I have never really been a big fan of boxing and, while I support
Pacquiao during his fights, I’m not really all that crazy about him.
After all, it’s supposed to be a game. Victory or defeat is
never certain and it can only be decided once the fight is over. Anyway,
while I might not be all that much of a boxing fan, I heard something
from one of the Rocky films (I forget which) that really inspires me to this day. Here it is just in case you guys never heard it:
“I’m
gonna tell you something you already know; the world ain’t all sunshine
and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how
tough you are, it’ll beat you to your knees and keep you there
permanently if you let it. You, me, nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.
But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get
hit and still keep moving forward. It’s about how much you can take and
still keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now if you know
what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth but you gotta be
willing to take the hits and not pointing fingers saying you’re not
where you want to be because of him or her or anybody. Cowards do that
and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!”
Look guys, let’s make things perfectly clear here. Life isn’t easy
and it never will be. Life isn’t fair and that’s another thing you just
have to learn to live with. You can’t win all the time and, sooner or
later, life will bring you down. One way or another, you’re going to
fall to your knees. Life will make you cry and bleed for all your worth.
But things don’t have to end there. Remember that when life brings you
down, you still have to get up. You have to stand up again and move on.
If you really want to get anywhere, you have to struggle to your feet
and keep fighting.
What’s sad is that for the common Filipino, things that are often
difficult but rewarding are often overlooked in favor of things that are
easy. As I have stated many times in many previous articles, many
Pinoys associate the word “good” with what is “easy” or “convenient”.
It’s notable that so many Filipinos fall for scams but are not willing
to admit to the fact that they allowed themselves to be fooled and
victimized by criminals. Take for instance the fact that the political
scumbags that are in power today are all too often the result of our own
less-informed and less inclined to thinking kababayans voting them into power.
As mentioned in my previous article, the inability of many Filipinos
to see beyond what is black and white is one of the primary reasons a
lot of our less educated brethren are unable to decide properly on who
to vote for. As it is, choices involving permanent positive change is
never easy. To reach these goals, we must be willing to make sacrifices
and not just sit around and leave everything to just one person. What’s
worse is that when that one person finally fails or gives up, we blame
them and call them out on being lazy or dumb even if we’ve given them so
little to work with.
If we want positive changes in our lives, both as a people and as a
nation we first need to be willing to make difficult choices. Please
take note that the hallmark of maturity is the willingness to the right
thing even if it hurts. You do not expect to go into a battle and come
out unscathed. Somewhere along the way, you will be struck down and
forced on the ground. Unfortunately, instead of getting back up and
continuing the fight, here are some common Pinoy reactions:
“It’s Too Hard; I Can’t Win Anyway!”
This is why poverty is an ever-persisting problem in the Philippines.
So many people are unwilling to try again after getting defeated. It’s
sad to note that there are those who are willing to make sacrifices for
the good of all but everyone else just want to sit in the sidelines and
watch than to contribute to the effort.
While I have always been a fan of Dolphy films, I was somewhat
saddened by the message of some of them. In some of these films, he
plays the role of a poor man with a rich wife or daughter. While I like
the sense of acceptance found in these films, I will note that the
protagonist played by Dolphy never even thinks of improving himself or
his family. He is simply happy being poor and keeping his family poor.
This is how the media convinces people that being poor is a good thing.
This is how the impoverished are conditioned into simply accepting their
fates as the “poor” instead of pushing them to strive to better
themselves and their families.
“I Was Cheated!”
Ah, the victim card, just another of Filipinos’ favorite pastime.
While not as common as the one above, there are no shortage of people
who are willing to play the victim card either. People complain
constantly about the system being unfair to them without making any real
efforts to change things.
People allow themselves to be fooled by things like “easy money” and
“instant gratification” instead of going for something that will bring
about steady and positive changes. When asked who cheated them, there
are even those who go as far as to blame God, the universe or destiny
for screwing them over. Well, one can argue that bad things happen in
our lives from time to time but when bad things happen all the time, maybe it’s time that you made some adjustments.
“It Wasn’t My Fault!”
Like the victim card, the blame game is another ever reliable excuse
Filipinos like to use. Instead of accepting their own faults when they
fail, some will blame others for their troubles.
No one wants to take responsibility. No one wants to be them. In the end, no one wins and everybody loses. Is this really what we want for ourselves and our children?
As the quote above says, if we want to get anywhere, we should get up
and fight and not waste our time moping about what was and what could
have been. While justice and accountability are certainly important, let
us first work on the tasks at hand before we try shoving
responsibilities in each other’s face.
We Filipinos are in love with our pride yet we are all too often unable to live up to what’s expected of us…
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