Wednesday, July 23, 2008

A lash out from an OFW

I encountered a post from an OFW who was clearly distraught about how the Philippine government is running the country. Then he asked the question about how the OFWs will get something from the country because of being and working somewhere else. I just had to reply. This was how it went.
This is probably the very reason why the Philippines has not yet risen to reach her potential. Yes, Filipinos are creative, intelligent, hardworking and very talented people and yet our beloved country is still being left behind by our Asian neighbors. Why? don't tell me its completely because of the government. There is corruption EVERYWHERE, in ALL countries, in EVERY shape and form.
I believe the real reason here is the Filipinos themselves. Filipinos are inherently selfish and a bit of a complainer. That might not sit well with a lot of you that might read this. But from what I saw that is the truth. Take this "the country owes us" statement. If you asked every OFW the reason why they chose to go abroad, their answer would be to give their family or themselves a better life. So what they do is go to another country and send money home. Mind you that most of this money goes into their families, not into charitable institutions, government agencies or infrastructure projects. True that some of it goes to the government as taxes, but that wasn't really the intention on the sender's part was it? And still we think that the country "owes us".
We Filipinos have a habit of pointing our fingers to other people or other things to explain the misfortunes that come into our lives. I don't really know where this came from nor do I really care. But it's just plain stupid. If something bad happened to you, like say, you fell on a muddy ditch, don't go throwing mud on other people's faces. Instead, stand up and wash yourself. It's really that simple.
The late U.S. President Kennedy said "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country". This pretty much sums it up. We may never live to see a corrupt-free Philippine government, but we can sure as hell do something to make the Philippines a better place.
One last thought, if instead of writing the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, Jose Rizal thought "I have studied in the great universities in Europe and made quite a name for myself, I would surely want to come home and see the grand welcome in store for me". Would he still be remembered as the great man that he is?

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