Not so nationalistic

The topic of nationalism seems so far for today’s generation. There is a constant struggle to regain or empower the nationalism of the country with the new batch of the generation. It would be so hard to instill the values that would showcase the respect that our forefathers would expect from us. The underlying question with this premise is, “What else can we do?”

There are a lot of ways that we can show our nationalism to our country. Some of us have learned this from one’s earlier education but most of us have forgotten about it. The lessons about nationalism that I learned in primary and secondary school is still with me until this day. The virtue of patronizing the country’s local products, for example. I believe that this practice can go a long way. I learned about this in high school and this nationalistic practice is still kept in my mind and I still practice it whenever it is possible. I personally prefer local products that the imported ones because I know its effects in our country. I would rather buy Human Nature products than investing in imported goods that I’m sure is not even good for the environment or have been tested with animals. One could say that I am very specific with the products that I use because I always make sure that it came from a good source. Recently, my Mom asked me to apply for a passport. I have never gotten out of the country and my Mom wants the whole family to enjoy few weeks in the United States. I then asked her a question that she would later on responded dubiously.  I asked her, “Mom, why don’t   all the way in the US but we haven’t even toured the country as a family first. She was quiet for a while as she was pondering how to answer me. I guess that how we Filipinos think. We don’t even appreciate our own country first and we would prefer going to a foreign county. There’s a lot to explore in the Philippines, the beaches in Palawan, the Durian of Davao, the exotic Tarsiers in Bohol, and a lot more. It would be so cliché but it’s really fun in the Philippines.

I was browsing through my twitter one day and I stumbled upon this user who have a nature of criticizing Filipino celebrities and everything popular in the Philippines. I read this particular tweet of this user that got me thinking aloud in my mind: “Oo nga noh!” It is basically a “retweet” of a tweet of Penshoppe, a major Filipino clothing company. This particular user, named @KrisAquinoSTD, criticized how Penshoppe wants us to patronize Filipino products but they are ironically using foreigner models to promote them. Why can’t they use Filipino models? I guess it is because Filipinos would prefer the foreign feel. This Western syndrome is taking the real Filipino identity from us. This is an example of how ironic some Filipinos can get even if they don’t realize it.

Ed Westwick (star of American series, Gossip Girl) for Penshoppe
Photo not mine!

I guess that we should all take account every detail and action that we take as Filipinos. We should be considerate with the consequences of our actions, how it would affect other people, and how it would affect our country. Some people try to blame the government for our lack of nationalism. I personally think that however the government acts, it still depends on us. Our Filipino blood still runs through us whether we like it or not.