(Responding to F. Sionil Jose’s ‘Why Are Filipinos So Poor’)
I like how F. Sionil pointed out that initially it isn’t really our fault that we are not as well-developed as other countries because of many years of colonialism. I mean, the fact is, we’ve only been fully independent from colonial rule for about 66 years. We were under colonial rule for a much longer time. However, we can’t always give that excuse. We can’t blame it on other people. I remember my Philippine Institutions 10 saying, “If we’re messing up the country, it’s not because of colonialism anymore, it’s because of ourselves.”
When I read the essay, it felt like there was some illusion that got shattered like glass. It was a wakeup call. It was harsh, but it was the truth. I think he was very direct with his opinions so that every Filipino who read it would feel guilty enough to change their life right a way. I also think that F. Sionil Jose thought of the words ‘Tama na!,’ while writing the article, that he’s so sick and tired of the current state of the Philippines and its people.
Well, actually I can’t really give a distinct reason why we’ve been left behind by other nearby countries who were also under colonial powers at one time. Maybe because they’re more disciplined, determined or hard-working? Maybe because they can’t live with the fact that their unsuccessful? But I think one of our problems as Filipinos, I know that this sounds really pompous, but most Filipinos just settle for less. They settle out of laziness. However, I don’t know why that is, what made us like that.
There are a lot of Filipinos, for generations now, who were born into a poor environment or an environment where almost nothing is given to them. These people usually grow up thinking that they don’t have a chance to succeed at all. So they settle and don’t even try to change their lives to escape their current state. And so, the vicious cycle continues.
People think that they can’t do better, that this is the best that they can do. That’s why I think there are still people living in squatter areas, why there are still people who remain unemployed, there are still people who’d rather steal rather than look for a decent job. That’s also why people take shortcuts. People think that there’s always someone else who can do a better job, or someone who will step up rather than become that person them self.
We somehow are still probably waiting for the next ‘Rizal’ or ‘Ninoy’ to inspire and ignite our passion for change. But why can’t we be that person? Are we so afraid to fail that we’d rather stand in the corner and wait for someone else to step up? We have to be that person at least once in our whole life because we deserve it. We are worthy of it. We don’t have to prove to our parents, our family, our friends, or whoever that we are worthy. We only have to prove to ourselves that we do the best that we can. We should think that highly of ourselves.
If every Filipino thinks like this, then change isn’t really that far away. Having this mentality, we can act and do something about our current state. It’s cliché but it really does only take one step. We should act now. However, who am I to speak. Here I am just writing and ranting about what’s wrong with our country. It’s not like I actually go out and try to change our society. But at least speaking up and writing is still considered doing something.