Tag: nationalism

APEC 2015: a time for Filipinos to reflect on their place in the global economy

November 12, 2015November 12, 2015 benign0 14 Comments

What do ordinary Filipinos really want to get out of the imperative to “showcase” the Philippines’ best foot to the delegates of the coming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum that Manila is hosting this year? For many, it will be an opportunity to go on an extended vacation, taking up the “encouragement” coming from…

Development, Media, Society

What Filipinos need to be told about life away from the Philippines

October 9, 2015October 9, 2015 benign0 40 Comments

There’s nothing more pathetic than a voluntary immigrant constantly pining about her emotional attachment to her homeland. Yeah, I’m talking about you Shakira Sison and the emotional diarrhoea that is your Rappler article, What they don’t tell you when you leave the Philippines. If you are going to spend an entire lifetime suffering from acute…

Culture, Lifestyle, Society

The growing void in the Filipino psyche where substance could have thrived

October 7, 2015 Add 38 Comments

“The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority, or rather of that party, not always the majority, that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.” — The History of Freedom in Antiquity, 1877 THE TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY Alexis de Tocqueville coined the term: “tyranny of the majority”, and Lord Acton,…

Civics, Culture, Development, Education, Government, Politics, Society

Filipino Foreign Policies And How They’re Killing Us As A People

September 7, 2015 Grimwald 86 Comments

Foreigners, at least in the eyes of many Filipinos, seem to have an air of mystery in inscrutability to them. In fact, in some instances, there are even those who ascribe a sense of mysticism to them and see them as either benevolent gods with unlimited wealth or cunning devils with ulterior motives. With the…

Culture, Development, Government, Society

Filipinos need a strong and unified resolve to get rid of their Squatter Mentality

September 7, 2015 Add 19 Comments

These days, the woeful plight of refugees trying to get into Europe is international news. They are running away from ISIS who have been pillaging their world and the dark forces that have been erasing their civilization. They are seeking a world where hope could be alive and aspire to leave a world where hope…

Culture, Development, Government, Politics

A Moment of Silence for Pamana

August 24, 2015August 24, 2015 Batangenyo 25 Comments

Recently, I tried to talk to one of my officemates about the death of Pamana, one of the few existing Philippine Eagle, and her response is: “Big deal ba?” I tried to do my best to hide my feeling of being insulted since Pamana is not just an eagle, but he is a symbol to…

Civics, Education

Revisiting Jim Paredes’s “giving up” on the Philippines and moving to Australia in 2006

August 3, 2015August 4, 2015 benign0 22 Comments

Following that whole kerfuffle between singer and die-hard Aquinoist Jim Paredes and Manila Times columnist Rigoberto ‘Bobi’ Tiglao over the question of Paredes’s citizenship, people are now curious about what is it exactly that makes Jim Paredes such a seemingly confused individual. After all, Paredes back in the 1980s already had a United States Green…

Culture, Lifestyle, Media, Politics

Ang Kakulangan ng Respeto sa Lipunang Pilipino

July 24, 2015July 25, 2015 Grimwald 9 Comments

This is a translation and expansion of this previous article… Hindi na talaga kagulat-gulat kung maraming ibang lahi na walang respeto para sa mga Pilipino. Kung hindi ninyo nakakalimutan, sa bansa ng Greece, ang tingin lang sa atin nila doon ay mga katulong tayo. Hindi rin natin maitatanggi na merong mga bansa na ang tingin lang…

Culture, Development, Education, Environment, Lifestyle, Media, Society