Sunday, July 03, 2005

Still proud to be a Pilipino?

Interesting email from a friend. She posted this at our barkada's yahoogroup. I can relate with her on a lot of her sentiments. I'm not sure how we're going to pull ourselves out of the mess our country is in. Whatever sad state we are in is the consequence of thougtless actions and poor judgment on the part of every person from several generations ago up to present - from each person who did this nation ill to every person who didn't care enough to do anything.


I said/promised before that no matter how bad things
get, I'll always be proud to be a Pilipino.


I broke my word for a while during July 2004 when the
Philippines pulled out from Iraq for the wrong
reasons, and "always" became "most of the time". I
don't care if any of you think that the war in Iraq
was not worthwhile. I don't agree with you but that is
not the point. The Philippines did not pull out of
Iraq because there were no WMDs to be found or because
it felt that its principles were being violated. It
pulled out because its government wanted good press
and popularity points from the poor ignorant masses
who wanted to save their so-called overseas "hero"
workers.


For the first time in the 24 years that I have
existed, I was ASHAMED to be a Pilipino.


But I bounced back and, once again, I was proud to be
a Pilipino (At least we're not French, right? Insult
intended.) until Thursday evening on my way home while
listening to the news on the radio.


You know your country has hit rock bottom when your
own legislators publicly vote on whether they should
break the law or not.


The Constitution has been reduced to nothing but mere
toilet paper. For the sake of public interest, of
course. Apparently, the demands of the masses and
popularity points are more important than protecting
our Constitution. Even more apparent is that
Congressmen can break the laws they made themselves
whenever they want to pander to the greatest common,
and often ignorant, denominator.


How disheartening it is to have the fact that
lawbreakers and criminals are ruling this nation
rubbed against your face so very thoroughly.


I am once again ashamed. Ashamed of this country and
its people. I don't know how I'm going to "bounce
back" from this. I have always looked at the
Philippine flag with pride and thought the Americans
were stupid for wanting to have the right to burn
their own flag. But now, I can't even bear to look at
it.


At the end of the day though, everyone but members of
the Communist Party of the Philippines should be giddy
with joy. The Philippines has finally achieved true
democracy: the rule of the majority unhindered by law.

this coffee break @ 9:21 PM
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Friday, July 01, 2005

Mom's carbon copy


I looked a lot like this when I was a baby

Thank you, Tita Che and Tito Aldwin, for the lovely dress =)

this coffee break @ 11:05 PM
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A OK

I feel better now. I had the chance to blow off some (ok maybe a lot) of steam and I managed to get some good night's sleep. On top of all that, I had the chance to reconnect with a couple of old friends, and that was nice. No, it was awesome!

I've never been the type who brushed things under the carpet but I wish I thought more carefully about things before I went berserk. I now realize how badly I took things - like a sore loser. It's too bad I lacked the grace and wisdom to have reacted differently.

After being able to think some more about all that has happened , I realized that everything I was ranting about I brought upon myself. I have been barking up the wrong tree. It may have been someone else's call but in the end, when I really think about it, the ball has always been in my court. For in this very real (and sometimes bad) world you only have 2 choices: keep up & shape up, OR pack up & ship out. It's never enough to do only the things you want to do. Forget that, it's not even enough to the things you NEED to do. As far as the limits of tradition and memory would go, it has always been the survival of the fittest -- the selection process where the best of the best comes out on top. In all your undertakings, never simply aim for the standard but always seek to set the bar high. You should not only get to the finish line but be ahead of the pack when you cross it. No, I'm not saying crab mentality. I would never associate my person with that mindset. But sometimes the to be remembered it's not enough to do your best, you have to make sure your best is THE best. Not that I only realized all that now. I guess I've always been the type whose initial reaction to the bitter pill is a crazy fit. At kakaunti lang ata kaming ganun!! Haha.

Bottom line is I got angry and my thoughts and actions lacked the grace of a Christian. But I'm not gonna beat myself up over all that. At least now I see and accept things as they are. There is no bone of contention. The has jury decided and I abide by the decision.

this coffee break @ 7:23 PM
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