Tuesday, June 13, 2006

thoughts on independence

june 12 came and went without so much of a hoopla in my so called life. late last night, as i was making my way home, i was asking myself why there were philippine flags displayed in the restaurants that line san pedro street. then it hit me, it was the day of the philippine independence.

i had to check my indifference and dig deep into my thoughts. we were supposed to be a free nation. a people that can be proud of their country. but i know that you know we can always say the negative to those previous statements. we are not free and most of us are not proud of our country.

that is a sad thought.

but i know, that i am free. free to choose what i want and free to be governed by a higher respectable authority. i can still be proud of some filipinos, and the beauty of the nation. but the nation in general, hmmm let me try putting it milder.

...

i can't.

as a nation we are not free and we are not proud of who we are. the glory of the sea games, pacquiao and all those filipinos who made it good outside the country are overshadowed daily by those people in government. why are we so goddamned good outside? and looking inside, we can't even do our laundry?

but individually, as i said: i am free and i can be proud, albeit selectively.

there seems to be a problem with that. as in many filipinos' mind. individually we are ok, but as a nation, well, we don't want to think about that anymore.

aha, and so there is the problem. we don't want to think about our country. i have been contented with the good things that are happening to us. that we have shied away in talking and ACTING on issues concerning our own back yard. i have been so insulted by gma, raul gonzales, even the opposition, that i have chosen to be apathetic.

hey i'm from BA, the bastion of apathy.

the question for me: when or how can i bridge that distance between being a good person and being a good filipino? ask with me then.

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