Top 10 Independence Day Edition

TOP 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT BEING A FILIPINO
10 Religiosity – Before you raise your eyebrows, take note of the word I used. The dictionary says it means ‘excessively or sentimentally religious: excessively, sentimentally, or affectedly pious’. What I don’t like about us Filipinos being too religious is we tend to become bigots.
9 Crab Mentality – sino ba kasi nagpauso nito? Haay, if only we’d help each other instead. I don’t have much to say about it, it is what it is – destructive.
8 Lack of respect – May tendency kasi tayong masyadong palaban. Yung tipong ang gusto natin eh laging tayo ang masusunod. We don’t respect each other as much as we should.
7 Lack of long-term memory – it’s been said a lot of times in history. How could we forgive the people who are the reason we are in such a bad state economically? How could they roam the streets, living in luxury, while the rest of us struggle?
6 Lack of discipline – it’s the little things that give away our lack of it – we throw our garbage everywhere except in the proper places; it’s normal to be late; di tayo marunong pumila; we don’t follow rules. Rules are made for many reasons – for peace and order to reign is one of them. Unfortunately, it takes discipline to follow them.
5 Lack of honesty – ang pagpapalusot ang isa sa mga pinaka-nakakainis na ugali natin. We’d rather try to get away with things than be honest in the first place. We cheat inour elections; we cheat taxes; we cheat in our business.
4 Compromised principles – a lot of us, especially our leaders lack integrity. We tend to compromise our valued principles a lot, more often than not, for our own vested interests.
3 Lack of sense of country – we don’t value our country as much as we should. Again, it’s the littlest of things. Many of us don’t watch Filipino movies. Many of us would rather change citizenship than stick it out and succeed with each other. At the end of the day, nationalism is an vague concept when we should be passionate about our own heritage.
2 Colonial Mentality – while it is true at times, the belief that anything foreign is better than anything local sucks a lot. It where our lack of sense of country seeps in.
1 Self-pity – our worst problem as a people is our huge tendency to wallow in self-pity at our state as a nation. Why? Because it keeps us from concentrating on solving the problem. It prevents us from moving forward, improve and grow as a country. It makes us settle for mediocrity, because we’re convinced that it’s all we can achieve.

TOP 10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT BEING A FILIPINO
10 Adaptive – we are one of the most adaptive people in the world. We have this gift of adapting in style to any kind of environment. Kaya nga nagkalat tayo sa lahat ng bansa sa mundo, diba? Marunong tayong makisama.
9 Sense of humor – for us, laughter is the best medicine. We know how to balance business and pleasure. It’s an efficient coping mechanism that helps us get through the each day. Kaya natin tawananin ang mga problema, kaya natin tawanan an gating mga sarili.
8 Industriousness – one the reasons OFWs are such in demand. I guess it’s one of the better effect of years of being a poor country. We sure know the value of hard work. Todo-kayod tayo para lang maabot ang mga pangarap natin. We believe that in the end, it will all pay off.
7 Hospitality – we are a happy people, in spite and despite of all the bad things that life throws at our side of the earth. It’s the way we smile and the way we welcome strangers. Kasama ng galing natin sa pakikisama, kayang-kaya natin iparamdam sa kanila na pwede natin sila maging kapamilya o kapuso. =p
6 Faith – as a people, we sure know the power of prayer and keeping the faith. How many times have we relied on our unwavering faith to survive the worst kinds of tragedies? Madami na diba? Hindi tayo madaling mawalan ng pag-asa.
5 Creativity – we sure know how to deliver, even at limited resources. We have a good sense of what is beautiful and what is not so beautiful. Our knack for creativity helps us survive. In short, maabilidad tayong mga Pinoy.
4 Talent – it’s similar to creativity. We are a nation of world class achievers and performers. Our Champions can match the pipes of the American Idols. We’ve recently been at the top of the world, literally, 3 days in a row. Magaling naman kasi talaga tayo. Lahat kaya nating gawin. Diba nga minsan, tayo pa mismo ang nabibigla sa kakayahan natin?
3 Resilience – we’ve been wronged many times, we’ve suffered from oppressors for like forever, but we’re still standing as a race. Malakas kasi at matibay ang loob natin. We are experts at handling sensitive and heavy situations. Powered by our talent and faith, it is what makes us a country of survivors.
2 Compassion – as a suffering nation, we do know how it feels. We never fail to lend a helping hand not only to our fellowmen but also to other people. Sometimes, we don’t even have enough for ourselves, but we manage to give. May konsepto kasi tayo ng utang na loob. Alam natin, na baling araw, babalik din sa atin ang lahat ng naitulong natin.
1 Family values – it’s what defines us as human beings. We have close family ties. Hindi ba’t ito ang isang bagay na hindi maaalis sa pagkatao natin kahit saan tayo mapunta? Our love of family is what drives all of us to do the things we do. At the end of the day, what’s important for us is the family we go home to.


So there, enumerating these things down made me realize that if one will look closely, it’s the same basic values that strengthens and weakens us at the same time. More often than not, the same things drives us to do the worst and the best of things.
In the end, what really is essential is what each of us can contribute. Ayan, dito na pumapasok yung kadramahan and kabaduyan na kailangan natin magtulong-tulong, mag-kaisa para sa ikauunlad ng ating bayan. Diba? Hehe. Pwes, corny na kung corny, pero yun ang totoo. The problems we face as a people are real and serious. Nakakatakot at mahirap ba? Well, we can all start, again, with the little things. Little things become big when done by many. Ikaw, gawin mo yung parte mo. We’re more than 90 million people, for crying out loud! What if each of those know how to fall in line, follow traffic rules, do an honest day’s work, respect the people around them, help each other out (may isang sikat na libro tungkol dito, diba?). Mas gugustuhin mo pa bang tumira sa ibang bansa? Hindi siguro, diba? =p

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