The media attention has died, and the whole nation has moved on to a new controversy. But allow me to still get my two cents in on this.
Let me start by saying democracy in the Philippines is a big farce. Everyone likes to pretend the country is civilized, educated, and free. What no one wants to admit is that we are a nation of extreme poverty where the poor are driven to desperation and the rich get greedier. People grow up embracing the mentality that to survive, one must outsmart others, resort to trickery and even robbery, and be dishonest, because they have not been shown that there are dignified ways to better their lives.
The government is corrupt on all levels. The education system, the supposed gateway for the poor out of poverty is a big joke, and rather than fixing it, now the government wants to extend the laughs.
Ours is a nation of shallow minds. We are exhibitionists: the police and politicians manically seeking the spotlight in the HongKong hostage drama instead of doing their job, the media taking on the role of people's champion by mediating (not just this time but many times before) instead of the professionals trained in negotiating, media dictating the turn of events by the controversial angles they insist on portraying instead of the real story. Didn't Binay say that the reason he was opposed to giving up his wang-wang was that he wanted to attend to emergencies like this asap? Is that even in his job description as VP? Doesn't the national police have a unit specially trained to handle these dramas? Don't they have protocols in place for media and spectators during high-tension events like this? Evidently, all else fades when faced with the prospect of notoriety and TV coverage.
It's heartbreaking that here abroad, the only times the country gets featured in the news are when foreigners die in the hands of Filipinos or when prisoners decide to pay tribute to MJ. Okay, thank you to Charice and Arnel Pineda and half of the Jabbawokeez for the fame but I would really like to see Filipinos be known for something else than arts and sports. I would like to see a shift in mindset about materialism, and for kids to have ambition of the positive kind, the kind that will bring them places and out of the slums. How do you teach people to enjoy success without envy and arrogance, and nurture hearts full of kindness and generosity and a real concern for the environment? Not with an additional year or two in school without a true revolution in thinking and doing. The nation needs new work ethics, one that emphasizes responsibility and ownership. Let's stop pointing fingers, move forward beyond "official investigations and inquiries," and instead, maybe come up with task forces? (Please, no more Senate inquiries on sex scandals and the half-naked Viva Hot Babes—that is NOT why you were elected, bozos!)
Let me start by saying democracy in the Philippines is a big farce. Everyone likes to pretend the country is civilized, educated, and free. What no one wants to admit is that we are a nation of extreme poverty where the poor are driven to desperation and the rich get greedier. People grow up embracing the mentality that to survive, one must outsmart others, resort to trickery and even robbery, and be dishonest, because they have not been shown that there are dignified ways to better their lives.
The government is corrupt on all levels. The education system, the supposed gateway for the poor out of poverty is a big joke, and rather than fixing it, now the government wants to extend the laughs.
Ours is a nation of shallow minds. We are exhibitionists: the police and politicians manically seeking the spotlight in the HongKong hostage drama instead of doing their job, the media taking on the role of people's champion by mediating (not just this time but many times before) instead of the professionals trained in negotiating, media dictating the turn of events by the controversial angles they insist on portraying instead of the real story. Didn't Binay say that the reason he was opposed to giving up his wang-wang was that he wanted to attend to emergencies like this asap? Is that even in his job description as VP? Doesn't the national police have a unit specially trained to handle these dramas? Don't they have protocols in place for media and spectators during high-tension events like this? Evidently, all else fades when faced with the prospect of notoriety and TV coverage.
It's heartbreaking that here abroad, the only times the country gets featured in the news are when foreigners die in the hands of Filipinos or when prisoners decide to pay tribute to MJ. Okay, thank you to Charice and Arnel Pineda and half of the Jabbawokeez for the fame but I would really like to see Filipinos be known for something else than arts and sports. I would like to see a shift in mindset about materialism, and for kids to have ambition of the positive kind, the kind that will bring them places and out of the slums. How do you teach people to enjoy success without envy and arrogance, and nurture hearts full of kindness and generosity and a real concern for the environment? Not with an additional year or two in school without a true revolution in thinking and doing. The nation needs new work ethics, one that emphasizes responsibility and ownership. Let's stop pointing fingers, move forward beyond "official investigations and inquiries," and instead, maybe come up with task forces? (Please, no more Senate inquiries on sex scandals and the half-naked Viva Hot Babes—that is NOT why you were elected, bozos!)
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