Here’s a quick status update on our efforts to come up with a manifesto on what “The Filipino” stands for which we started a while back.
Last time I explored the topic, I had two catchphrases that, at the time, I thought pretty much made a comprehensive and exhaustive coverage of what it means to be “Filipino”:
- Bahala na (“come what may”)
- Pwede na yan (“that’ll do”)
I am pleased to brief the Board on the discovery of a third element to be added to this brilliant manifesto. A third element is a milestone. Its addition to the what-it-means-to-be-Pinoy manifesto transforms it from a one-dimensional framework into a two-dimensional framework.
This is cause for celebration! But lest we succumb to that renowned fiesta-first-before-results ethic of Da Pinoy, I will re-visit first the original two elements of the manifesto before I introduce the third,
Bahala na
Ours is a society with a cultural aversion to self-reliance. Specifically, we are always encouraged to rely on “divine providence” for our fortunes. But then it becomes a blanket lifelong cop-out to aspiring for real achievement because, as the thinking then goes:
- When things go wrong – it is because it is “God’s will”
… but then …
- When things go right – it is “by God’s graces“.
Holy gordian knot, Batman!
Where then does an ethic of a deliberate and conscious focus on achieving results fit in in the above equation? The answer is quite simple: It doesn’t. For societies with minds and belief systems imprisoned by the one-dimensional mindset described within the above two-element sub-framework, a trackrecord of chronic failure is not surprising.
A friend of mine actually thought this through carefully and brought to bear on the subject his vast knowledge of history and philosophy:
Pinoys (as well as a few other cultures that are in the same economic quagmire) are somehow stuck in some of Christianity’s old hang-ups vis-Ã -vis the material world which are essentially holdovers from Western Christianity’s Neo-Platonistic influences.
Christendom, especially Western Christendom had, for a long time, been infected by this bias against looking after practical material needs until the Reformation and, later, the Age of Reason (aka “Age of Enlightenment”) came along.
Certain other cultures didn’t necessarily have this over-bearing bias on them. Judaism, for instance, didn’t have such hang-ups (since they didn’t share in Christianity’s syncretistic origins with largely pagan-origin philosophies such as Neo-Platonism or others) and it was because they didn’t have such hang-ups, back in the days when money-lending was frowned upon and Jews banned from taking on work that Christians did, many of them went into money-lending and banking. Besides, it was also in the New Testament (Matthew 19:23-24, Mark 10:24-25 and Luke 18:24-25) where we find the idea that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Even until today, Western culture still does have a bias against accumulating wealth, albeit this has been retained in “sayings” such as “Money is the root of all evil.” Christianity – for all the good things it teaches, somehow emphasizes (not literally, of course) that “the sooner we leave this earth and enter the next life”, the better. (in fact, traditional christianity – thanks to the anti-flesh and anti-material biases of Neo-Platonism also had a very anti-Sex bias (even if it was within marriage), something that both Judaism and Islam, from a theological point of view do not share as both Judaism and Islam theologically encourage sex within marriage, while in Christianity, for a long time, marriage was a kind of “license to be tolerated for marital relations”)
But in Chinese culture, you see no such bias against the idea that happiness is achievable through material fortune…
In fact, Chinese culture CELEBRATES, no, WORSHIPS Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity. These three ideals are represented by three Old Men referred to in Mandarin as “Fu (Good Fortune), Lu (Prosperity), and Shou (Longevity)” The longer one’s time on this earth, the better, and the better one’s material well-being, the better. (Something tells me the Vulcans were modeled on them ["Live Long and Prosper!"] and in the recent Star Trek movie, every Vulcan scene featured a Chinese Erhu playing in the background.)
During new year (both Jan 1 as well as on the Lunar New Year), Chinese always greet each other “Gong Xi Fa Tsai” (Mandarin), or “Kung Hei Fat Choi” (Cantonese) which means, “Congratulations, and may you Prosper!” (sounds Vulcan too).
Again, the Protestant Reformation (and subsequent reforms) changed Western Christianity’s ideas about the material world, while the later Age of Enlightenment superimposed Secularist (or Laicist) ideals on top of traditional Christianity’s biases (which Catholicism generally retained) against the active pursuit of material wealth.
One wonders then, if we have either missed out on or are long overdue for some kind of modernising cataclysm that will put a rocket up Filipinos’ arses and propel us out of the cultural and philosophical bunghole we are in. Certainly Noynoy Aquino and his well-publicised seeking of “divine guidance” in his efforts to decide whether to run for president or not in 2010 isn’t helping in this effort to claw our way out of that rut.
Pwede na yan
Take the time to consider what was achieved in two of the 20th Century’s most unlikely successes: the landing of a man on the moon and the invasion of Normandy which eventually led to the defeat of Germany in World War II.
These efforts — so taken for granted as they are today — were magnificent feats of planning, organisation, and execution at scales that one struggles to even begin to imagine. These were undertakings that, when first envisioned, made even seasoned politicians, engineers, and generals tremble at the very thought of what could go wrong. They involved mobilisation of huge chunks of participating societies’ industrial might and the rather ironic mass production of scientific and technological breakthroughs to meet head-on challenges that had no historic precedences.
In short, what was achieved in those two example did not just happen.
Let’s set our sights back down to the bottom of the pile and regard the quaint aspirations we hold for the future of our sad nation. In the lead up to the 2010 presidential elections (a milestone beyond which lies an utter void in terms of our collective imagination) we see fraud-free polls and the ascent to power of a leader who “will not steal” and “be sincere” as enough strokes to get our rocks off.
And get this — for now the only hope for a force to “unify” the “Opposition” lies in some bozo who has all but withdrawn under a rock waiting for God to make the decision to run for president for him.
Hokay. Enough said on that one, perhaps.
Let’s get the drumrolls going and announce the third contestant, shall we?
The inspiration for this Third Element in our manifesto describing what “The Filipino” stands for comes from everybody’s favourite blockhead of the moment — the honourable Deputy National Security Avdviser of the Republic of the Philippines – Chavit Singson.
It annoys me a bit because this third element rocks the sensibilities I routinely apply around consistency and coherence because unlike the original two elements this one (1) is expressed in English, and (2) is a word and not a phrase.
Here it is, nonetheless:
Impunity.
Impunity is defined as a state of “freedom from unpleasant consequences”. The word describes pretty much what is likely to be in store for Singson in the aftermath of his little lapse in judgment — an outrage that probably won’t escape the usual expressions of “indignation” from the self-inducted members of our “civil society”, to be sure.
But then the Singson Affair, a source of inspiration as it was, isn’t really the primary reason why I now induct the concept of impunity into its illustrious place in our framework of what it means to be Pinoy. Rather it was the post-inspiration-reflection I went through that sealed the deal (which means I take full credit).
That process of reflection, by the way, is something I describe in more detail in my recent piece “Impunity and the Filipino male“, specifically where I conclude that:
The divided views on the aspects of morality surrounding this Singson thing notwithstanding, everyone seems to agree that what happens next is really a function of how the whole thing will play out given the culture of impunity that Philippine society is renowned for. This is specially so, given the very character of Singson himself — a shining specimen representative of the flaccid machismo of the Pinoy male evident in the kind of cinema we enjoy and the sort of people we look up to for leadership.
So while the usual “experts” will have their tongues wagging about that quintessentially-Filipino story of the influential man walking away from a crime with no more than a token slap on the wrist (easy targets for the chronically self-righteous pundit), let us make like more intelligent beings for even one moment and reflect. For that matter, and considering how, for most of us, this moment of reflection is likely to occur inside our cars while stuck in Manila’s traffic, look around and observe the behaviour of the average Filipino driver. How many acts made with impunity do we see transpiring before our eyes within, say, an hour? Or even within a minute?
As the late sage Michael Jackson once say:
I’m starting with the man in the mirror.
While we reserve our harshest judgments for high-profile targets (who get away with their crimes anyway), the Average Pinoy Schmoe behind the wheels of their “Kings of the Road” go scot free with the banal disregard for human life and limb, basic courtesies, and sense of community in road use that characterises their typical day.
I harp upon jeepneys and their drivers because they are MY easy targets (there are many many others) in this corner of the Pinoy blogosphere. But regardless of what our personal targets are, impunity is our common denominator.
As such, I hereby induct the third element into that slow-to-grow list of things that the Filipino stands for:
- Bahala na (come what may).
- Pwede na yan (that’ll do).
- Impunity (e ganun talaga sa Pinas).
Indeed, there is progress folks — but in places where we least expect to find it.
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You know what Benign0, with all your of your “Anti-Pinoy” concepts, the whole intention of what you are doing now becomes suspicious.
As your days and months in FV go by, you sound more and more like a dysfunctional unwed single parent who keeps nagging at her child and repeatedly “You fool! you would amount to nothing!”
Are you having some kind of an autistic dysfunction? Or an attention deficiency disorder?
missing word: saying
repeatedly saying…
Truth hurts…I agree with Benign0. Pinoy are also mayabang with impunity. Konting kinita sa pagiging alila sa labas ng bansa, magduduty free ng sakatutak na imported na yosi at alak…
May kilala ako..kumita ng malaki sa abroad, alang bahay pero tig-isa ng kotse…
We are dysfunctional as a society…we are too indifferent when our tummys are always full.
deputy NSA Chavit…isang magandang ehemplo ng pinoy impunity..
Hello Garci..thats cheating with impunity
ZTE NBN atbp…corruption with impunity
We make utang just to have something for fiesta
pinoys make weewee sa kalye with impunity…sa pinas lant to ‘tol…
car wash every corner..thats impunity
lechon manok everywhere…thats impunity
jeepneys and buses with professional crazy drivers..unabated…thats impunity…
What a country? but i ain’t going anywhere…born,live, and die here…that’s impunity….
Those who love to self-flagellate themselves are those who delude themselves into believing that they can never be better. This kind of dysfunctional mental attitude is worse than a bum on the street.
Behaviours we adopt/keep are behaviours reinforced by the the presence of rewards or the absence of punitive consequences, which also means Pinoys high and low get to mess around without accountability. There’s our jeepney drivers, cops, media, gov’t officials, military men, lawyers, boys who sneak up to you and say dibidi-dibidi, gossip columnists, clergy, etcetera, etcetera.
It’s not just a simple case of lack of discipline. Discipline is only a subset of restraint – something your basic everyday noypi has too little of. (Does income of P80 a day with six children below 10 years old ring a bell?)
Hmmm.
Now that I think about it, the basic average noypi restrains himself tremendously from doing the right things – whether to improve his economic condition, to elect the leaders that will serve the nation best, or even just to select tv programs that won’t make him progressively dumber than he was before watching them.
Anti-Pinoy? Thats laughable, a true mark of talangka.
The article is well written – suggesting a route we have not taken.
Actually, the talangka can’t tell the difference between the awful truth and lifelong delusions that the truth is still funny.
I share this universal ‘grief’ but wouldn’t have to be the last to say.
I still think Benign0′s right on the money. And does it look like he’s saying there’s no hope? It’s because the Pinoys themselves say there’s no hope, instead of trying to do something.
I agree though… Philippine values are stuck in the time of 1600-kopong kopong.
Way I see it, our country’s general attitude can be compared to what the Baroness said in an episode of GI Joe, where she, Flint, Lady Jaye and Cobra Commander got stuck on this deadly toyworld island:
Cobra Commander: Who’s side are you on?
Baroness: Same side you’re on. My own.
Chino:
Speaking of Pinoys being stuck in 1600 kopongkopong, stumbled across a first hand observation on Thai vs Philippines culture –
http://www.hobotraveler.com/2006/05/thailand-versus-philippines-culture.html
This is just an opinion… yeah, some may say that. But pay attention to specific things here like the “macho way of acting that reminds me a Mexican”… things worth thinking about because even I have similar observations, and many others would as well.
If the Philippines had followed Thailand’s population policy in the 70s we would’ve had the same population growth trajectory. This study estimates the per capita income of each Filipino would’ve been 11-14 times higher in 2000.
And not to mention the savings in health and education expenditures!
“God helps those who help themselves”.
I thought that would be one of the things that a Christian society should know. The problem is, they just keep praying and waiting for someone to help them. No one is accountable anymore for their own action.
Classic example: A couple having six kids or more. They don’t even have enough money to pay for a meal for one child let alone six! Goodness me, and then they blame whoever president is sitting in Malacanang for all the suffering they experience. They also have this thinking that if you have a lot of children the kids will be a meal ticket in the future. Totally unbelievable!
Of course there are corrupt politicians, every country has them but geez, the citizens create their own problems most of the time! It has a lot to do with what you call instant gratification. People want to have a fiesta all the time, bahala na if there is no money basta sikat sa kapitbahay! Basta masaya ako ngayon, bahala na bukas.
Kung merong nang-ba-bribe sayo, wag mo patulan – ganon ka simple!
And throw your garbage in the garbage disposal not the Pasig River or the city streets!
It’s so simple- really!
What’s wrong with this “Anti-Pinoy” self-flagellants is that they don’t miss on generalizing everything.
Question is “who really is the antipinoy”? ;)
What’s ROFTLMAO? Can I use it as a remark on your question? :-)
somehow it generalizes by itself…we are a society, a corporate, a citizenry, not an individual..you commit stupidity as a filipino..it burdens me and it affects me..if you don’t, maybe your tummy is always full, so you’re simply kibit-balikat…so you are indifferent..so you don’t care…Benign0 is telling us what is fxxckin’ wrong with us..he wants us to see the negatives so we look for and do the positives…
non-malignant
Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off. F and T reversed.
Non-malignant says : “What’s wrong with this “Anti-Pinoy” self-flagellants is that they don’t miss on generalizing everything”
I find it hard to believe that in the Phils, being in the state that it is, there are still people who cannot accept that there is something wrong with the society in general.
If people such as Non-malignant think that people like Benign0 criticize the culture just for the heck of it, then the country has no hope. If educated people such non-malignant are blinded by sentimentality, they will not get past their medieval ways and will just keep doing the same things over and over but expecting different results.
Or maybe people like Non-malignant are not really expecting different results and are just happy being attended to by servants? People laugh at what they call jologs behaviour but if it’s Benign0 spelling it out, there’s an outcry.
In every society there is of course something wrong as well as something right. But there are also people who just simply love to specialize on self-flagellation and derives satisfaction in what they do. They want to perpetuate their sick defeatist mental attitude.
Ilda, do you have a friend? Try nagging at that friend (with similar enthusiasm as that dysfunctional defeatist mindset as Benign0) every time that friend makes a mistake and see if it helps your friend.
“They want to perpetuate their sick defeatist mental attitude” – Non-malignant
Are the Filipinos in the Phils doing anything differently from before? I don’t think so. In fact, they actually want an Aquino again in Malacanang. Recycle na lang. It’s as if the previous Aquino did something great during her term that we want a repeat of it again.
Where is the blueprint for the future of the Phils? How can you change when you don’t even know and don’t want to know what’s wrong with you?
BTW, nagging works!
Indeed nagging works! It rather works to destroy the self-flagellants first and foremost before it destroys others.
Non-Malignant: Realist or pragmatist is quite different from defeatist. You got to know your faults and your weaknesses so you can surgically correct these….
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox]
That was too much circumventing in order to intentionally miss the point. ;)
‘miss the point’ is someone who is missing the point, heheh.
Clearly Bert did.
Chino, you are spot on!
For those who couldn’t follow:
R-E-A-D V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W-L-Y .
Done? Did you get that Karl believes you can’t criticize one of your own kind? If you did, you get one pink tamagotchi.
Did I missed the point, Filo? What do you think was my point for you to say that I missed my point? Can you point out your point?
That you missed the point, genius.
Heheh, Filo, you did missed the point, hahahaha. You agreed with benignO and Chino then at the same agreeing with Karl without knowing that benignO all the time was criticizing his own kind.
Filo, you don’t deserve even half a tamagotchi.
I clarified what Karl said. I didn’t agree with him, silly. Give me back da tamagotchi.
Hhhhmmm, benigs, to collaborate on your beautiful (LOL) manifesto, I believe ‘Ningas Cogon’ is a much bigger weakness of the Pinoy psyche.
That is, the propensity to start projects with much enthusiasm only to lose interest before successful completion.
We could see many big and small examples of such unfinished business: the 100 meter road that take months to pave, the numerous investigations-in-aid-of-legislation that get no laws enacted, the first COMELEC automation, etc.
http://images.artnet.com/artwork_images_142812_342407_gia-edzgveradze.jpg
That tall unfinished building near Quezon City hall at Matalino St.
that was a fil-estate project which the company stopped working on when the asian economic crisis hit back in the mid 90s. if i’m not mistaken.
Phil M,
I don’t think some of the half-built structures are necessarily a problem of psyche, but of poor budgeting and planning. Most projects are ill-funded, and most have no maintenance budgets built into the “dream”. So the structures, when and if built, eventually become shambles.
Joe
I dont think so Joe, its more of deep-seated corruption
ReneV,
Ah, could be for sure.
Joe
We, Filipinos have an attitude of Apathy. This is the reason we have
elected these kinds of leaders. Bahala na ! Pueda Na Yan ! are
just the true catch phrases that come out from us. We dont give our
Best. We do a job, or projects. Then, hope that it can take care of
itself. Will make it a success for itself. Look at the chronic absentism of the Congress people. Most of them hardly attend to their
duties. Does anybody from their district; check what their Congress
people is doing ? Nobody Sir…we simply dont take responsibility.
This attitude may had been ingrained in our mindsets, by our Spanish
Colonialists. To make us not prone to revolts. Then, drive them away.
Unless, we take a deep look in ourselves. Our attitudes. Our ways
of looking at life and our country. We will never solve our problems. WE ARE OUR WORST ENEMY.
You become your own’s worst enemy the moment you deceive yourself into believing that there is no hope for you to change for the better and you keep rehearsing to yourself that you are no good and you would only amount to nothing.
That’s the defeatist attitude that “Anti-Pinoy” self-flagellants wanted to you to believe in.
It seems that some people at FV have started to fall into this trap.
you are so wrong non-malignant. the anti-pinoy self-flagellants (your description) are merely pointing out the behaviour, attitudes and thought patterns that keep the philippines from moving forward towards success and greatness. they are doing this so that people will know what is wrong and hopefully realize how they can change what needs to be changed. i am sure you can appreciate that and perhaps deep inside you also detest people who hold back this country with their — for lack of a better term — stupid ways.
bongv asked the question: who really is the anti-pinoy? the anti-pinoy are those who do not care where this country is headed; those who vote blindly based on “star” quality; those who insist that voting blindly based on “star” quality is the best way to go; etcetera etcetera.
you probably just need to take a closer look first and maybe then you’ll realize that the ‘anti-pinoy self flagellants” are actually on the filipinos’ side.
betterphilippines sana makuha na ni non-malignant ang explanation mo. Grabe!
While some of Benigno’s points are valid. Example: Bahala na dates back before the Spanish conquest. Also Benigno’s thesis that the Filipino is not self reliant due to the bahala na attitude is complete rubbish. Filipinos have persisted in a very disastrous prone environment and geography and this is evidence enough of self reliance. Again it reflects Benigno’s tall poppiness of the worst kind. And as a larrikin I will chop it down whenever I encounter! An Australian pollie has these words “I will chase it down every burrow I find!”
Again Benigno’s friend who has the same tall poppiness re: “vast knowledge of history and philosophy” (a really barmy and pompous reference if you ask me mate!) is also dishing out racist trash and reflects a distorted and narrow view of Chinese philosophy. Confucian values are just one of many philosophical traditions in China. Another philsophical tradition in China is against the accumulation of material wealth. The silly Benigno hasn’t heard of the Buddhists at all. Buddhism spread throughout northern Asia via China! Zen Buddhism which we think is Japanese is really Chinese. What does Zen teach?
The silly and vacuous Benigno hasn’t heard of the Falun gong whose “heresy” is against Deng Xiao Ping’s get rich quick materialism.
There is terribly something amiss in Benigno’s Australian existence. None of the Australian values of multicultural sensitivity has ever rubbed into him.
Blackshama. We, who are
not educated in Philosophy, or other exclusive studies cannot
understand what you are saying. You will help people by
writing in simple, clear, understandable English.
Write Parables, if you can. Jesus Christ did it to reach the
“masa”…
I’ve been wondering about that: If the Chinese have Confucian values and philisophical traditions that deny them the accumulation of wealth like you say so, then how do you explain present Chinese wealth (not just in the mainland, but practically anywhere they decide to live) in relation to compliance to tradition and values that you mentioned?
Are you saying Chinese material wealth today is imaginary and fabricated, just figments of everyone’s imagination?
Or are you saying that the Chinese routinely spit at their long-held wealth-denying (supposedly) values for material plenty? How do you explain what’s going on?
Pray tell how what you say about material wealth denial and tremendous economic success of the Chinese coexist today, if you’d care to show you are not a tall poppy yourself.
The Chinese simply rediscovered their business mindset
and acumen. Remember the Silk Trade ? In ancient
time, they monopolized the Silk Trade. The Silkworm
industry was protected. Anybody exposing it to the
outside world; or to the Barbarians; as they called
it was put ot death.
Nice try Hyden, but that doesn’t answer how Blackshama’s assertions hold any truth in them. Let’s let him explain himself. (Thanks anyway.)
@Filo you miss the point completely. It is too simplistic to say that the Chinese are all for material gain. If that was so then why did socialism take root under Mao until Deng threw it all away?
There are other strains in Chinese culture that need to be considered.
Besides you must be looking only at the overseas Chinese or the ones on the coast. What about the Chinese in Xinjiang?
Not at all Blackshama. Quite the opposite. I never said the Chinese are all for material gain in all of history, which contradicts the whys and the hows of China’s embracing Mao’s communism.
You can’t argue using the Maoist ways (that we both know have been discarded by the Chinese since 1976 in favor of reversing them under Deng) if they no longer apply now. We’re talking about NOW. They’ve seen the flaws in Mao’s economics so that’s out the window.
Explain the NOW, and tell us how these wealth-denying philosophies pervade in light of the wealth NOW.
And no, I wasn’t referring only to the Chinese overseas.
You could, by shooting from the hip, merely look at the pollution from urban growth and surge of new automobile owners in China to dispute your claim. So, no, I wasn’t referring to the Chinese overseas only.
And what about the Chinese in Xinjiang? You tell us. How does your previous explanation describe their economic situation better than the ethnic tensions present?
blackshama:
if self-reliant was defined as the ability to survive – to breath, eat, and poo – everyone is self-reliant.
however, if self-reliance is defined as “Free from the influence, guidance, or control of others: independent, self-contained, self-sufficient” – then, the fact that you have vote farms – of tenants and homeless people who live on an an influence peddler or local powerbroker’s property, or who go to a certain church who will just wait for the guidance of the “leaders”/”padrinos” / “ninongs” to determine who they should vote for – then maybe we should stick a needle laced with poppie juice into our jugulars to keep on pretending and living the hallucination of Filipinos as self-reliant.
Filipinos don’t really value self-sufficiency. They prefer having someone else work their asses off to feed them. Pag-uwi ng nagtatrabaho, sabihin ng kasambahay, “Oy, bawal kumain kang mag-isa, pakainin niyo kami!” See that in families where ten depend on the salary of one. I’m in a household of ten, and am one of only three who actually work. :(
to ChinoF: Here is a cut-and-paste from Jose Rizal : “The Indolence of the Filipino”, September 1890.
As for what is happening to Pinoys-in-Pinas, here’s an update:
http://manilatimes.net/national/2009/sept/09/yehey/top_stories/20090909top1.html
The Philippines’ ranking as a competitive economy fell 16 notches over the last year. . . . according to the latest World Economic Forum (WEF) report. In its Global Competitiveness Index 2009-2010 . . . the Philippines ranked 87th with an index of 3.9 among 133 countries surveyed. . . . .
The Philippines was still lagging behind many of its neighbors, including Malaysia, which ranked 24th; Thailand, 36th; Indonesia, 54th; and Vietnam, 75th.
Only the esteemed you could take the unseemly Singson episode and morph it into a thoughtful commentary on the essential Filipino character. Under the assumption that you consider these traits unattractive (wonder how I got that idea), I offer to convert them to positive principles of character that, using your tools, all right-thinking Filipinos should choose to emulate:
1) I wanna get rich, baby. Boy, do I.
2) I’m gonna do things better than you, dude. You’re toast.
3) I’ll accept responsibility when I mess up. Screw the losing face thing.
Hmmmm, you may be on to something here . . . Filipinos as, ummmm . . .ambitious, competitive and personally responsible.
Can you do something about the rather blind attitude toward right and wrong that drives all the corruption, kidnappings, murders, trash-tossing, conniving government fees, and managerial shortcuts that drive foreign investors to Viet Nam, ferries under water and airplanes off the ends of runways?
It is best if people get rich of their own diligence, ingenuity and hard work, not by ripping off others.
Joe
Yep
@ Phil Manila: I did consider ningas cogon (NG) as another element in our What-”the-Filipino”-stands-for framework. However, it can be argued that NG is really an outcome of bahala na (BN) and pwede na yan (PNY) in the sense that there are many undertakings in the Philippines that are conceived and then initiated with nothing more than BN fuelling them. And then when a certain level of (often mediocre) results are achieved, the PNY attitude then takes hold. Overall result then of those said initiatives then come within the scope of the NG domain. So NG is more a function of PNY and BN, thus:
NG = BN + PNY
Perhaps the three elements BN, PNY and Impunity could be thought of as pillars that hold up compound concepts such as NG that are composite results of, in this case, BN and PNY. I’m tempted put NG at the top of the framework which then becomes shaped like a pyramid (and therefore transformed from a 2-D to a 3-D framework) with BN, PNY, and Impunity at its base propping it up. However I still have to think about how exactly Impunity would be a factor in NG.
I think Impunity comes into the picture when we see how our renowned culture of impunity just about saps any effort on the part of people who actually think to implement any of their well-thought-out ideas.
Hey, I think we’ve got something going here! A 3-D pyramidical framework of Pinoy dysfunction that brilliantly answers the question What does “the Filipino” stand for?
Stay tuned! Another brilliant piece of intellectual construct on the drawing board, folks…
@ Joe America, thanks. I never fail to imagine how so easy it is to be proud to be American. It is easy because there is so much concrete and collective achievement to be proud of. Since things need to be pointed out point-blank to most Pinoys, I’ll state the obvious (which I left unsaid in the above piece):
The moon shot and the D-Day landing were American-led achievements.
Someone in NASA said when asked why Americans were aiming for the moon:
Great nations do great things.
And General Patton said this while pepping up the troops for an assault (not necessarily one that occured in D-Day though, and pardon some minor literal/technical inaccuracies):
No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other dumb bastard die for his.
There is so much futile poetry written that so excrutiatingly attempts to prop up Pinoy pride. But when achievement robustly underpins one’s sense of nationhood, you only need a handful of irreverent words to say it all.
Working back, belief in an imaginary friend is in the back of the three phrases.
False analogy, Mr. “Non-Malignant”.
The Philippines is NOT a person any more than an anthill is an ant.
This thing of attributing human individual behaviour to an entire country, state, or society is no more than a quaint mind trick that appeals to vacuous sensibilities raised on romantic — but empty — notions of what nationhood means; stuff that the less cluey of our lot never fail to fall for.
Unless we truly are able to say — with sustainable pride — what “the Filipino” stands for you will forever be latching on to such vacuous notions of what “the Philippines” is all about.
Tough luck. :-D
people are physical assets and assets can be the best resource for growth. It’s not the resources that’re lacking but of POOR GOVERNANCE to improve and nurture resources. Vote for estrada. :)
Hey, leytenian,
where ya been,
I been in Carigara and now ensconced on Biliran,
vote for estrada indeed
beer and tuba for all
Joe
Joe,
hahaha, yeah beer and tuba for all. I am stucked in Paris, waiting for my flight to Prague. I’m on my holiday. My family is from the Southern part of Leyte. We speak Bisaya..Carigara , I think speaks waray waray.
what are you doing there? business, pleasure or both?
will be back next week to annoy people here at FV as usual. LOL ..anything new or interesting people here?
when does a pinoy become interesting anyway? vote for Mar Roxas:)
benign0 does not sound like a self-flagellant or dysfunctional at all. He is merely saying the truth so it can be changed for the better.
hehehe, the sound of the innocent.
You have written a great article but you are missing something. If you are truly a Pinoy then you are those three things that describe you. You describe yourself as someone who takes impunity, bahala na, pwede na yan in stride. That being said, will you write an article about changing that Filipino Ways into something more fruitful or will you allow yourself to be just like that and write this article without caring much since these traits define you?
Will you declare you are indeed such person with these traits or do you think you do not have these characteristics?
You write this article, where do you belong?
“When things go wrong – it is because it is “God’s will””
u mis-understand the concept of Gods will. god does not will us ill.
when things go wrong, people of faith pray/discern what the will of god is.
it is that simple.
This is exactly what Benign0 is trying to display! Thanks to you GabbyD – you are a living example.
huh? what do u mean?
what is B0 trying to display?
all i said was it is NOT true that when things go wrong, its god’s will.
simply because god does not wish ill on people.
when we manage and govern people, we don’t use the the negative of its culture and the vacuousness of its people as an EXCUSE… We manage the negatives to become positive. That’s the very basic concept of PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION and MANAGEMENT.
Also, God’s will is at interpersonal level. When people go to work, we use our education, skills and experience to manage people by providing a JUST and FAIR service. It has nothing to do with God’s will. Action speaks louder than words. The current political team are all words with no action.
This country’s management style is backward. $ 20,000 dollars of dinner in New York City is equivalent to the 1000 shoes that Imelda Marcos has in terms of branding our people. Many of our leaders were and are an embarrassment to the people.
I believe that Benigno is targeting the political actors as being vacuous who rely on God’s will and who believe that money is power to buy the people. Meaning, these people are not fit to be in office. These are the kind of people that will take this country into another decade of poverty. Let’s follow the rule of law. We need descent lawyers that can protect and work for the common people.
hay naku….
i mean we need god lawyers to remove all of them by law…