yesterday i have read an article of an American who despised the Filipinos in all aspects. he stated that Filipinos call themselves Asians (Chinese, Japanese) although they are only related to them by location. he also stated that Filipinos has never made any contributions to the world...
this has really made me think.
Filipinos call themselves Asians because we really are Asians... should we call ourselves Europeans but are situated in a region called Asia? thats the main logic in there... i guess what he disagreed on is that some Filipinos call themselves Asians to get little credit of what our Asian big brothers (china and japan) have done in shaping this world. yes they have done many things and yes they are known. but looking back on history, Filipinos were never given the chance to succeed and excel in the world because of the colonizers. Spain colonized us for 300+ years and from then on, the country slept because they were only allowed to learn the "doctrina kristiana" and other religious books. then the Americans came and at least taught us things but the country has never got over the ways in the Spanish period. i guess if the Philippines was not colonized, or just had a better colonizer things would be better.
and now that the Philippines has stood on its feet, now that we have started to learn and adapt to new technologies and new ways, now that we are starting to move forward, some people from other countries look down on us. now that we are starting to move, foreigners criticize us. why not help us move out of this slump instead? why not stop laughing at this slowly emerging country and extend your hand instead? how can people in here grow and contribute to the world when even before we open our mouths to speak, our big brothers(developed countries) have already arrived at conclusions to turn us down?
with 3 colonizers (Spain, us, japan) and with globalization at its height, it is very hard to find what it is to be a Filipino. it is very hard to find what is truly authentic Filipino. that is just impossible. the Filipino race, is a mix of cultures. what the Philippines is today is a result of all the cultures mixed together. we surely have adapted and adopted well to all of these and have made it suitable for us. surely you can find traces of Spanish, American, or any other culture and no one is denying it. it doesn't mean that we are copy cats though. it only means that we adapt well.
i do admit that we Filipinos still lack many things but we are surely getting there. no culture is perfect. why not investigate your cultures first and you will definitely see loopholes in it.
this has really made me think.
Filipinos call themselves Asians because we really are Asians... should we call ourselves Europeans but are situated in a region called Asia? thats the main logic in there... i guess what he disagreed on is that some Filipinos call themselves Asians to get little credit of what our Asian big brothers (china and japan) have done in shaping this world. yes they have done many things and yes they are known. but looking back on history, Filipinos were never given the chance to succeed and excel in the world because of the colonizers. Spain colonized us for 300+ years and from then on, the country slept because they were only allowed to learn the "doctrina kristiana" and other religious books. then the Americans came and at least taught us things but the country has never got over the ways in the Spanish period. i guess if the Philippines was not colonized, or just had a better colonizer things would be better.
and now that the Philippines has stood on its feet, now that we have started to learn and adapt to new technologies and new ways, now that we are starting to move forward, some people from other countries look down on us. now that we are starting to move, foreigners criticize us. why not help us move out of this slump instead? why not stop laughing at this slowly emerging country and extend your hand instead? how can people in here grow and contribute to the world when even before we open our mouths to speak, our big brothers(developed countries) have already arrived at conclusions to turn us down?
with 3 colonizers (Spain, us, japan) and with globalization at its height, it is very hard to find what it is to be a Filipino. it is very hard to find what is truly authentic Filipino. that is just impossible. the Filipino race, is a mix of cultures. what the Philippines is today is a result of all the cultures mixed together. we surely have adapted and adopted well to all of these and have made it suitable for us. surely you can find traces of Spanish, American, or any other culture and no one is denying it. it doesn't mean that we are copy cats though. it only means that we adapt well.
i do admit that we Filipinos still lack many things but we are surely getting there. no culture is perfect. why not investigate your cultures first and you will definitely see loopholes in it.
