I always imagined Filipino Voices to be some kind of Justice League. It opened the door for others to band together and write and we write here because deep down, this is the expression of our love for country. yes, even those we call, anti-pinoy have that love in spades. They just express it differently.
The Internet in the Philippines is meaningless, even with Five Million on Facebook. Whatever impact we do with blogging will have limited impact in the coming elections. Many of the people who need to be reached can not. Simply because the Internet has not found its way to them. Simply because, precisely why we blog— the state of our Filipino Nation is such as it is that we strive every day to change it.
That’s not to say, we should stop.
We are the beginning and tomorrow will trace our footsteps. That alone must give us pause and our sense of determination to make things right. That alone should give us strength. That is our responsibility. That alone must make us continue.
We should continue pounding our keyboards. We should continue to call on our candidates to participate on an online discussion. We should shout out our links on Facebook, on Twitter, on plurk, on digg, and wherever place we can be heard. We should continue to write, and write as eloquently as we can about our times. We should write with our hearts full of courage and our spirit filled with strength.
We must make ourselves relevant.
The weeks and the months ahead, especially these days leading up to May 10, will be difficult. We don’t know what will happen, not with any certainly. None of us can foresee the future. Though these walls of the Internet where we all gather to discuss the issues of the day, remain an avenue for the few, it becomes our eternal responsibility to raise the discussion to a higher level. Because this isn’t about us. It isn’t about individual bloggers. It isn’t about individual Filipinos.
We each have a role to play.
I just wanted to say that we must be armed. We must be more vigilant. I believe as we blog and raise the discussion higher and our discourse more intelligent we must set the bar.
As self-serving as trite as it may read, and full of ourselves as it may look, we blog and we comment here on Filipino Voices and elsewhere because it is for the Greater Good. Evil only triumphs when good men fail to associate and band together. Evil triumphs when we let our differences get the better of ourselves. So it is with every relationship and every organization and so it is with nation building.
That is the only thing that matters.
In a month, the Campaign really begins and I just wanted to share these words as your fellow denizen of these Internets and as a Filipino, as we head on together into that uncertain tomorrow. With malice toward none, with clarity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us the right, Let us bind our nation’s wounds with our positive words and intelligent discussion. To rub Evil’s face and their lack of sense of propriety with our logic and our reason. Tomorrow is coming! And I wanted to reaffirm my commitment to blogging on Filipino Voices as best as I could here. I believe only together can we bring out our A-Game and only when We, together, believe that the most important thing that matters is the Greater Good.
Popularity: 1% [?]
The unfortunate part is that presidentiables are refusing to cooperate with this Search For Truth and all Things Wonderful, or at least, Informative.
Even the anti-GMA folks on EllenT’s site are beginning to lose patience over NoyNoy “hide-and-hide” strategy and his refusal to participate in townhall meetings. Jan14 forum has been organized wherethe presidentiables can present their positions and receive questions on Philippine economy and international economic relations or Mindanao – peace in the Philippine South.
This election is about character.NoyNoy says “NO, WILL NOT ATTEND!”.
Noynoy is part of the KILALANIN! A presidential forum today, Jan 9 at the LaSalle Zobel in Ayala Alabang 9am-12pm. Villar, Gibo, Gordon and Noynoy will be there too.
I do not think it will happen in 2010, but I will call it maturity (and an improved law-and-order situation) if one of these debates or forums where 3 or more of the presidentiables get to answer question are held outside metro-Manila. Cebu and Davao, Legazpi and GenSan City will be good venues.
are you the cocoy who tweeted my blog “exposing manny villar”? if yes, thanks. it got retweeted like mad. interesting how a post that’s more than a year old is still so relevant.
yep. i was that guy. :D
Nicely said.
Perhaps you have more impact than you realize, because it is the opinion leaders — like, editorialists — who thrive on such dialogue, even though the masses are largely blind to the discussions. I concur with your commitment to whack away on the keyboard to contribute a little something to the community.
Joe
The masses are blind to the discussions because contrary to belief, a huge chunk of the masses do not Twitter.
“We must make ourselves relevant.”
I agree.
Though the concept of the greater good still evades me.
Good read.
It is understandable — i also sense the concept of common good evades.
NOT the common good when only good for the upper-income class-A and -B, “A”-plus-”B” is only 20% of population, minority.YES it is common good when only good for the lower-income class-E and -D. “E”-plus’”D” is also 20%, but who cares the mathematics. To the victors go the spoils.
Good for 2nd-district-Pampanga is not common good, but should GMA be prime minister that is commonly anticipated and will be goodly argued by parliament which if passed by the next Congress is common good because Congress is by the people elected by the people chosen by the people.
More jobs-jobs-jobs in Pilipinas-for-Pinoys is definitely a common good. That is my opinion. It evades me why people allow the presidentiables to evade discussing jobs-jobs-jobs for Pinoys-in-Pinas, when the one they call the EVIL-ONE claims repeatedly that for common-good the how-to-increase-GDP actions she has taken.
just a point of clarification, ‘coy, wala lang, nakaka-consensya kasi. the ‘anti-pinoy’, that’s what they called themselves. did not start from us.
but totally agree with you. vast majority of us love our country and our people, our traditon, our fellowmen! let’s don’t stop. in our own small ways, will make a difference in the long run.
I hope I’m not a marked man hereabouts for campaigning for an alternative candidate to the current popular choice, ahem, survey says….
Indeed, to support Cocoy’s call for doing everything for the Greater Good, readers should be made aware that there are other studied intelligent choices.
Call me over-pragmatist or cynical, maybe, but here is situation which call for a choice to be made so that the result will be the Lesser Evil.
The Greater Good is a counterpoint to a Single Good.
The Greater Good is an acknowledgment (one would hope) that people understand and accept that while their opinion is simply brilliant and true, it still is not the Only Opinion. Other Pinoys disagree, even if their opinions are wrong. NoyNoy is the wrong choice to be next president. Erap deserves to be president. Gordon is best-qualified because of the responsibilities that he has assumed over the past years, in contrast to NoyNoy who simply has not had enough heavy-duty responsibilities. Reproductive Health bill is good for the country. NoyNoy is the best candidate. Reproductive Health bill is against basic principles of religion. The Philippines is a lost cause. The Philippines still has hope as long as jobs are available overseas. The Gokongweis are crooks. Americans in Pinas — all Americans in Pinas — should be booted out. The French love Pilipinas. The French are idiots.
The Greater Good assumes that many Pinoys believe every single one of those sentences (obviously not the same Pinoy, unless that Pinoy is addled in the brain or autistic or has had a serious infection after having a tattoo). There is disagreement, so the Greater Good will manifest itself when Pinoys-in-Pinas vote or when a successful advertisement and ocho-ocho campaign is waged.
There is disagreement. My opinion is a-okay but there are other Pinoys (maybe only 95 or even less) who disagree with me.
Greater Good assumes there is disagreement about what should be the Common Good. Except jobs-jobs-jobs in Pilipinas for Pinoys.
“The French are idiots.”
I did not know that, heh, and please watch what you say about boots and Americans . . . someone might get an idea and all my INVESTMENTS here might get tossed out along with me . . . and there would be several jobs fewer . . .
I view “common good” as a clear distinction between right and wrong, as to what is beneficial for the great majority of people. It struggles to exist because individual expression is also important. So the tension between what is good for me and what is good for others fuels very important debates about right and wrong, and thereby defines a common morality.
God, I’m deep this morning.
Try putting a nuclear waste disposal site in someone’s back yard, and you will get the idea . . .
Joe
“Americans in Pinas — all Americans in Pinas — should be booted out.”
UP n,
That’s very undeplomatic. What if my friend Joe say that of all Filipinos in Tate. Imagine how Abe and JCC and our boss, Nick, would react, and especially how you would react to that.
JoeAm: Propose 2nd-district-Pampanga as nuclear waste dumpsite and you’ll have over 65% of FilVoices bloggers agreeing. Common Good!
Me — I say “NO to 2nd-district-Pampanga as a nuclear waste dumpsite.”
———
Bert: I’ve met some — Americans who want all Asians and Mexicans to go back to where they came from. One was a Pennsylvania-ditch-digger studied himself out of a menial job into a COBOL/PL1 programmer consultant job on one of my projects. He was good, too – his team-lead (an Indian) said keep him, so I kept him.
UP n, I was wondering who your candidate was. So is it Erap or Gordon? Oh, and do u always go around making sweeping generalizations?
However one thinks of the anti-pinoy is irrelevant.
They are also in it for the greater good, and I’m glad the author recognizes it.
…Filipino Voices is doing great for the country but electronic stuff (blogs, blogs, blogs) aint enough…Physical presence is needed…poll watchers are needed…street parliamentary is needed…lobbyists are needed…burning the keyboards aint enough…sometimes I feel most of us are just bunch of cowards hiding behind our desktops and laptops…
The Information Technology like Blogs, Twitters, Texting,etc… will
have some impact on our choice of leaders. The younger generation
is more informed. It is now the duty of the younger generation to
inform the older generation for good choices of leaders.
Do your part, will you?
So long as idiots who won’t even lift a finger to help then we are all screwed.
Little did you know, how Filipino Voices affected my knowledge. Many thanks, specially to the Writers that contributed on this FV site. Also, to the masses that are well discipline, with their comments and action. I salute you all.
Food for Thoughts:
But please Pinoy-in-Pinas, use your own discretion.
Study hard. Next thing you know, it’s May 2010.
Well-said, Cocoy. Not sure why some r reading this as a partisan piece since it is essentially about engaging in the blogosphere and is not about any specific candidates. Thanks for the encouragement and more power to u too!
i say we are all screwed and we dont know where to start.
Interesting piece Cocoy. I think 2010, to make it interesting and engaging, will require the informed bloggers to call everyone’s attention on matters that candidates do or talk about and be able to see through or beyond the “pitch”.
Like your post.
I think I the internet has been a big influence in shaping decisions in our country regarding elections even though its reach is limited. I’m grateful for F.V. and other blogs for providing such rich info in helping decide a good candidate. Special for F.V. considering that I found out about Nick Perlas in here. (cross fingers)
Even though I think the so-called anti-pinoys are a bit…extreme, I think a healthy dose of the point-of-view keep our ethnic pride in check (pride being a sin). I was a bit doubting at first but I admit some of our problems spring from our culture. I give credit to them that they are speaking out what they think is right for our country. Even though we may differ in methodologies they converge on the same purpose.
I hate to nitpick but really don’t believe in a ‘greater good’ and just the ‘good’. Greater good sounds so democratic! I believe that ‘there is no majority in matters of the conscience’ as Gandhi puts it.
For everyone in the blogosphere keep up ‘the good’ work.