I have a new favorite CD. For a year, I have been listening to Sabrina's "I Love Acoustic" CD and it became so familiar that I actually associated it with driving from work and in between hospitals. My job requires quite an amount of travel. When I drive to the hospital, I usually pray the rosary first. When I have completed it, I turn on the CD and listen to Sabrina. One year has gone by now.
Charice embodies the figure of a Filipino dreamer. She dreamt and achieved, but not without hardwork. She is one of those artists whose talent didn't get easily recognized in her own country. It had to take a Korean show in youtube for Ellen D. to discover her remarkable talent. The same thing happened to Arnel, another great talent that was initially ignored by his own country. There is also Lea Salonga who was discovered through Miss Saigon. It was only when she was recognized abroad that her country acknowledged her extraordinary talent.
When President Noynoy said that the people don't have to leave the country anymore to look for opportunities and find a better future, he made a very serious statement. It means providing a right environment for the Filipinos to grow and bear fruit. I have noticed that most Filipinos, when put in the right environment, usually bloom and bear much fruit. Take Subic for example, when it was still under the US jurisdiction, Filipinos followed traffic inside the base to the letter as though they were in a different country. Here in the US, it is easy to follow traffic rules because nobody will honk their horns behind you for stopping at a red light or a stop sign.
It is true that good governance is done by example. Filipinos are looking for a role model, a hero to imitate. I am hopeful that our new president is just what we've been waiting for. And I hope the media will try not to crush this hope in a nation that has grown tired of the rotten system. What we need at the moment is generosity of spirit. What will criticism accomplish that kind words cannot? What will skepticism achieve that faith cannot? The key to change is a change in behavior and attitude.
We have lived in poverty for so long that we see the world as a jungle where only the fittest survive. It's always a struggle to live. It was only when we migrated that I realized I had this kind of attitude, prone to criticism than praise, prone to competition than cooperation, prone to 'what can I get from this' than 'what can I give'. This is a poverty mentality that has long been ingrained in a culture where poverty was romanticized and spiritualized so that power could be kept by the colonizers. It has been so deeply inculcated that we lost our faith in ourselves and we look up to foreign superiority: the Americans, the Europeans and the Japanese.
As a child, I often heard about love for the country. I find it so intangible that until now I still ask "What is it exactly?"
What I know is that when Manny Pacquiao won in several international boxing competitions, my heart swelled with pride for my own color. When the Filipino chef of White House won the Iron Chef American competition, my spirit soared. When I saw how Lea Salonga and Charice Pempengco made it in the international scene, I was cheering with gusto.
When I left the country, I didn't feel guilty at all because I don't consider it abandoning my own country. Why, even Jose Rizal spent most of his heroic life abroad, writing and exposing the events happening in our country. Patriotism knows no physical bounds. It is in the heart of man. I think I love my country because I am now praying for the president rather than criticizing him.
When Jesus came to change the political system that burdened the poor, he didn't do so by power. He made sure attitudes changed that's why he spent most of his public life evangelizing and changing attitudes. It can only be that. Without change in the attitude of the people, there will be no government success in restructuring a system. We should let go of our pharisaical, holier-than-thou attitude. Look into the sincerity of the man. Learn to trust again. There will always be a Judas but he is a minority. Jesus didn't let that minority keep him from entrusting his kingdom to the eleven worthy but struggling apostles. And he didn't go wrong. A kingdom built on trust inspite of the weakness of man has grown into a worldwide belief from a small town in Nazareth. That is the mystery of the kingdom of God. It only takes a small mustard seed, one small action, one simple faith for something small to grow big.
That is what the Filipinos need now in order to see the fulfilment of the vision for change. Just one small faith to give a chance for that small seed to grow. Let's give the president a chance. Let's give ourselves a chance. Let's give our country a chance.
Media should focus its efforts in inculcating values, common road courtesies and saturate the consciousness of everyone until it becomes part of the system. Focus on what one should do more than what one shouldn't do. Post reminders everywhere. We are a country filled with so much billboards and ads. We should use it to generate a positive change in attitude instead of focus in vanity and immorality. For instance, 'drink Coke so you keep your cool amidst traffic and not blow your horn constantly', 'bring your i-pod to keep you entertained so you don't get tempted to cut in line', 'buy the combo meal in Jollibee so you stay on your budget and need not accept bribes from motorists', 'you don't need a wang-wang to make your presence felt. Just use Axe men's spray'.
There are so many ways to influence attitude by using commercial products. It's the best way to saturate the Filipino consciousness. What about putting a prime time news show where only good news are relayed and not the usual rape, murder, scandal news that only serve to deaden our sensitivity. We are a nation filled with so much creativity. I hope we will act as one in building our nation starting with our small efforts to contribute to a bigger whole.
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