The rise of the Filipino noble
Earlier today over breakfast I was discussing with a friend this documentary I saw last night on Discovery about Kung Fu masters. One of these martial artists was the son of shop keepers – middle class folk. He was sent to Kung Fu school when he was 13 or so and, because of the training, he was able to go home only after several years. His parents were very supportive of their son doing Kung Fu even if he had to be away from home for a very long time.
My friend and I started comparing this with typical Filipino parents who will probably say ‘Anak, ‘wag ka na lang pumunta kasi mapapalayo ka sa amin. Baka mapilayan ka pa at mamatay‘ (“Child, please do not go as you will be so far away from us. You might end up getting hurt or even getting killed out there.”). Consider this in light of, the question we all ask:
Why is there a culture of mediocrity in this society?
In the middle of chewing a mouthful of pan de sal, we realized that the difference between the Filipino and the Chinese is the lack of aristocratic characteristics. Generally, Pinoys do not strive for more and do not place a high value on noble pursuits like intellectual ability unless it contributes to their survival, e.g. ‘Matalino anak natin. Siya ang pag-asa ng pamilya para makaahon tayo sa kahirapan‘ (“Our child is smart. She will be our family’s hope for our extrication from poverty”). We figured perhaps this has something to do with our history and the fact that the foreign masters have annihilated our aristocrats and so made us all peasants. Unlike the Chinese who have maintained their traditional aristocratic virtues such as a value for intellectual learning, moral virtue, martial arts, etc. Pinoys have maintained only the traditional peasant virtues for surviving the harsh world. Hence we have become mediocre.
Think about it. At first we thought that Pinoy mediocrity is due to our herd mentality; but if everyone read Plato instead of watching Wowowee, then this herd mentality can work to our advantage. We think Pinoy mediocrity is due to the death of the aristocracy. The contemporary Chinese, after achieving economic stability and so have fulfilled the lower needs in Maslow’s hierarchy will then strive to achieve the higher needs. They are aware and can grasp the existence of goals that are higher than physical needs or mere survival because of the aristocratic values that exist in their society. Furthermore, since their society values such things, their pursuits are encouraged and rewarded.
In comparison, the Filipino stops after achieving a stable life. They don’t want to achieve beyond it. They say, ‘Mababaw lang ang kaligayahan natin‘ (“our aspirations are simple”). I think this is characteristic of peasants. I have nothing against peasants, but if historically a peasant is someone who works the land, and nature is fickle-minded, this person will consider survival to be most important. Of course, peasants may become rich enough to have stable incomes and they can be more than peasants and so lose their inherent peasant-ness even if they still work the land. However, due to the injustice of our former foreign masters, Pinoys have remained the typical peasant — a victim of unjust landlords. They automatically don’t want to aspire beyond survival because they automatically think they are powerless. It is easier that way and nobody dies or experiences difficulties, so the thinking goes. This is the ‘wisdom’ they pass on to their children.
Now if we think about the nature of the human intellect, we can roughly group people into three categories: (1) idiots, (2) people who can improve on their own, and (3) people who need guidance. The first we dismiss, the second can take care of themselves and the third needs some good teachers. Perhaps what has happened to the Pinoy is there are too many of the first and third compared to the second allowing for the flawed peasant ‘wisdom’ to be stronger than the aristocratic wisdom of rising from mediocrity. Looking now at cultures which encourage progress, the first group will also be dismissed, the second will end up as supreme genuises and the third will be above average. This is a better situation compared to the majority being mediocre and those who strive upwards being admonished with ‘Tanga. Wag ka na magpakahirap. Madali lang ang buhay kapag mababaw ang kaligayahan mo‘ (“Don’t be stupid and try too hard. Life is easier if you simply aim low”).
If this is correct, then I suppose one way of articulating the goal of the Get Realists is to say that we want to destroy the peasant mediocrity. Now I can get to my actual point. (You will forgive my formal academic way of writing; but this ensures clarity of all the points.)
If my description of the three groups mentioned above is correct, then I think the insulting air (I mean, of course, from the point of view of the typical Pinoy reader) of Anti-Pinoy will work against its goals unless we are only trying to reach those of the second group. As I have said, the idiots we need to dismiss and the second group don’t really need us (though not in the real sense of need). We are trying to reach the third group to gain more influence crucial in a democratic setting. I think if a person of the third group reads our posts, s/he may think ‘Ano ba yan? Bakit ang negative?‘ (“What’s up with this stuff?! So negative!”) or something like this.
Now I recall the Anti-Pinoy saying that a good coach will not coddle players and give them hot chocolate. The coach will say ‘Tang ina n’yo! Mga utot ba kayo? Get out there and give it your all. I don’t care if you die. Just do it!’ or something like this. However, if you say this to someone who is not yet on the team, you will probably be punched in the face. A ‘Tang ina mo!‘ will be responded with a ‘Tang ina mo!‘
Also consider how the military gains recruits. Recruiters appeal to the citizen’s sense of honor, duty, patriotism, desire for excellence, etc. They don’t say as a soldier you get to be screamed at and have to clean toilets. That comes after coming on board — when they will be able to withstand being screamed at because it’s all part of the quest for honor.
Perhaps it will be better to encourage people to think as we do by appealing to their desire for honor. Instead of saying Filipinos are idiots or we are anti-pinoy, we say we are pro-Pinoy Aristocrat (or something more catchy than this). The message becomes positive and heartwarming. It becomes like a pep rally. You get a high out of it. Have you ever experienced that kind of high? Whenever I feel like doing something evil, I read Plato’s ideas on human excellence and get that high; and I end up doing something noble instead of evil. When you watch the movie 300 with Leonidas butchering Persians, it makes you want to be a soldier as well – or at least makes you want to work out more to get chiseled abs. If we can get people to feel that sort of high, then I think they will likely respond positively and hopefully they will become one of us despite the difficulties. They deal with the difficulties because they are hooked with that high feeling – that feeling of pursuing what is honorable, superior, and noble.
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I’m not sure people have a desire for honor to appeal to, or at least most of them don’t. Individualism is neither rewarded nor appreciated here, and that, after all, is at the root of the concept of honor — the personal conception and assessment of one’s own worth. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t there a tidy Tagalog slur for one or the act of one who “shows up” his peers? (Not being my normal language, the word escapes me now) In a society in which ‘honor’ is only defined by comparisons, the lowest common denominator becomes the standard.
What you’re proposing, in a sense, is that we sugar-coat the message. And there’s nothing really wrong with that, with approaching it from a positive spin, except that there’s no escaping “the being yelled at and cleaning toilets” part of the job. Given the choice between possibly offending someone up front or more deeply offending them later when they feel they’ve been lied to because I left out the part about hard work, sacrifice, and constantly challenging oneself, my sense of honor dictates that I tell them how it is from the get-go. The people in the third group who really have the capacity to be “taught” will catch on — they may not like what they’re hearing, but it will bug them enough to ask questions or challenge it.
I said third group just then, but really, there is no second group. Nobody, not even the best of us, can ever improve entirely on his own — we all need teachers. And the best ones are always the ones that tell you “you can do better than this”. That, unfortunately, is the message the teeming millions have a hard time swallowing no matter how nicely you put it, and yet it’s the only message there is to give.
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There seems to be three actors here:
1 – the son being sent to school
2- the parents who make the decision to send the child to school
3 – the society to which the family belongs – and its priorities.
These three actors can be further differentiated based on current behavior.
What accounts for such behavior can be deduced from motivation. Motivation, in turn, is made up of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, plus the hygiene factors (do not motivate if present, but if absent – will demotivate).
Intrinsic motivation comes from rewards inherent to a task or activity itself – the enjoyment of a puzzle or the love of playing. This form of motivation has been studied by social and educational psychologists since the early 1970s. Research has found that it is usually associated with high educational achievement and enjoyment by students. Intrinsic motivation has been explained by Fritz Heider’s attribution theory, Bandura’s work on self-efficacy, [2] and Ryan and Deci’s cognitive evaluation theory. Students are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:
* attribute their educational results to internal factors that they can control (e.g. the amount of effort they put in),
* believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i.e. the results are not determined by luck),
* are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good grades.
Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the performer. Money is the most obvious example, but coercion and threat of punishment are also common extrinsic motivations.
In sports, the crowd may cheer on the performer, which may motivate him or her to do well. Trophies are also extrinsic incentives. Competition is in general extrinsic because it encourages the performer to win and beat others, not to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the activity.
Social psychological research has indicated that extrinsic rewards can lead to over justification and a subsequent reduction in intrinsic motivation. In one study demonstrating this effect, children who expected to be (and were) rewarded with a ribbon and a gold star for drawing pictures spent less time playing with the drawing materials in subsequent observations than children who were assigned to an unexpected reward condition and to children who received no extrinsic reward
Given that a large number of Filipinos are functionally illiterate despite the high literacy points to extrinsic motivators as the main method for driving people towards more positive goals.
The mix of how motivators dominate at different instances of the son, parent, and society show how perceived productive behavior is reinforced or negated.
Behavior modification is the process of using empirically demonstrated behavior change techniques to improve behavior, such as altering an individual’s behaviors and reactions to stimuli through positive and negative reinforcement of adaptive behavior and/or the reduction of maladaptive behavior through punishment and/or therapy.
The experimental tradition in clinical psychology used it to refer to psychotherapeutic techniques derived from empirical research. It has since come to refer mainly to techniques for increasing adaptive behavior through reinforcement and decreasing maladaptive behavior through punishment (with emphasis on the former).
The present state will continue unless the behaviors to be changed are understood within a specific context. The process of understanding behavior in context is called functional behavioral assessment.] Therefore, a functional behavioral assessment is needed before performing behavior modification. One of the most simple yet effective methods of functional behavioral assessment is called the “ABC” approach, where observations are made on Antecedents, Behaviors, and Consequences. In other words, “What comes directly before the behavior?”, “What does the behavior look like?”, and “What comes directly after the behavior?” Once enough observations are made, the data are analyzed and patterns are identified. If there are consistent antecedents and/or consequences, then an intervention should target them in order to increase or decrease the target behavior.
One way of giving positive reinforcement in behavior modification is in providing compliments, approval, encouragement, and affirmation; a ratio of five compliments for every one complaint is generally seen as being effective in altering behavior in a desired manner
In Negative Reinforcement a particular behavior is strengthened by the consequence of the stopping or avoiding of a negative condition. Negative Reinforcement is often confused with Punishment. They are very different, however. Punishment, on the other hand, weakens a behavior because a negative condition is introduced or experienced as a consequence of the behavior.
The beef lies here -most Pinoys consider Negative Reinforcement as Punishment. They think they are being punished when told to stop a negative behavior and become resentful.
We need to call a spade a spade – negative behavior is negative behavior, but it does not have to be permanent. The thing is, most Pinoys consider the negative behavior (i.e. mañana habit) as part of “Filipino-ness” – and stopping such negative behavior is “Anti-Pinoy”. Perverted cultural values that have already been identified as negative are still being practiced – a matter of cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The “ideas” or “cognitions” in question may include attitudes and beliefs, the awareness of one’s behavior, and facts. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, or by justifying or rationalizing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors
[Reply]
http://jethernandez.multiply.com/reviews/item/108
The study of culture is like the analysis the forest and the trees. “It is not just about the systems or just about the individuals but it is about when people participate in social systems. It is not just about the forest or the trees it is about both together” (http://contextualbiblicalleadership.blogspot.com/2008/10/forest-and-trees.html).
My opinion is that before we define or analyze what Filipino culture is we should define first the basic demographic data. 92,000,000 Filipinos are living in 7,107 islands. 11% of the total population or 11 million labor force are deployed worldwide. 28.1% of Filipinos are Tagalog, 13.1% Cebuano, 9% Ilocano, 7.6% Bisaya/Binisaya, 7.5% Hiligaynon Ilonggo, 6% Bikol, 3.4% Waray, and 25.3% are classified under other minor dialects. 80% are Catholics 10% belongs to other Christian denominations, between 5% to 10% are Muslims. The archipelago is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. These are divided into 17 regions, 80 provinces, 120 cities, 1,511 municipalities and 42,008 barangays. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines).
Therefore… there is no homogeneity. We cannot conclude that the behavior and attitude of a single family unit in the squatter area is applicable to a society that is divided 7,107 times. The sociological perspective of Randy David as published in the papers will always be a fallacy… why? His essays/articles contextually define that the Filipino has a homogeneous behavior…. the filipino is this… kabayong buntis… the filipino is that… kabayong bundat. Considering the mobility factor of each labor unit where it is always influenced by income opportunity, Metro-Manila is the worst converging area of Pinoys from different localities… sa kapitbahay ko merong Bikolano na nag asawa ng Ilokano. Isang magastos at isang kuripot. Lalo na yung taga Albay… I’ll buy this… I’ll buy that. Mahabang talakayan ‘to kung sakasakali… Point is that to be scholarly and academic about what the collective Pinoy culture is… just look into the demography and geography… there is none, nil, nada…
[Reply]
Jet,
I think the homogeneity is to be found in the cultural consistency of reactive thinking or no thinking, fitting in rather than making waves, and power and self over common good. Individuals break out from this general mold, but the mold is so pronounced it is hard to avoid . . . anywhere.
Joe
[Reply]
jethernandez Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Hi dyo…
Ermita is not the Philippines… Philippines is not Ermita.
The prostitutes that you see roaming around Ermita is homogeneous in certain constructs… but they are not a representation of all the Filipina women. I cannot even conclude that the behavior or choice of all expatriate Caucasians that I know of who are consultants of World Bank, IMF, UNCTAD and ADB are homogeneous. Most of them or rather all of them have taken Filipina prostitute wives or companion who are not educated and their families, as you may define in socio-economic bs, live below poverty level. They’ve ended up not only scratching their balls but scratching their heads as well as their pockets. Them expats that I know living temporarily and permanently in Pinas are homogeneous in terms of constructs such as lust, exotic preference, skills and education.
What then is cultural consistency? What is your basis of such operational definition? Is it the tabloids? Ayn Rand?
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BenK Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 9:28 pm
I take significant exception to your description of homogenity, although perhaps that is an unavoidable result of your own experience. If that’s the case, you need to get out more and meet more of us.
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Joe America Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Jet,
I think the homogeneity you speak of is simply consistency of thought within your own head, whereby you ascribe generalized characteristics such as prostitution and ball busting to people who don’t deserve it. I think it is an unfortunate characterization, as it treads close to racist paintings of both white guys and the Filipinas who marry them.
Also, formal schooling should not be granted too much credit, I think, as there are many primary school dropouts who are sweating their days away diligently and honorably providing food for their families as their more educated country-mates piss away opportunities to build a productive society. Never before have so many well-schooled people done so little for the country they call home.
Joe
[Reply]
jethernandez Reply:
January 4th, 2010 at 2:01 am
In my head?
Prostitutuion tourists and the existence of sex tours catering to Japanese, European and other Caucasian tourists help to keep child prostitution alive in the Philippines. (End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT), “Scourge of Child Prostitution,” Sol. F. Juvida, InterPress Service, 12 October 1997)
==== http://pinoyexchange.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-298993.html
i am an american living in philippines since last 3 years. y is prostitution so rampant, accepted and normal for you guys? and surprisingly, girls seem to enjoy it. at least this is what i found when i interacted with the countless ones in malate, the ones looking for preys in greenbelt etc….. WHY?
http://www.yellohgirls.com/about.html
do u think she is just a creative filipino girl looking for westerners for dates for money? or some kinda slut? whateva, this is a nice read…
========================
i could go on copy and pasting the whole day to tell you that what is in my head has truth in it.
you’re still playing it safe Joe… saying that it’s a near racist remark… no i’m not a racist. i still have a regular beer sessions with most of these caucasian friends of mine and i’ve been telling them every so often that ERMITA is not the Philippines… Philippines is not Ermita…
the whole part of this “thing in my head” is not about degrading these Filipina prostititutes… the behaviour of these women have been influenced by poverty… no more no less. what adds insult to injury is that these women are being pimped by the Pinoy drivers of these expats… “showing them all the places to be” seems to be the value added function.
the other part of your over-reaction is “formal education”. on the aggregate ILLITERACY >>>> RESULTS TO >>>> POVERTY… if you have something against formal education… get some.
i don’t feel sorry for you if you’ve married one… be glad… you’re not only married to her… but the whole of her family… good for you.
Joe America Reply:
January 4th, 2010 at 5:41 am
Jet,
Good response. I’m sure there are some white guys who have married because of the whole package of love, and that the sex is just what all married people get and enjoy, white or otherwise.
Glad you sip with the white guys.
My wife is independent, placing our family’s well-being ahead of the extended family. She has about 18 aunts and uncles, a zillion cousins, and throw in the classmates, too. But they all know not to just “show up”, and they know never, never show up asking for $$ as the reason.
Education is important, and so is civic responsibility.
Joe
jethernandez Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 8:49 am
I was really looking for something substantial from you in terms of the operational definition of an American (a Caucasian or a white bloke… hehehe) of what a Filipino is. Demographics is important in population and sampling. It defines the respondents, key informants or the person under the microscope so to speak… unfortunately… what I’ve got is an over reaction… grrrrrrr…. almost calling me a racist!!! booo joe… booo… hehehehe… you owe me three bottles of san mig light for that!!! hehehehe…
if we’re talking about the citizens living in the archipelago called the Philippines… that can be the start of the “operational definition”… we cannot go on with our rhetorical arguments without defining things… it would just be a chicken and the egg argument.
Joe America Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Jet,
You are one of those rare people who would rather argue, for the enrichment of it, than blow steam and walk away. An extra san mig light for that . . . so my tab contains 1/3 case so far.
What is a Filipino? I wrote this some time ago, but, out of consideration for my status here as guest, kept it sealed in my hard drive. But you want it, you got it . . .
_______
My layman’s understanding of psychology says the emotional platform of a good many Filipinos is quite wobbly and could benefit from a week or five years at an institution skilled at rebuilding psyches. I came to this realization a while back after a loose comment slipped unannounced from my cluttered brain:
“As long as there is a robust market for products that make Filipino’s naturally beautiful brown skin ‘whiter’, we know that there are superficial and racist undertones to the inequality that is practiced here.”
In clarifying this remark, I added with no lack of garble:
“[White] is for social stature that denies who they really are, as if it were not good enough . . .”
So I take this basic unhappiness about being brown – a form of self-denigration – probably dragged into place during the Spanish and American occupational periods and sealed by 173 whitening cream TV ads daily, and link it to the extraordinary defensiveness, or onion skin reaction, that greets any criticism from an outsider.
And I conclude, whoa Nellie, we got insecurity here baby, tinged with anger, and a whole lot of it.
Then I tie it to the fundamental lack of care or consideration for how one person’s behavior affects others – trash tossing, pollution, loud karaoke playing all night – and say, wow, holy shock treatment, Batman. Insecure, hostile if provoked, and absolutely no conscience.
I have chosen to live in a country where much of the population has the emotional foundation of a psychopathic murderer.
Hmmm, now what can I do about those big knives my wife uses when carving up the baboy . . .
Joe
jethernandez Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 9:36 am
… fair enough Joe… on your definition… this makes me conclude that you’re a masochist… hehehe… in a town where i grew up… somewhere in Laguna… its citizens are either farmers or artisans or both. it is one of the three towns of the said province who produces vegetables for the consumption of national capital region. we claim that we have the best lambanog (coconut wine) in the universe. if one does not farm he/she either works as backyard craftsman making slippers or footwear; or selling these stuff at the town proper. we have seasonal crops like lanzones, durian, santol and rambutan…
the daily routine for most of the men is wake up in the morning at around 5:30… go to the boondocks-farm… work on the crops or get the tuba from the coconut tree (for lambanog)… get down from the boondocks at around 11… get drunk with lambanog while having lunch of dishes cooked in coconut milk (ginataan)… from tilapia, taro leaves, escargot… after the drinking spree… they go home and **** their wives and sleep… they are just simply happy with this routine until they’ve lived till 90 or a 100 years…
in the town proper you can see the main streets cluttered with footwear stores where most of the owners are either doctors or well educated folks marketing not only slippers but also food delicacies produced by the other citizens of the town… it has a superb italian restaurant owned by the husband of my lovely yummy former neighbor…
in economics joe, we call it factor endowment. the culture, or whatever you call it, is influenced by economic activities in a locality… point is that ERMITA is not the Philippines… Philippines is not ERMITA… The archipelago has about 120 cities, 1,511 municipalities and 42,008 barangays…. my town is just one of them… they are Filipinos and the citizens on the aggregate behaves differently than the rest…
PS
reserve the beer for the holy week… let’s go to pampanga and watch the stupid flips from the crazy cult called roman catholic cult whip their own stupid selves…
Joe America Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Jet,
Your description of daily routine is right in line with what I have experienced, courtesy of my wife and her family. Her dad wholesales tuba . . . and makes furniture from illegally harvested trees . . . her mom . . . well, she get around, in an entirely different province . . .
I love the idea of your party to watch the religious whip up a good frenzy,
maybe another time, another place, as I am rather ensconced here on Biliran . . .
Joe
benign0 Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 6:26 pm
What you describe above, Jet, seems to be a function more of economic condition. What Katierhoda is saying in her article is that once these economic conditions are overcome (as in a sustainable livelihood is acquired), culture then kicks in to become the determinant of whether people go on to build upon the stability/security they acquired or simply kick back and muddle along at mere basic survival.
Korea, Japan, Singapore, and even Germany also once had sprawling red light districts that catered to affluent expat communities, whether they be occupation forces or carpetbaggers swooping in to make a bit of money off “reconstruction”. Many Korean, Japanese, and German women aspired to marry a GI to extricate themselves from poverty. But the difference betweeh these societies and ours is that once a foothold on stability was acquired, they continued to build. In the case of our society, we sat back and spent.
It’s no different to what happens to OFW dollars. They stablise a family’s fortunes, but then surpluses are spent rather than re-invested astutely.
The desperation of prostitution is fundamentally economic in nature. But what separates the behaviours of people once the lower needs in Maslow’s hierarchy are met becomes a function of cultural differences.
[Reply]
jethernandez Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Social constructs or social entities such as government, media, academe, religious cults, markets and the environment shape the behavior of an individual labor unit. My point is that if we are not clear on the framework of the “trees and the forest” it would just be an argument of the chicken and the egg. We base our opinion on sensationalized news, rhetorical books authored by the likes of Abe Margallo and dumb editorials of de Quiros and Magno…. hehehehe…
[Reply]
A possible approach along these lines is to provide an ideal or exemplar (a proxy, if you will, to the ‘Filipino Noble’ that appears to be lacking in our society) that can be put forth to serve as a contrast to the current Pinoy archetype characterised by mediocrity.
In a way, the “Anti Pinoy” is already presented here as that exemplar. However for mass consumption, it needs to be a bit more visual — in kind of the same way that organised religion uses symbols and iconography, and our national heroes are immortalised and pushed into the public consciousness using monuments and images. The tagline should be this is what we are now (which requires a highlighting of all the unsavory traits that contribute to our chronic failure) and then this is what we could be (upon which we highlight said exemplar), followed by the challenge: what is your choice?
The value proposition probably needs to be made more palpable. In its current form, it is something ordinary Pinoys simply fail to grasp. What fills the void are our hare-brained celebrities, the appalling showbiz industry they represent, and so-called “heroes” like Efren Penaflorida and Manny Pacquiao. That’s because there is no concrete and stand-out alternative.
The Chinese had a very ancient meritocratic civil service regime and perhaps it is in seeing their rulers as wise and learned that ingrained the ethic of striving for excellence in their societies. Compared that to the way our politicians are — often fairly — reviled for their lack of substance and of any purpose that is higher than the banal politics they engage in.
Same could be said of societies with a tradition of having ruling classes of warriors (Japanese Shoguns, the German Teutonic tradition, and European knighthood etc.) that propagated martial ethics and protocols as having the “right stuff” as well. They forged aggressive cultures of military conquest and virulent nationalism. Of course we all know what extreme nationalism can result in (as Germany and Japan had demonstrated in World War II). Even China has a strong martial tradition and it is not above rattling its sabre every now and then. But it is quite evident that these societies with strong militaristic traditions are among the most powerful societies today. They acquired their power by the sword, but today they strive to channel that power towards becoming progressive and ethical societies.
In contrast the Philippines has never won anything by the sword, has never really achieved absolute success, and does not even strive seriously to be an ethical and just society even as it paints itself as a “victim” of those who won global domination by the sword.
At the end of the day, it is about our collective aspiration as a people. What do we want to be? What do we stand for?
[Reply]
jethernandez Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 6:42 pm
“At the end of the day, it is about our collective aspiration as a people. What do we want to be? What do we stand for?”
…. who are the WE? are you referring to the 80 percent dumb electorate? the 20 percent oligarchs who controls the cash flow and the land?
[Reply]
BenK Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 9:43 pm
I’d say the important thing is the we the rest of the world sees. The cultures that I am a part of (or more correctly, are a part of me), one of which is far older than those in the Philippines, have a hell of a time defining themselves — I can’t quite do it, and neither can anyone else I know. Yet the rest of the world has a pretty clear image of what an American or a Hungarian is, which, for the most part, we are satisfied with. Most of the rest of the world has a pretty clear image of what a Filipino is, too, and it’s not complimentary. One would think the people would aspire to change that; but of course, that is just a simple assumption.
[Reply]
benign0 Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 12:32 am
Our most likely audience is the latter, what you term “the 20 percent oligarchs who controls the cash flow and the land?”. They have the means — the resources and the influence — to set the trend and lead in steering our society to one of clarity as far as our identity and what defines us as a people is concerned. They own the information dissemination infrastructure of our land (the Media) and produce much of its content (those teleseryes and brain-dead movies). So if these elites really wanted to, they can make a difference simply by changing the sort of crap that they feed the masses through the awesome resources they control.
[Reply]
jethernandez Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 2:48 am
Amen… benign0… AMEN!!!! HALELUYa GESUS!!! BINGO… you drilled the last coffin on the nail… hehehehe…
They are the abled… but not the willing. These are the ones that need transformation to be the “able and willing” to implement changes. They control the government, media, markets and the religious cults. If we’re looking for NOBLE FILIPINOS… we should look into this defined population… the moneyed and the landed class…. if there are none… YOU EITHER KILL THEM… or EDUCATE THEM…
The Shoguns and the other Gentlemen of every race, creed and color of more developed countries (MDCs) has been able to define what is the common good… In the case of the US it started with “WE the PEOPLE…” the terms of engagement of every citizen followed to the letter and spirit… At this point the Pinoys of the whole archipelago of 7,107 islands further divided into 42,008 barangays are yet to see the collusion of NOBLE FILIPINOS (if there are any).
Homer Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 1:15 am
What happens then if these elites, so able and un-willing, refuse to change their ways?
I ask because I don’t see them coming to their senses.
I was watching a couple of documentaries on cable and I noticed how it comes naturally to the Japanese this desire to outdo their best, even after being hailed as experts. Separated only by a couple of hours, one program showed a Kendo master saying he still has much to improve on, and another program showed a 3-time Flash mental arithmetic champion expressing her intention to develop her skill further. This mindset seems unheard-of here. Sure, somebody might be able to name a few examples if he/she knows somebody, but it’s really not what Filipinos are known for. Sadly, we’re known for Pwede Na.
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Chino Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 8:17 am
I see it more like, “Magaling ka na ah, ano pa bang iaangat mo?/ You’re already good, what more is there to raise?” Filipinos believe that there is always a ceiling when superlatives are used to describe a person. The highest is the ceiling. They don’t believe that there can be something higher than the highest, which is what the Kendo master and math champion believe. We know it as, “you never stop learning,” but culturally, Filipinos really want to stop learning and laze it on the couch watching Wowowee, hehehe.
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It is true that most Filipinos have a different sense of honor, the sort which uses a low standard, but I’m not talking about them. I am talking about Filipinos who think differently from the herd, those who have a noble sense of human excellence not a vulgar one. It would be difficult to discuss what exactly is noble and vulgar, but I tend to follow the Platonic idea of excellence. A person who improves his intellect is superior than a person who only tries to improve the list of women he slept with. (Of course this is only from the top of my head. A better explanation and example may be given.) I don’t care about the inferior kind of people. Based on my experiences as a teacher, generally these people are hopeless. We should always tell people to do better, but if there are people who do not want to do better for various reasons. There are those who do not want to listen. In my 5 years of teaching college students, I encounter an average of 3 out of a class of 30 who really REALLY listen and think about the philosophical ideals I talk about.
However, there are those who will be genuinely struck by ideas of human excellence and virtue and philosophical ideals. These are the people who should become influential in our society and so influence the sort of values we uphold. Currently there are more inferior people than superior, but if the number of superior Filipinos rise, then hopefully they will teach their children, friends, etc. to be superior and these people will in turn spread the message, and so on. Some of the recipients of the message will probably only follow because everyone else does the same thing; but this is better than everyone following the typical Pinoy stupidities. Whatever people say about modern democracies, probably 50% or more of the citizens (depending on the society) will only think they have deliberated on their views but upon analysis are only following what everyone else is saying. For those of you who are obsessed with defending democracy, before you throw stones at me, I am not trying to insult democratic citizens. I am only saying that we ought to admit that most people do not think and we cannot not expect them to think just because we say they should. This would not be a problem if the influential citizens are superior individuals who will then be emulated by the rest.
I’m not saying we sugar-coat anything. I am saying we focus on the good and say this is worth all the trouble we have to go through. Instead of saying “You are an idiot and I’m going to kick you until you improve,” you say “Become superior and gain a flourishing life.” Of course, you can also say “You are an idiot and I’m going to kick you till you become superior and gain a flourishing life.” The point is, we give people an incentive – the chance to prove their nobility or the possibility to be noble. I say we focus on those who have the potential to be noble and forget about those who are more inclined to be ignoble.
About there not being a second group, yes perhaps we all need teachers; but there are people who may have the potential but fail because circumstances of their lives did not lead them to have good teachers. That is, their superiority is based on chance. Then there are those who can rise from the lowest circumstances by finding their own destinies. Say, even if they were repeatedly beaten down to follow the herd and remain mediocre, even if they are not approached by good teachers and are not given the opportunity to go to the good schools, they keep fighting their fate. They find ways even if they have to sacrifice a lot. I know several people who are constantly discouraged, whose ambitions are sabotaged, etc. but they keep finding ways. Perhaps this is a better description of the second group. Even without access to blogs like this, they will find ways to arrive at similar progressive ideas. Thus, we don’t really need to worry about these people. They can take care of themselves.
For the third group or those whose achievements depend on chance, we can help them by being encouraging them to rise from mediocrity. Of course, there is the chance of their not reading blogs like this and we cannot control that, but that these blogs exist is better than there not being any.
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Being privileged or rich does not necessarily mean one is noble although it would be easier given that one’s physical needs are met. The noble person is someone who seeks to be more than mediocre, who pursues ideals, who seeks to be an excellent human being. This is not an easy thing to do. Indeed, why create intelligent television shows when you can earn more money with stupid ones? Why pursue a law degree when you can just continue with a relatively good paying BPO job? Why go into politics and risk being murdered by your enemies when you can just live as a normal citizen and get to enjoy your old age? I have always believed that the mediocrity of people is understandable given the difficulty to be more than that; but this difficulty is what makes those who rise and become superior truly commendable.
I think the discussion on Filipino culture and the differences between Ilocanos and Bicolanos is irrelevant. I think if you try to search for the idea of nobility in Filipino culture, you will find none exists. Or if there is one, I will probably disagree on its being noble. My idea of nobility remains philosophical and so is not necessarily connected to any culture. Of course there will be specific examples for each culture, e.g. the idea of intellectual achievement in Chinese culture will be different from European culture. Also, some cultures may value the military person than the scholar. However, one thing is common with all of them – they are noble because they seek to be more than the ordinary, mediocre human being who only seeks to survive. They are noble because they seek something greater than themselves. Thus, the Filipino noble – that is, the Filipino citizen who identifies with this country and seeks what is good for the whole country regardless whether s/he is Bicolano, Ilocano, or even American born, must seek whatever it is that is greater than him/herself. Given our history, we will probably not have a cultural idea of nobility like the other older cultures; but this does not mean that the idea of a Filipino noble is not possible.
An idea of Filipino nobility currently does not exist, but we can create it. Many of us here are probably disliked by our typical Filipino minded relatives because we do not kiss ass just because everybody does, we do not agree with the need to makisama if we think what is being done is wrong, etc. but this doesn’t mean we are not Filipino. Is being Filipino about being part of a culture? I tend to prefer Western flavors and people who know me will say I will prefer to eat a bowl of authentic Italian pasta while wrinkling my nose at the sweet tasting Pinoy spaghetti. I disagree with the tradition of mano and pamamanhikan. I am never going to kiss ass to my boyfriend’s relatives who think all future in-laws ought to kiss their asses to be accepted. Does this mean I am not Filipino? Perhaps culturally speaking I am not 100% Filipino. However, I think we ought to stop thinking of Filipinos as individuals who are part of a culturally homogeneous community – hence our difficulty with the problem of “Who is the real Filipino ?” and start thinking of Filipinos as CITIZENS of the Philippines. An American may still be culturally an American, but if this person identifies as a citizen of the Philippines and who seeks the proress of this state , then I think this person is a Filipino. If this American tries to introduce what some may consider American values to Filipino society with the intention of improving it, then we ought not to cry out in disgust that this foreigner is destroying our Filipino culture. Further, socio-economic situations should not matter. Someone from the squatters’ area can still be noble albeit it will be more difficult for him/her than for a rich person. I must say, I live in a lower middle class neighborhood and people here make fun of me and call me weird. They give me so much trouble that it is easier for me to use an pseudonym – not because I am scared, but because it’s just easier this way. There is no one saying “Hoy! Ano na namang kawirdohan yang sinasabi mo sa blog mo?” I’m not giving in to their pressure to be mababaw ang kaligayahan.
Admittedly however, culture will be very influential in all matters; but we ought to be able to change our culture if this means progress. This is similar to evolution, i.e. the world is changing and the species which adapt will survive while the others will be extinct.
Despite the typical Filipino not being very noble, I think we have very good examples of Filipino nobles from history. Unless you consider the value of his achievements to be debatable, Rizal may be considered a Filipino noble because he did not choose the easy way out and even sacrificed the well-being of his family to fight injustice. Looking around us, there are many people who, despite difficulty and the pressure to be mediocre, seek things which are greater than themselves – the call center agent who is also a struggling theater actor because he wants to contribute to Filipino art even if it is easier to just enjoy his free time, the BPO employee who decides to take up law and enter politics because he wants to fight injustice even if everyone discourages him from doing so because he might get killed, and so on. That said, there are noble people who fail in their pursuits, but that doesn’t mean they were not noble.
Benigno posted what was originally a personal email to him from me. I should have rewritten my ideas in a clearer way that will make them more appropriate as a blog post instead of leaving the responsibility to Benigno. After all, these are my ideas. For this, I apologize.
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Joe America Reply:
January 3rd, 2010 at 11:19 pm
“If this American tries to introduce what some may consider American values to Filipino society with the intention of improving it, then we ought not to cry out in disgust that this foreigner is destroying our Filipino culture.”
I have never understood the sensitivity to my blatherings. My thoughts, offered to the onion skins, if the ideas don’t apply, ignore them. If they do apply, use them. I am trapped in a western mindset where corruption is not endemic, though it does exist, where streets are generally clean, although they are occasionally mean, where laws make the distinction between right and wrong, and are enforced, and where there is avid dedication to productivity through hard work and efficiency and good thinking. If that perspective turns you off, its no skin off my everthick hide. But don’t make me pretend there is no difference or try to make me think the Filipino way is the best way.
Thank you for the well-written wisdom.
Joe
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Chino Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 1:07 am
In the end, you can never really call true values Filipino or American or any other nationality. It’s universal; it’s ethics, and no matter where you apply it, it always rings true. It’s one and the same everywhere. When will the ethnocentrics realize this?
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I think this mediocrity is a result of being too family-oriented or how some filipino parents would rather keep their children home than let them explore. They always have a hard time letting go of their children ergo, the children will not grow up as independent individuals.
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Chino Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 1:15 am
This is similar to keeping things the way they want, or the way they know. Resistance to change can be seen here. Some parents also tend to love their children too much that they try to block suffering, although this suffering (which is sometimes just mere inconveniences) is needed for personal development. I heard someone call this the “culture of spoiling”.
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Chino Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 10:05 am
I was reminded of another thing. Have you seen families wherein the parents were dictators? You know, the parents choose what school their children would go to, the job they’d take, the person they’d marry and even the time they would wake up or go to the bathroom. And of course, not only parents. There are even bosses or even friends like this. This is where people like to be the dictators of others. Here’s another bad legacy from the authoritarian part of our culture. The opposite of the culture of spoiling is this culture of dictatorship. This is even reinforced by some cultural values of parents telling you, “don’t say anything, just follow” (I hate it when members of my family tell me that). So even if you are being struck in the back by a spiked mace or told to jump off a cliff, “just follow.” As a result, the products of this system lead to Filipinos become dependent or unable to assert themselves. They are not taught to be noble; they are instead taught to be the slave. This certainly leads to the “slave mentality” of the Filipino, and thus Filipino laborers have become a well-known export. Filipinos are discouraged from owning their own businesses or challenging conventions and traditions, because of this culture of dictatorship. It has to be replaced with a better culture, one that is well-thought out and leads to independent, forward-thinking children.
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Chino, I think that is an excellent, excellent observation. It strikes right at the heart of the lack of competitiveness and progress within the Philippines. If you look at the common trait that underlies the culture of corruption, it is the lack of individual accountability and honorable thinking. If you look at the common trait that underlies the suffocating family ties that impose limits rather than independence, it is a failure of schools and parents to nurture individual initiative and independence of thought and deed.
The background, of course, is poverty and a leadership that imposes its will by authoritative bludgeoning. However, those are just superficial excuses, as progressive countries are led by many who climbed off the mean streets and into the corporate suites or congressional offices. Usually, they were guided at an early age by a parent who understood the importance of individual skill and initiative, and a clear distinction between right and wrong.
Until young people start to step out, individually, independently, responsibly, bravely, the Philippines will remain a culture that traps all in a malaise of apathy and dependence. Parents and schools have a big responsibility here, as they must recognize the damage they are doing to children when they castrate their kids’ initiative by demanding fealty and lock-step obedience. They are nipping opportunity in the bud when they insist upon a morality of mindless obedience to authority that is often suspect, and fail to teach the morality of responsible individual choice and initiative.
Ambition, capability and integrity. Nobility.
Joe
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Chino Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 1:18 am
Thanks, Joe. I really see as a vital area of reform the values of Filipino families. Today, as I see them, the values are flawed, and under the lens of universal ethics, you can’t even call some of them values. Filipino family values emphasize rigidity and suppression of independence of thought. They do not encourage the Filipino to break out of the mold and be successful. Those who break out of their mold are most likely the ones who would be branded as “disobedient.” I notice that many success stories of Filipinos have them challenging conventions and norms, be it the gay comedian or the successful businessman.
I see the Filipino values of today as the results of the Spanish friars’ manipulation of yesterday. They teach the children should be obedient to their parents, since the friars teach the parents to be subservient to their Spanish masters. Even if the Spanish masters are gone (well, most of them), the people still have this sense of teaching the children to be obedient to masters, even if there should be no more masters.
I really hope that the candidates of this year think about the flaws within our Filipino family values and try to rectify them.
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Homer Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 2:11 am
Hey Chino,
You hit the nail on the head re: the goddamned Spanish Friars. They are partly why we’re so screwed-up today. Those bastards used the “fear of God” to manipulate us…and you can still see that fear being used up to now. Did you ever wonder why the church never spoke well of Marilou Abaya’s Rizal film? And why it’s hardly ever shown on tv (if at all)? The Friars were the film’s main villains, and deservingly so! 300 years of that crock o’ s**t they shoved down our people’s throats will not be easy to eradicate. Anyone who tries automatically gets labeled as blasphemous and crazy if not anti-pinoy, hehe.
(Wait, what happened to my lurking status?)
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Chino Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 4:01 am
You’re right in one thing, Homer: the Spanish friars are still around. I once thought the Catholic church today is different from the Spanish era friars. I was wrong. They’re giving us pretty much the same bullcrap as before. Have you seen a priest’s retort against the conditions of the RH Bill? He said that teaching sex education to Grade 5 students is introducing them to pornography. Wish he knew that sex education is different from lust education. Another was that the ideal number of children for the Filipino family is five. Huh? Some families with one child already find it difficult to feed and school their child! And he says five is for everyone? Nice, we’ll starve the country this way. Also, the rising population is not a problem since it provides labor that goes abroad. That was a lame attempt to say that a problem is not actually a problem but a strength. Sorry, father, it was still a problem. And he’s even saying that it’s good for the children to leave the Philippines. Wow, nationalistic, aren’t they. Thus, this priest’s explanations infuriated me and made me even gladder I switched to a Protestant church.
Haha, lurk only when it pays, hehehe.
Homer Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 7:31 am
For all you know, that priest may have the hots for Santino.
Hypocrites….
Chino Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 8:31 am
Hey, no wonder the priest likes to keep our country’s birth rate astronomical… so he can have many little Santinos to prey on… nyahaha.
Joe America Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Chino,
I was re-reading this blog thread, as it contains a lot of important views. Somehow school uniforms popped up as symbolic (to me) of the cultural imposition of obedience to the “master”, and suppression of individual expression.
Now, on one hand, I like the uniforms, as there is a certain standard of neatness and modesty and school loyalty represented in the common dress. On the other hand, I dislike them immensely, as they impose financial strain on many, and the cumulative strain leads parents to say, “forget it”, my kid can just stay home and help with the fishing. In my view, pubic education should be completely free; drop the exam fees and uniform fees; tax the rich instead. Always always give to the kids; don’t take from them.
The fees are subservience to the master, aren’t they? If you can’t pony up, you are a “loser”; your kid is the sign that tells the community you can’t really afford school . . .
And, for sure, uniforms express subservience to the master. A kid does not even have to figure out what to wear today. A kid doesn’t have to figure out anything in a schooling method of rote learning. Just cite back the memorized lessons, not really think about anything outside the box, and subsist. Obedience and feeding back what the teacher has said gets the good grade. Sit at a desk and listen and recite but don’t think . . .
Thereby is born the apathy of subsistence and unchallenged obedience to the master. Kids don’t even know HOW to challenge, if they somehow wanted to. They don’t know how to WANT to challenge; it is not inside them. They are hammered into sameness and obedience year after year . . .
The other thing is, it would be hard to let go of the uniforms because they are so very FILIPINO. But you have to change to change . . . and life is not about “easy”, it is about growth and being productive . . .
Let kids learn to choose . . . and bear the risks . . . and gain the rewards of decisions done well . . .
Joe
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Chino Reply:
January 6th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
That’s an interesting point about uniforms. Yes, they’re symbols of subservience… or sometimes, just compliance. In contrast, Japan has uniformed students too, but their children seem to have a better sense of independence than ours. In the US, there’s a trend of schools introducing uniforms. Yet their children seem to be among the most independent (if not rebellious). In the end, the uniforms develop their symbolism according to the culture that uses them. Yet I agree with how you view academic education. After all, it was originally a tool to pummel students into obedience and carry on the teachings of the elders – basically a tool of the status quo. Today, more modern education (I do student papers for US clients) seem to focus more on making the students think for themselves. That trend improves the quality of education. But the pattern is generally the same, especially for Filipinos: the educational system can reflect a culture that values conformity too much, and thus stifles growth and improvement.
I agree though about “pubic education”, lol. Didn’t the RH Bill after all promote sex education at Grade 5? Seriously, I am for that. But on the bright side, I would love some “pubic education,” lol. Cheers, Joe.
Joe America Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 12:59 am
Chino,
Cheers back. Good point, that the uniforms themselves are not the culture, and I agree that if schools taught “initiative” and “independence” well, the uniforms themselves are not a problem. As for Japan, I think they are masters of “same speak” and obedience, but it is built on a culture of winning because it is a prideful thing to do. They compete well because they band together in ways western companies and peoples do not. It is heartening to note that at least Filipino culture does not require suicide for failure . . .
Joe
Homer Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 1:29 am
“It is heartening to note that at least Filipino culture does not require suicide for failure . . . “
Hmm…come to think of it, that might be a good requirement for our leaders.
… homer…
revolutions start from realization of the great divide between those who have and those who have not… historical dramas from marie antoinette’s cake to mao zedong’s hammer and sickle are the lessons that the citizens of the archipelago called the Philippines should learn from.
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Homer Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
….jet….
i’m not sure if your post is in response to the question i asked above, but thanks for taking time anyway.
interesting you mention revolutions. out of curiosity (if you don’t mind)…..how far do you think we are from this “realization” of the great divide?
my initial response to this kasi is…uhh, medyo malayo pa…the 80% of the populace you mention above are mostly brainwashed with what they have been fed by media, and many more don’t have any access to a computer. let’s say that the 20% prefer to keep the way things are, add to that the filipino’s penchant for being resistant to change (why fix it if it ain’t broke? yuk yuk yuk)…..what could possibly turn it around? i’d be interested to hear your take.
(Revolution by the Beatles has been ringing in my head since I started this post…..starting with the guitar riff…)
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jethernandez Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
convergence and revolutions ends up painting the streets red with blood… and nation building starts from the ownership of a cult like tenets that define who is god, king or dictator; who is the group or political party rulers… or simple statements that begin with “WE THE PEOPLE”… The snapping point that you’re asking likely occurs when the 80% dumb ones area already literally hungry… perhaps when the state rulers or the ruling class’ failure to address the concerns of Maslow’s first three basic needs are already felt by each citizens… food, clothing and shelter. When this notion of DISEQUILIBRIUM is already in the head of the dumb and hungry 80%, no matter how brainwashed they are, they will come to a point to believe in something out of the ordinary…. it’s gonna be one hell of a bloody kurutan…
…perhaps not in our lifetime… but this historical process starts with definitions of theoretical and conceptual frameworks of the rules of engagements of each and every citizen of the state…
hope this helps
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Chino Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Puedeng makisali? I think it’s so malayo pa, men…. with 20% elite, 80% brainwashed, and .0001% like us with such diretso isip, men… it sure is so malayo pa. Ever! hehehe
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TANG INA >>>>>>>>>> SHEYTTTTT
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Vote for me and I’ll change this culture of mediocrity. We gotta be less claniish! We gotta be more like the Japanese: seppuku being the only reward for failure. Seppuku all the way, baby!
And btw, please ignore my autistic inbred cousin. He’s lost his marbles ever since he started to look like Homer Simpson.
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