantage. It was like Nazi Fuhrer Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany, using the German Media. With Jossef Goebbels, directing the Nazi political propaganda…it led to the Jewish Holocaust. Then, the German people, being sacrificed in war, by the evil wishes of a Dictator.
This can happen in the Philippines. See how Aquino sacrificed the 44 SAF Heroes; with Mar Roxas calling it a “misencounter”…if Filipinos will not wake up, we will have another Adolf Hitler.
Doing the same krap over and over again and expecting a different result, if that is not called insanity I don’t know what it is. So we are once again, are left on choosing who is the lesser krap in our upcoming presidential election.
By the ways things are going we either have no future at all or we are slowly killing ourselves. So by the time that the entire country was engulf by our own stupidity, we can assume by then that our faith has already been sealed. Sounds scary isn’t it? But ask yourselves, if this won’t even scare you don’t you think that’s it’s truly been decided?
We are still going by the flow, never doing anything new, whining the same old song, still waiting for a magical shell to show up out of nowhere and save the day. While when someone with an idea is quickly dealt with and put into silence. Keeping the Status Quo, putting everyone in the basement.
You can’t make the same mistakes twice, the second time you make it, it’s no longer a mistake, it is a Choice. What more if we keep repeating it?
Pilipinos including myself are dumb People for joining this Edsa dos Peoples Power revolution, the main reason for that is the belief that the fake Hero Ninoy Aquino was ordered to be killed by our Late Hero Apo Lakay Marcos masagana99 legacy. I could not believe it, that after 32 years they haven’t found of who ordered the assassination of Ninoy?? Three decades of the ruling years of these yellow oligarchs family had passed and the 15 avsecom soldiers was already reinstated and given full pledge army pensions and still the yellow oligarchs family had even close the unsolved murder of Ninoy. what a dumbdown country of 32 years of MadPnoy kulangkulang99 third world status legacy..
The enigma of Ninoy Aquino’s murder, remain unsolved. They want it that way; so people will remember his murder, always. Ninoy Aquino, Jr. was sacrificed by the Right, using the Left…Power grab was the root cause of this murder enigma…the U.S./C.I.A. used the situation to remove Marcos. Same as they did to Panama’s Gen. Noriega. Noriega was against the U.S. agreement , extension of the strategic Panama Canal. So, he was deposed. Marcos was against the extension of U.S. Bases agreement. So, he was deposed. The NPA are allied to the Aquinos…they are their financiers.
Riding on a NPA Tiger is a dangerous thing; you can end up inside the NPA Tiger.
“Remember, the Japanese and the Russians aren’t exactly too savvy with the English language but can hold their own as progressive countries.”
Wondering what your definition is of progressive. Personally for me Russia is – so far, by far – not progressive.
Just wondering, have you ever been to Russia?
Ever lived in Moscow or one of its suburbs ?
Yes to be honest. Moscow and St Peterburg.
Members of the LGBT community are better treated in PH than in Russia to mention just one issue. Many Russian women dont like their Russian guys bec they drink too much wodka and are constantly drunk and abusive (yes there ae exceptions). Further, one has to be very careful in criticizing the Russian government. And if you go deeper in the country (rural sites) it gets worse and worse.
It is a childish-sounding language(consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel),tagalog and cebuano. Like it or not when Westerner’s hear it? They cringe, and if you want what is in the West or not? Speak & read English, everyone else in the world is learning it.
– Japanese language is even more childish, by your criteria. Its sound is limited to consonant vowel with optional “n” at the end. Hence, their writing system needed some 2000+ Chinese characters to disambiguate homonyms brought by the limitation of the possible sounds in Japanese.
– Tagalog and Cebuano adopted many Spanish words so they go beyond the “consonant-vowel” limit.
Hey, thanks for reminding me of that article Grimwald. Despite all the comments back then – I understand the debate still rages even until now.
Well, I think we can all agree English is a very powerful tool. It gives us ACCESS to a treasure trove of knowledge. And I agree that not all who can articulate themselves in English are actually smart – as attested by PNoy and Mar.
It’s like giving an AK47 to a retard. Knowing what to do with a very potent weapon/tool is what counts.
But I do have something against the national language called Taglish. I think the dumbing down of everything in this country started with the phasing out of unadulterated English in every aspect of PH society: media, primetime news, politics, education – you name it. The descent into the abyss is almost irreversible.
Now, people like Alma Moreno and Manny Pacqiao are emblodened to seek such high offices as seats in the Senate. Why? because we now allow discussions in Taglish in Congress. Media interviews are in Taglish. PNoy has completed the dumbing down of the country by electing to use Taglish in his SONA.
Taglish is strongly associated with informal trash talk, coarse jesting, pathetic comedies and meaningless teleseryes. Whereas English is still the medium of exchange in scientific and international arenas, and the mark of being educated at least in PH. Note: The Japs have an entire industry just translating English content to their language to make up for their incompetence.
The next thing to expect is an uneducated maid running for President because she became a hero for almost facing a firing squad as an accused drug mule abroad.
What can a Tagalog-wielding native Pinoy have ACCESS to but a few limited crappy local shows and local tabloids?
I can almost guarantee – if every Pinoy went back to using correct English, our topics of discussion and content of local programs will improve by leaps and bounds. Imagine having a discussion with a tricycle driver on the topic of artificial intelligence and whether he agrees with Elon Musk on the dangers of Skynet; but no – we’ll be talking of shallow Aldub and Vice Ganda instead because that’s what fills his Tagalog head – puro kababawan. These are the people who elect our leaders – we shouldn’t be surprised at where our politics is at now.
Just my 2 cents – I could be wrong.
With the country gradually implementing more Tagalog in the public sector than English it makes me wonder where things will be headed. We are just becoming more and more backward. And as Latin American economies begin to rise over the next several decades Filipinos are going to be kicking themselves for not keeping Spanish as part of their curriculum.
I will just recall these great words attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt:
Great minds discuss ideas;
average minds discuss events;
small minds discuss people.
Failipinos in the Failippines no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other. They do not exchange ideas, they exchange images. They do not argue with propositions; they argue with good looks, celebrities and commercials.