When was the last time Filipinos were united? Some will say it was as the Yellow horde back in the EDSA I People Power Revolution days that Filipinos truly got together to depose an “evil malevolent dictator”. But they weren’t, since those warm bodies that flooded EDSA’s lanes represented just a fraction of the total population back then.
Fast forward to the present reign of the king of the South. Has Duterte united us as a people? Well at least he has the backing of 80% of Filipinos who have given him their vote of confidence based on “surveys”. But then the Opposition will be quick to snap back with cries about how POLARIZED Philippine society has become with all the mudslinging between Yellow Cult and Pro-Admin camps on social media.
Will a Royal Family unite us like in Japan and England? Probably not. Look at Thailand – even with a king, they have been haunted with coup d’etats. Then there’s the problem of dynasties fighting to be that royal family. Let’s leave all that to the Showbiz dreamland guys to fight over on. Note: earning the Royal family distinction is easy in this country (if you have the money): Just throw a fancy wedding party and if the President attends – you’re royalty!
What’s strikingly unique about any semblance of Pinoy Unity is this: Filipinos always band and work together to fight AGAINST a common enemy. What unified the Yellows was FM the strongman; what unifies the Reds is the present government which hoards the power (unwilling to share).
Filipinos always need an enemy to unite themselves. If that enemy is a Filipino, then Filipinos will never be truly 100% united. So looking back at history, Filipinos were almost united when the enemy was an outside force: like in the Japanese occupation. Does that mean we need Mainland China to threaten us for us to get our act together towards 100% national unity?
Well probably “Filipino Unity”, like “Filipino intelligence”, is just another oxymoron of our ever increasingly complex social makeup as inhabitants of an archipelago of 7000+ islands each region of which has its own dialect.
Efforts to unite Filipinos:
- Imperialism: Get orders and budget from Imperial Manila
- Language: Force down Tagolog into everyone’s throat in school while having all watch Kris Aquino using Tagalog+Taglish+English on national TV
- Politics: Have Duterte win even the Yellow Cult camp to join forces with him under one Unity Coalition
- Athletic Supremacy: Have Paquiao fight another bout (that translates to fewer crimes too)
- Filipina Beauty: Fielding another half-breed? …works (almost) all the time.
It’s probably time for us to move on and mature as a people by ditching the tired old model of unity that the Yellows have been selling and brainwashing us all these years with… the unity born out of a common struggle against something. Look at Leni’s rhetoric, trying to get people to unite against the return of a Marcos. Or listen to U.P. activists, trying to unite the people against the “fascist US-imperialistic Duterte regime”. Do we always need a bad guy to portray that we’re doing something good?
It’s time we shed off these childish notions of how to unite us as a nation of people under one flag.
Can we not unite to achieve technological achievements (like sending rockets to space)?
Can we not unite to help the poor out of their misery (not EJK, but something like building homes to clear out squatters)?
Can we not unite to … (fill in the blank)…
There are far more noble reasons for us to unite – It’s high-time we finally unite FOR something that leads to nation building not AGAINST something and end up destroying one another.
Let’s keep that line in the Zaxxun Creed ringing between our ears: “Unity is a Fortress!” But keep in mind: let’s also be careful to unite for the right reason… the Common Good.
PS: Thanks to Marius who brought up the topic in a recent post
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