Detective Del Spooner: Human beings have dreams. Even dogs have dreams, but not you, you are just a machine. An imitation of life. Can a robot write a symphony? Can a robot turn a... canvas into a beautiful masterpiece?
Sonny (The Android): Can you?
I, Robot 2004 Interrogation Room Scene
August being National Heroes' Month for the Philippines, and our Department of Education promoting a, "Proud to be Filipino Campaign," I can imagine classrooms wherein the teachers list reasons for students to be proud of their nationality. Probably they will begin with virtues like, ingenuity, perseverance, and patience and give examples of famous personalities like Rizal or Pacquaio, or Jessica Sanchez. After the "Can a robot...?" mini-speech of Detective Spooner as portrayed by Will Smith the android simply asks, "Can you?" In the end, that's what it all boils down to. Can you? Can you do all the stuff that you say your kind, your species or your race can do. Or are you associating with their ability to compensate for your inability?Just to make things clear, I am Filipino and proud to be Filipino. By that I mean I'm not ashamed of my nationality and heritage even if inept cops caused the death of the hostages in the Manila hostage crisis, even if our Air Force can mount no credible defense of our airspace if China decides to attack, even if our elected officials can't remember the rules of citing one's sources, even when one religous order sets our progress backwards because of the imposition of its morality for the rest of the countrythat does not belong to its fold. I do not renounce my connection to my Nation just because someone gives the Philippines and the Filipinos a bad name.
Conversely my pride does not come from listing prominent Filipinos and bask in the glory of their acheivements. I'm not proud to be Filipino just because Manny Pacquiao is the holder of 7 or 8 World Titles in Boxing. I'm not not proud to be a Filipino because some Filipina who hits high notes becomes discovered by some American talkshow host and becomes a recording artist. I'm not proud to be a Filipino because Jessica Sanchez made it to second place of American Idol. I'm not proud to be Filipino because Jose Rizal is a paragon and polyglot and sparked the Philippine Revolution or that a Filipina who shares my family name is a supermodel or that my grandfather is a National Artist for literature.The above reasons like are what what make typical Filipinos say they are proud to be Filipinos. It's pride by association. I'm proud to be Filipino because this and that Filipino did this and that or can do this and that. To that I ask the android's question, "Can you"?
Can you box? Can you sing? Can you write? Can you even do anything productive? Can you do anything that you can be proud of, let alone your country? Or are you a drunk who gets wasted before the sun even hits noon and makes a nuisance of yourself in the neighborhood?
What is there for you to be proud of as a Filipino if there's no cause to be proud of you as a person? A graduate has cause to be proud of his diploma because he's earned it. An athlete has cause to be proud of his medals because he worked for it. A writer has cause to be proud of his byline because he got published. And now you're proud to be a Filipino just because you were born one? Proud to be Filipino even though you speak the language ineptly, know nothing of Philippine history, and know more about Hollywood than Filipino society?
Proud to be Filipino?
Are you someone that your family can be proud of or are you a freeloading son or daughter who does nothing but waits for the hard earned money of your parents?
Are you someone your school can be proud of or are you a student that gets by through cheating, asking your friends to write your paper for you and cutting classes and getting mediocre grades?
Are you someone who will get promoted at work, someone your colleagues can affirm and be proud of because of your outstanding performance or does your pay raise simply come because you are one of the employees who managed not to get fired and it just came on schedule?
In this global environment, there is no particular acheivement that can be monopolized by any nationality. Pacquiao is not a reason to declare that great boxers come from the Philippines. Nor Jessica the reason to declare that great singers come from the Philippines. Great boxers, singers, artists, scientists, athletes, inventors come from everywhere, and statistically more from other places than from the Philippines. For every "great something" that a Filipino can be proud of there are other great somethings that another nationality can be proud of.
This is what I fear thenew DepEd "Proud to Be Filipino" campaign is going to do. It will make being proud to be Filipino and end to itself. "I'm proud to be Filipino because this and that person has acheived these things. I'm proud to be Filipino because these places and animals can only be found in the Philippines." That kind of delivery of instruction will make it a matter of memorization and inspire a very shallow sense of pride that does nothing to inspire better action.In years past there were programs like "Proudly Philippine Made" and "Yes the Filipino Can." I believe that these campaigns were better because it focused on acheivement and example. It focused on inspiration that results in action. It tells us, "That's right I can do it to, Filipinos have the SAME amount of talent, the SAME opportunity and the SAME potential."
Like Japanese Technology, French Cuisine, German Craftsmanship, those who have the bragging rights to them are the Japanese inventors, French chefs, and German craftsmen and the people that patronize these products.
Proud to be Filipino...are you really? Do you patronize Filipino products that are not simply localized versions of a multinational brand? Shoes from Marikina? Coffee from Batangas? Dirty Ice Cream? Puto? Kutsinta? Komiks? Local brands of Sports and outdoor equiment? Clothes? In no way am I proposing support of mediocre products (whether Filipino or otherwise). But I'm proposing the purchase and use of Filipino products that value quality not simply patronizing it for the sake of wearing the Filipino label. But if you can't even do that, (i.e. patronize Filipino products) how dare you say you are proud to be Filipino?
I'm proud to be Filipino because a lot of what I am was nurtured from things Filipino. Filipino movies and martial art has convinced me to take up Arnis and learn that it is a fighting art that can stand toe to toe with the best the world has to offer and I know unlike many Filipinos that it can be applied without a stick. My college teacher in Philippine history has made me appreciate that our history, with it's good and bad, is best used to understand our cultural identity and it is not meant to explain or make an apology for ourselves to the world. I'm proud to be Filipino because Filipinos trained in our own Universities are qualified to work and teach and compete in other countries. I'm proud to be Filipino because given the same amount of training and opportunities Filipinos can achieve what others can.
I'm proud to be a Filipino because I'm holding an executive post that used to be held by an American. It's not a job that only they can do. I'm not better (maybe I will be) but my point is I'm just as qualified. It's not "Filipinos are better at it or Filipinos are the best." To me it's, "Anything anyone can do, a Filipino can do just as well." If a Filipino does his job better it's because he's better at the job and not because he's a Filipino.
What's Filipino about you? What have you done that will make the word Filipino something to celebrate?
