31 Jul 2006

Fiesta Charter Change. Fixation on the latest (2006) in a string of political circuses over the last 20 years illustrates how much Filipinos have cosied up to politics as a reassuring scapegoat for their chronic failure to prosper.
(Added 04 May 2006)

New letters. Letters page updated.
(Updated 29 Mar 2006)

Edsa "revolution" - 20th anniversary. Filipinos are not choosy when it comes to occassions to exhibit their talent for the ridiculous.
(Added 11 Mar 2006)

Featured rant: The dysfunctional "wisdom" of elders. Handpicked from our Letters Section, this rant emailed in by a visitor beautifully articulates in simple terms a very core issue about how we regard our youth.
(Added 04 Jan 2006)

New letters. Letters page updated.
(Updated 04 Jan 2006)

Get Real Philippines BOOK 1

It's here! The essence of Get Real Philippines encapsulated in an easy-readin' but thought-provoking book. Get Real Philippines Book 1 takes you on a journey to the underbelly of the Filipino psyche layer by layer using a simple conceptual framework. No need to slog through hierarchies of Web pages. Book 1 makes getting real a walk in the park. Download now!
31 Jul 2006

The Get Real Philippines Forum

Due to relentless public demand!! Our NEW discussion forum is on-line!

Now you can express yourself! Really! Get your hard-hitting realist and objective views on the fundamental issues that plague Philippine society seen, discussed, and understood. The Get Real Philippines Forum is on-line, right here. Check it out! Credentials not compulsory.
04 Jun 2006

Collaborative solutioneering!

We are using the power of Wiki technology to harness the collective brainpower of Pinoys all over the world! If we cannot be one nation geographically or politically, then let us be one nation intellectually. Contribute to the building of The Ultimate Solution to the Pinoy Condition.

With Wiki technology, anybody can be a Get Real solutioneer! You are free to edit anything at any part of our continuously-evolving Solution Manifesto.

Join us at Get Real Philippines SOLUTIONS. Click here!
22 Apr 2006

New ways to be mediocre

2005 is gone. How did we Filipinos spend that last 12 months? Not just muddling along in mediocrity like we usually do. Worse. We outdid ourselves in that one thing we are good at -- making a pathetic spectacle of ourselves.

So once again we look to the year 2006 with that same unsubstantiated hope that the Philippines may be a better nation. The irony is that we are entering 2006 as an unchanged and unmoved people; beaten down in 2005 by the spectacular failure of our favourite pasttime -- Fiesta Revolution. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. For at least we will be forced to look for a different approach to change. If we are lucky, we will latch on to something a bit more mature.

The INQ7.net encapsulated the theme for the New Year in the following excerpt from their 1st January 2005 Editorial:

Hopefulness, per se, is not an indicator of national progress or economic well-being. If it were, Germany would not be the world's third or fourth largest economy. But we do think that optimism about the future is all about expectations. Living a better life in the coming year is a legitimate expectation, but it is not the same as expecting a higher quality of life; the latter expectation does not accept "puwede na" or makeshift standards.

In other words, we may be incurable optimists because we expect too little-of the future, or from ourselves. We let alleged crimes slide by because we do not demand an accounting; we are happy to continue eating two square meals a day and call that progress. Enough already. If this is optimism, let's all get real.

"Getting real" is not about grandstanding and showbiz. It is about world-class consistency and quality. These are two words that are certainly NOT attributable to the Filipino.

Happy New Year to all! Let us all make 2006 the year of consistency and quality in the way we do things. Let's make 2006 the year we GET REAL!
04 Jan 2006

The GetRealist
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec