After writing my previous article about Pinoy gamers, I have to ask the question what does “Pinoy Pride” even amount to? What exactly are we proud of? And even if there are, is that pride actually ours? Indeed, Fallen Angel in one of her older articles explains why she isn’t proud of being a Filipino and good ol’ Chino Fernandez in another of his works tells us that we should learn to lower our pride as it’s proven to be more than detrimental to us than beneficial. Sure, I suppose every country has a sense of pride but I must ask, is the sense of pride that Pinoys have something solid and noteworthy or is it just plain arrogance?
I mean heck, the Japanese have a sense of pride and this is seen in how they take honor very seriously and, when their shame is too great, sometimes even take their own lives. The Germans have a sense of pride and this is seen in how efficient they make themselves, their actions and their engineering projects such as the Autobahn which is considered a miracle of engineering. The pride of the British can be seen in their “stiff upper-lip” attitude and their willingness to take on challenges that are otherwise difficult or unsavory.
So just what are Pinoys so proud of? What does “Pinoy Pride” entail? Well, the problem here occurs when the pride we look for is external rather than internal. True pride, pride that is positive and beneficial should be sought within every individual rather than something we should look for beyond. For instance, from what is mentioned above, the Japanese sense of pride comes from a sense of responsibility, the German sense of pride comes from a dedication to their art and crafts while the British sense of pride comes from their dedication to duty and seeking adventure. However, one must ask where does “Pinoy Pride” come from?
Well, that’s what I’m going to discuss and why I think we have it all wrong…
We Take Pride In Successful Foreigners With Alleged Filipino Heritage
Okay, please put aside Lea Salonga, Manny Pacquiao and Pia Wurtzbach. Those three are more or less the exception to the rule after all. Besides, the last of the three didn’t even grow up in the Philippines to start with.
Anyway, all I will say is that why do so many of us go crazy over foreigners who make it big in the world and look for any traces of Filipino DNA in their genetic material. A good example of this is when a number of us make the claim that certain athletes, artists and musicians only make it big in the outside world because they have “Filipino Blood” in them, as if Filipinos are the most talented people in the world. We never even stop to think that these people won, not because they have “Filipino Blood” in them but because they choose to work hard to make something of themselves — a fact that is all too often lost to the lazy Filipino who just likes to make excuses on why he doesn’t bother to cultivate his own talents and sharpen his own skills.
What’s worse is that while we may cheer on foreigners with alleged Filipino blood in them, we just love to put down our fellow Filipinos who actually took the time to develop their own talents. Just take a look at common Filipino artists and thinkers are made fun of because of their dedication to their art and are called “baliw” or “halimaw”, doubly so if they aren’t graced with beautiful features that we all too often associate with European standards of beauty.
We Take Pride In The Philippines’ Natural Beauty That We Are So Busy Destroying
Now I do think the Philippines has some natural beauty to it. Unfortunately, it’s sad to note that a lot of us don’t seem to care one bit about preserving it. The natural beauty of the Philippines and its natural resources aren’t going to do squat for us if we can’t preserve it and allow the following generations to benefit from them.
Yes Boracay might still be a great tourist spot. However now, just like Baguio, it’s now becoming polluted due to the constant littering of tourists who go there. True, some of said littering tourists are foreigners but that doesn’t mean we Filipino citizens have any right to further ruin the beauty of our country. On the contrary, I think we should set the standards as local tourists and show foreigners that we love and care about our environment so that they too will find it in themselves to respect the beauty of the Philippines and not litter.
Please people, what beauty will our country have left when we go about destroying like no tomorrow?
We Take Pride In Our Alleged “Wholesomeness” And “Hospitality” That Are Contrary With Our Typical Behavior
As I mentioned in my article about Pinoy gamers, we like to scream “Pinoy Pride” when one of us is lauded in another country for being skilled, beautiful or just a plain model employee abroad. However, relatively few of us bother at all to make something of ourselves. While another Pinoy abroad might be considered nice or efficient, a lot of us are simply content with our rudeness towards each other and our constant bickering. While we take pride in the apparent good traits of fellow Filipinos in other countries, many of us stick to being crass and insulting to one another and even to foreigners we don’t like or don’t find beautiful. Note for instance how many of us went to great lengths at insulting the Iranian team when they defeated our team in FIBA.
Ladies and gentlemen, don’t you think that in order for other nationalities to respect us, don’t you think we should at least make an effort to make ourselves a respectable people first?
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“National Pride” is a collective effort and, in order for the common Filipino to have something to be proud of, we should all lend a hand in making our country safer, better and more beautiful place for our following generations and those who will choose to visit us…
http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2016/01/exactly-pinoys-proud/
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