On Philippine-bashing by Filipinos

This is my current battlecry...STOP PHILIPPINE-BASHING NOW!!!

I have noticed this time and again...Some Filipinos love, relish and sometimes even feel proud talking down on their own country, their countrymen, their heritage...Ano ba yan? And then, these very same people ask what is wrong with our country? Hay, naku...

In my travels abroad, it never fails that I get to meet a kababayan (or should I say, a former kababayan) who will say there's no hope in the Philippines, that everybody is corrupt, that we are doomed, etc...Why are they saying this? To justify their migration to another land? Don't get me wrong, I do not condemn those who chose to embrace another citizenship because it is their choice and they have their own reasons for doing so...But please do not talk down on your country of origin. If you do not have anything good to say, then just keep mum. I am not saying that everybody who migrated has this mentality because I have met a lot of Filipino immigrants who are still proud of their roots and, in fact, are going out in every which way they can to help the Philippines. It seems these negative blah-blahs only come out from those who have yet to reconcile within themselves why are they slaving it out in a foreign land and cannot fathom why they were not able to make good in the Philippines.

Similarly so, it is sad to note that some Filipinos still living in this country also tend to focus on the negative side of the Philippines. Sometimes these kinds of people even talk about this in front of foreigners. And they think these foreigners will think how politically aware and savvy they are? My dear kalahi, these foreigners laugh at you when you talk down on your country. In their minds, you look like somebody who is spitting on yourself (paano yon?). Ibinabaon mo lang lalo ang sarili mo, kabayan.

Of course, there are a number of problems in the Philippines but other countries also have their own problems...but do you hear Australians talk about their langaws? Do you hear Indians talk about their not so clean cities? Do you hear Americans talk about their bigotry? Do you hear Italians talk about watching your bag when you visit Rome? Every country, just like every individual, has their own positives and negatives. Let us not focus on our negatives. Our positives still outnumber the negatives. If we only start believing in ourselves, in our country and in our countrymen, then other people will also start to believe in us. Just like when applying for a job, you stress on your strengths but you do not brag about your weaknesses, you may admit them, but then you also discuss how these flaws are being addressed.

So please to fellow Filipinos (even the former ones), let's be more positive in our outlook towards our country. That is a very big step already in uplifting our nation even if that is the only thing we can do to help the Philippines.