With due courtesty to the esteemed blogger Reyna Elena, I’d like to repost here a condensed re-tell of the classic children’s story, The Emperor’s New Clothes:
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The Emperor’s New Clothes
As summarised by benign0
in a comment on ReynaElena.com
24 April 2009
There was once an Emperor who was told by a crooked trader that he had in his employment a pair of taylors from the Orient who could weave and taylor for him a suit made out of the finest and rarest materials.
The only catch was that the finished suit could be seen only by men of wisdom and would be invisible to fools. The Emperor being intrigued by all this commissioned such a suit. The crooked trader then asked to be given a week to deliver.
After a week the crooked trader came back and went through the motions of fitting the “suit” (which of course didn’t really exist) on the Emperor. The Emperor and his ministers of course couldn’t see the non-existent suit. But lest they be seen as fools wouldn’t admit that they saw nothing.
The crooked trader then suggested that the Emperor go out on a parade to show his magnificent new “suit” to his subjects, which he then did. During the parade all his subjects caught an eyeful of the Emperor in his underwear, but none would admit so for fear of being “exposed” as a “fool”.
All would have gone well until a child no older than four stepped forward and blurted out “but the Emperor has no clothes!”, after which everyone suddenly realised they’ve been had. By then the crooked trader had taken advantage of the focus on the spectacle and fled to a distant land with his handsome payment.
La Fin
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I originally mentioned in that comment that there is a sublime lesson to be learned from that simple story.
One of the ironies in life is that it is sometimes the people who genuinely care about our welfare (well, for that matter, also those that claim to do so) that turn us into our own worst enemies. I touched on an aspect of this in a previous article of mine – “How else should it be done then?“, where I try to show how some “experts” in our society keep re-enforcing a notion popularly held in backward societies like the Philippines’ that both (a) culpability for the chronic failure that had come to indelibly characterise our society and (b) responsibility for the creation of opportunities to reverse this relentless decline into degeneracy lies squarely on the shoulders of traditional bogeymen; i.e. Big Bad Government, descendants of former colonial masters, and other sectors of society that have vast resources at their disposal.
Unfortunately for us;
[The] truth — that our chronic failure to launch traces its roots to the very fabric of our character as a people — is, to be fair, difficult to swallow in the same way that it may take an entire lifetime for a junkie or a wino to admit to himself that he is a substance addict. Anybody who’s had the misfortune of having to deal with a substance addict would be familiar with The Attitude. Such losers are predisposed to align and surround themselves with people who validate their mistaken belief that their own failure is somebody else’s fault and, worse, that their prospects for success is somebody else’s responsibility.
Difficult to swallow as it is, to be comfy in the company of people who keep telling you “you’re alright by me” or “keep on doing what you’re doing and you’ll get there”, or even “don’t mind your detractors, they don’t know shit”, inggit lang sila sa ‘yo, “it’s somebody else’s fault that you’re in a bind”, even in the face of mounting evidence that one continues to fail is quite simply a deeply-entrenched form of insanity that Filipinos have all but succumbed to.
When one lacks outside perspective or an alternative point of view, one’s thinking becomes inbred. Believing one’s own sense of helplessness becomes a fluffy security blanket; an addiction to constant assurances that we could have been truly terrific if it werent for X, Y, and Z factors.
Back in that seminal article “Hotbeds of inbred thinking” I wrote how…
[Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo speaking for himself and his minions in the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) had this to say about chronic Philippine poverty...]
He said ordinary citizens have “watched how corruption has become endemic, massive, systemic and rampant in our politics.”
I can agree with that. Pinoys have pretty much sat on their asses and merely watched, dismayed that rather than being handed out dough (the way Erap does), said dough was spent on corruption thereby depriving them of what is owed to them by society.
Classy.
Sitting dismayed is a convenient position to take for a people world-renowned for their utter lack of an ethic of self reliance.
Corruption is bad. Yes, my adolescent child, of course it is. But from the perspective of an adult mind, seeing one’s self as not personally accountable for one’s own fortunes is worse.
As a matter of fact, MLQ3 in his recent blog post coined the phrase “institutionalised balato” which I believe all but encapsulates the concept in our society that fills the ideological void that exists in much of our politics as far as the majority of the electorate (and even much of our so-called “intelligentsia”) is concerned .
One argument is, Pacquiao can do more good elsewhere. One comment I often encounter is, “if he wants to do good, let him establish a foundation.”
Which is simply institutionalizing “balato,” isn’t it? And yet if you ask Pacquiao himself, the same reasons would apply to his wanting to serve in the House: “to help others,” to do good, to spread the wealth, etc. Another form of institutionalized “balato.” The only difference being some people think the only wealth Pacquiao should be spreading is his own, while Pacquiao -who has earned enough to know the limits and effectivity of spreading his own winnings around- seems to think the best way to do this is to be in office. And here, he has a point too: for that public purse, which the House (in theory, though not practice) controls, is derived from the people.
Beyond “spreading the wealth” (apparently Filipinos see resources as an entitlement rather than as something to be earned), the atrophied faculties for imagination in Philippine society cannot envision virtues in a leader that go beyond our perverse notions of “generosity”. As such, in the event that Pacquiao proceeds in his bid for political office, we can pretty much expect a campaign built around generosity.
We are surrounded by “experts” who have all but convinced us that the only hope of our society lies in the altruism — the “generosity” — of the resource rich; or that our continued failure as a society is a result of the machinations of an evil “ruling elite”. Either way, when seen in this light, a subtle irony may yet not escape the more cluey amongst us — that those among us who scream the loudest and wave the biggest clenched fists in the name of our supposedly “democratic” ideals are those who most fear or detest the people who are outcomes of the popular vote.
It’s time we begged to differ to popularly-held and traditional notions pitched as noble “ideals” by our society’s “experts” to vacuous minds that are ill-equipped to critically evaluate these and lack any inherent ability to come up with alternative points of view.
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It’s the same banana milkshake, benigs, in different emperor’s clothes.
So what do we do with the cultural virus in the Pinoy psyche?
CTL-ALT-DEL, hard boot, or REFORMAT.
Consistent and flip-flopping.
Singapore gives a suggestion.
For Pinas most-outstanding-congressman or even TOYM-2010 Pinas:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090506/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_singapore_awards_1
standard of the Philippines is going down… ooopsie.. what standard. :)
Lookit BongV, have you just been commissioned as member of benign0′s Pinoy Bashers’ Club. :)
Phil:
Nope. I have my own BongV Bashers of Pinoys-Who-Are-Destructively-Lazy Club.
I used to exchange notes with the Big-Bad-Government Fellowship with BAYAN, LFS, YND in my college days – even waved flags for KBL during my childhood
Today, I have BongV’s Fellowship of Pinoys-Who-Take-Personal-Responsibility.
:D
to PhilManila and your : So what do we do with the cultural virus in the Pinoy psyche?
Two ideas from public-health medicine:
(1) Stop the virus from spreading. Identify the virus-carriers; separate them from the general population and quarantine until the carriers become non-contagious. Import foreign technology when necessary to hasten the virus-carrier identification processes.
(2) Personal health safety programs, including live healthy (wash hands/self-purify after every possible encounter with virus), “eat good food” (equivalent to be informed, know best-practices).
And don’t forget the focus on what individuals can do (wash your hands, don’t contaminate others when sick, etcetera) versus what government can do (give away masks or even sending in the soldiers to herd away the sickly [ala PolPot] ).
Stay healthy AND do things now that make you (and your pocketbook) healthier next year and the year after.
This kind of comment goes a long way in explaining why Pinoy politics is the way it is.
When someone makes a comment, people speculate on matters that have nothing to do with the ideas tabled and exchanged.
Even on at the macro level, your comments or views expressed makes you either “pro-GMA” or “anti-GMA”.
Pinoy nga naman talaga.
One-dimensional thinking rules in a society of one-dimensional minds. :D
‘When someone makes a comment, people speculate on matters that have nothing to do with the ideas tabled and exchanged.’
I say this is comment-trashing because it does not hew into one’s ‘It’s simple really’ model.
Call a duck if it talks and walks like a duck, and not a gander. Ever heard of the the thought ‘where is this guy coming from?’
Let me rephrase:
Your Right Honorable BongV,
Are your comments which are somewhat inimical toward your country of birth (and its people) proper for a gentleman given the fact that the place you left enhanced your own natural talents through education, skills, and training received from the country and its people?
Are your comments which are somewhat inimical toward your country of birth (and its people) proper for a gentleman given the fact that the place you left enhanced your own natural talents through education, skills, and training received from the country and its people?
On the contrary, by calling out my country and countrymen’s deficiencies and asking that these deficiencies be addressed because in doing so our country grows in strength and prosperity indicates that I love my country and my countrymen NO MATTER HOW GUNGGONG.
Being out of the country is out of the question…
YOU DO NOT BITE THE HAND THAT PAYS FOR YOUR BILLS! :D
Being out of the country is out of the question…
“instiutionalised balato”. as if this is a new concept that was cleverly seen only by MLQ3. “to the victors belong the spoils”, everyone knows that – so how do get out of this rut inasmuch as the people are clueless?
jcc:
if the people are clueless, let us exert all efforts to help the people become cluey.
we are stuck as long as the people are clueless.
something’s gotta give.
if the people become cluey, we have a fighting chance.
else, we have a chance as a snowflake in hell.
so the pitch to make the people cluey — begs the question.
so the pitch to make the people cluey — begs the question.
i disagree, it does not beg the question.
every administration has a beginning and an end. every cycle we are given a chance, to choose, and make a decision.
therefore, the pitch to make people cluey comes before and after each cycle. education and learning is a continuous lifelong process.
For example, from this moment (05/06/2009) on:
1. Pinoy bloggers agree to craft a sustained media plan till 2010 and theme
* TV
* radio
* comics
* newspaper
2. Topics will be the ones we are discussing on FV
3. Format will vary per media
* TV – block time show; ads – one season ala Bill Maher panel interview
* radio – block time show; ads
* comics – stories like “Rap the korup” in the genre of “Asiong Aksaya”
* newspaper – ads; collaboration with other groups
4. Fundraising activities to support the media campaign activities (until 2010)
* Dinner for a cause
* Concert for a cause
* Car wash for a cause
* Garage sale for a cause
* Dance for a cause
* Bingo for a cause
5. Door-to-door campaigns
6. Townhall meetings
7. Get-out-the vote
by blogging?
by blogging?
i don’t think blogging will do much – you are already preaching to the choir.
know your target audience – and craft a solution customized to your target audience
your target audience:
* does not have access to a computer
* can barely afford to pay the electric bills
* all his/her time is spent earning a living
* has access to TV, Radio
* seldom reads the Newspaper
* is highly influenced by the Church, and celebrities
given such a profile – you can blog till the cows come home – but if your message is not going through the delivery channels that can reach your target audience – you might as well be talking to a blank wall.
by blogging?
i don’t think blogging will do much – you are already preaching to the choir. i will go out on a limb that there is near unanimity among Pinoy bloggers and netizens that positive change is needed in the PI.
know your target audience – and craft a solution customized to your target audience
your target audience:
* does not have access to a computer
* can barely afford to pay the electric bills
* all his/her time is spent earning a living
* has access to TV, Radio
* seldom reads the Newspaper
* is highly influenced by the Church, and celebrities
target audience and delivery channel
given such a profile – you can blog till the cows come home – but if your message is not going through the delivery channels that can reach your target audience, you might as well be talking to a blank wall or pissing against the sky.
so you can make the people cluey by blogging?
jcc:
NO.
so you can make the people cluey by blogging?
NO. i don’t think blogging will do much – you are already preaching to the choir. i will go out on a limb that there is near unanimity among Pinoy bloggers and netizens that positive change is needed in the PI.
know your target audience – and craft a solution customized to your target audience
your target audience:
* does not have access to a computer
* can barely afford to pay the electric bills
* all his/her time is spent earning a living
* has access to TV, Radio
* seldom reads the Newspaper
* is highly influenced by the Church, and celebrities
target audience and delivery channel
given such a profile – you can blog till the cows come home – but if your message is not going through the delivery channels that can reach your target audience, you might as well be talking to a blank wall or pissing against the sky.
administration lifecycles and elections
every administration has a beginning and an end. every cycle we are given a chance, to choose, and make a decision.
therefore, the pitch to make people cluey comes before and after each cycle. education and learning is a continuous lifelong process.
Sample Action Plan Outline – 05/06/2009 to 2010
For example, from this moment (05/06/2009) on:
1. Pinoy bloggers agree to craft a sustained media plan till 2010 and theme
* TV
* radio
* comics
* newspaper
2. Topics will be the ones we are discussing on FV
3. Format will vary per media
* TV – block time show; ads – one season ala Bill Maher panel interview
* radio – block time show; ads
* comics – stories like “Rap the korup” in the genre of “Asiong Aksaya”
* newspaper – ads; collaboration with other groups
4. Fundraising activities to support the media campaign activities (until 2010)
* Dinner for a cause
* Concert for a cause
* Car wash for a cause
* Garage sale for a cause
* Dance for a cause
* Bingo for a cause
5. Door-to-door campaigns
6. Townhall meetings
7. Get-out-the vote
Organizing methods
You know network marketing? Amway? Forever Living? Xango?
Follow the organizing method and spread like wildfire before 2010, but you need an excellent product and message – think about it
Plan your actions. Act on your Plan
Any good plan, is just a plan unless it is executed.
Continuously Improve the Plan
Review your plan and tweak it to improve results and have a more efficient execution. Your plan must be dynamic and able to adopt to the conditions on the ground or in the theatre of operation.
How about your plan?
I’ll be glad to listen to your proposed plan between now and 2010.
This is the trouble with those in Power. They have pyschophants,
opportunists of all kinds, parasites, partymates who have
agendas of their own, apologists of all sorts, etc…They are surrounded by these misfits.
The Ruler becomes a computer machine. He is pushed on every side
of his domain. So, what do you get? A ” Cordon Sanitaire”. He does not have a mind of his own anymore. He decides and rules by Consensus. His brain is on the off mode. His discernments is no longer functioning.
We need a leader: to rule, to decide well, and to have an true grasp on the real situation of the country. He has to have vision also of where he is taking us.
tasio,
i thought you were a pinoy patriot, but your j lennon avatar is a dead giveaway that you are a pro-Hatton. hahahahhaaha!!
DrPacman, has beat you to it by using Pacman avatar… hahahahahha!!!
A second reading of the so-called classic children’s story, The Emperor’s New Clothes” – simply does not make sense and it is nakedly clear that the narrative has not been woven the way that it should in its original.
Maybe, it having been paraphrased, ended up as the wrong story altogether. It just didn’t connect to the jigsaw. The chips did not fall in place. I have no doubt, totally mali ung kwento.
Primer:
You see the clothes? :)
actually, institutionalized balato as thought of by MLQ3 is different from what benign0 is saying here…
i asked him…
so the pitch to make the people cluey — begs the question.
i disagree, it does not beg the question.
every administration has a beginning and an end. every cycle we are given a chance, to choose, and make a decision.
therefore, the pitch to make people cluey comes before and after each cycle. education and learning is a continuous lifelong process.
For example, from this moment (05/06/2009) on:
1. Pinoy bloggers agree to craft a sustained media plan till 2010 and theme
* TV
* radio
* comics
* newspaper
2. Topics will be the ones we are discussing on FV
3. Format will vary per media
* TV – block time show; ads – one season ala Bill Maher panel interview
* radio – block time show; ads
* comics – stories like “Rap the korup” in the genre of “Asiong Aksaya”
* newspaper – ads; collaboration with other groups
4. Fundraising activities to support the media campaign activities (until 2010)
* Dinner for a cause
* Concert for a cause
* Car wash for a cause
* Garage sale for a cause
* Dance for a cause
* Bingo for a cause
5. Door-to-door campaigns
6. Townhall meetings
7. Get-out-the vote
You know network marketing? Amway? Forever Living? Xango?
Follow the organizing method and spread like wildfire before 2010, but you need an excellent product and message – think about it
Oops mga Inglisero ‘tol! Excuse lang po…wrong number yata…
Isko, AKA Jonas, will take us to skool he’s not even a bus drayber. Lav yo, man. Is it yo, Jonas?
A bayros is da wan ho delete awr posted komints if it das not pas da bord of sensyur. Dat is da most dendyeros bayros.
In the land of fools, the ruler is as fool as the people. Including the writer. Heheh.
The moment I receive my laptops, I uninstall all anti-virus. 1stly, it slows the system because it runs in the backround and hugs precious bandwith; 2ndly, anti-virus is a scam.
Viruses takes advantage of the holes and vulnerabilities in operating system. Microsoft, in the instance of Windows, patches this vulnerabilities. Anti-virus companies pick up on this and tack it on their anti-virus that you guys update monthly for a fee which is actually free if you get it from OSX or Windows sites.
Anti-Virus happens after the fact the viruses has squirmed thru your vulnerabilities assuming it is a very very very new malware …
By the time OSXs and Winddows comes around to it the viruses has already spread into your operating system. Then they patch the holes.
So, anti-virus is a scam.
I have Alienware M15x, older Dell XPS and Macbook Unibody 13.3″. They are working perfectly fine, virus-free. My reliable Dell XPS has not had any problem. I had it for 3 years in the running ….
I REPEAT, ANTI-VIRUS IS A SCAM ….
renato,
are you talking about viruses or are you bragging about your laptops? :)
You got me there, JCC. I’m actually bragging about my laptops. I bought Alienware M15x as my desktop replacement that replaced my still working Dell XPS. Since, M15x is unwieldy to lug around coffeeshops, I bought the hip-and-cool Macbook Unibody 13.3 just for show … I still have to get around using this Mac. :)
Government leaders should have a heart and really serve Filipinos honestly and seriously.
There are: viruses, malwares, rootkits, adwares, trojan horses, etc…on the all Websites. They attach themselves to your computer as you open any Website. Buy a good anti-virus softwware, latest edition for computer protection as you surf the internet.
Now I’m interested to see how Jester-Exile responds.
I don’t see how a virus can delete a comment that was already published by a blog. Is that even possible?
have a suite of AVG grisoft anti-virus, Lavasoft Ad-Aware, S&D Spybot, Hijackthis!, and Zonelabs ZoneAlarm Firewall.
Use Mozilla Firefox – extend with add-ons NoScript, AdBlock
Put a Websield. If a Virus is sent to control your computer. Then,
some Hackers can delete, add or even change your Blog Post.
You know people can hire good Hackers to play games with you.
Especially, if they dont like what your are posting in the Web Blog.
Jonas, dat you, dude? wat tok yo so long … we need anader blogger wit goot country-club englischtzes speakers ….
I welcome you ….. Da rest kwivers befor you …..