It’s Hard to Say “I’m Proud to be a Filipino”

I had once asked a young a college student if he were proud to be a Filipino, and he said “No”. He even added that if he would be given another chance to be born again, he would prefer to be a European, American, or Japanese. His classmates supported his ideas, for they, too, thought that it was no good to be a Filipino. They said there was nothing wrong with having the Filipino race or blood, but what made them wish they belong to another race was the very actuality that many Filipinos themselves blemish the name “Filipino”. So, I asked them specific examples of how Filipinos blotch their image.

One shared his experience on observing some of his neighbors who compelled their wives to chat with foreigners to earn dollars or bigger money. According to him, that was one reason why other races wanted to get rid of Filipinos or belittled them, for these victimized outsiders believed that Filipinos are fraudsters. He asked, “Is that how desperate for money some Filipinos are?” And his classmates’ reactions were varied: some kept silent and shook their head while others expressed feelings of disgust.

Another young lady who was seated at the last row mentioned that she was ashamed to know that many of our Filipino leaders were seen as “great thieves”, “corrupt” and the like by other nations. Some of these politicians did not only amass wealth in our country but also in other countries. They lavishly enjoyed vacations and invested in big businesses, and it was a mystery where they got such great possessions.

Still many others stated that their fellow youngsters seemed to hoot when they sang some Filipino songs, admired Filipino dances, carried out our country’s cultural traits, like kissing the hands of parents, behaving like a conservative lady, etc. To their friends, these were old-fashioned activities. But they seemed delighted to watch wild and very sexy dancers on TV noontime shows, to sing out loud foreign songs which have iniquitous lines, to disobey their parents, and to waste their young lives with vicious leisure. One argued that “If we look around and notice the daily activities of many of our countrymen, we could see how well they imitate other Asians and westerners; hence, up to now, we have not achieved originality”.

We did not finish the discussion, for we ran out of time. But there was one thing clear to me – they found it hard to appreciate their beautiful race because many Filipinos destroyed it before their very eyes. The feeling they had for their identity was not even a reflection of a prideful spirit but a mere shadow.