The Filipino, by all means, is a romantic; perhaps this romantic nature is not inherently ours but rather a product of being under the influence of a romantic Latino culture for a period of almost 300 years. Our customs ranging from the Catholic religion down to the most mundane aspects of our lives paint a vivid picture of the Latino way of life. However, and sadly, it also portrays the fact that authentic Filipino culture (if there is indeed one) was not able to exert much influence on the Filipinos themselves in light of the cultural and political hegemony of foreign powers.

Fast forward to today, the average Filipino finds himself in a whirlwind of several cultures other than his own. To elaborate on this, let us consider first and foremost the Philippine media. All major broadsheets in the country make use of the English language whereas Filipino is relegated to the tabloids which are best known for their tacky write-ups on crime and sexual matters as if rubbing it in everyone’s faces that the Filipino language is for the uncouth, short of saying the uneducated masses. I find this ironic since it is well-known that the major problems of the country involve the same uneducated masses they feed the sex stories to, so it would make more sense that these masses be able to read the broadsheets if only because the news therein concerns them most more than any other class in the country.

Then there’s the entertainment industry, also part of the media, whose powers that be insist that Filipino pop culture be eternally a cheap copy of American and Korean pop culture. Aside from these, the media also likes to promote an inverted form of national pride in that the Filipino should only be proud of achievements that earn the praise of foreigners. For them, the appreciation of the locals is simply not enough: it should be internationally recognized. This fact alone shows us how lowly much of the Filipinos think of their fellow Filipinos’ opinions while on the other hand venerating the opinions of foreigners who, if we shall be realistic, only see the Filipino as an exotic item they’d like to collect so as to prove to everyone how much of a “citizen of the world” they are. That, or they (especially male foreigners) see the Philippines as a vast red-light district nation wherein with enough money they could lure in their traps homely-looking women desperate for their cash. Both suffice as serious explanations as to why the influx of foreigners keeps on burgeoning year after year.

No one could argue that it is genuinely out of interest in the Filipino culture that we witness the above-mentioned influx, for what sort of culture would they encounter here that they have not heard of from travel shows or read of from travel guides? To be fair to other cultures, if we look beyond the itineraries on travel guides, we are met with rich histories and cultures aside from the contributions made by these other countries to the advancement of the sciences, religion, arts, and philosophy. Meanwhile here in the Philippines we ask ourselves what contributions have we made to the aforementioned fields? Or maybe it is more appropriate to conclude that we refrain from asking such questions because we all know too well that the answer will be in the negative.

This is exactly why the media desperately depends on the gullibility of the masses who will without questions take in their downright silly and empty “Proud to be Pinoy” B.S..

A nation that knows only how to fall in love. Catholicism was imposed on us but in the end we fell in love with it, otherwise how would one explain that we remain a Catholic country in spite of the Spaniards not being in the country for more than a century now? The Americans came and we fell even more in love with them. We adopted the “American way” in just about every aspect of our lives: for one, we are a democracy even if we are fully aware that a big chunk of the population is under-educated and are therefore not fully-equipped to make game-changing decisions for the country such as what happens during elections. Next, despite claiming to be “Christians” we are not mindful of our morals and are unapologetically liberated especially when it comes to matters of sexual nature.

Bottom line is, whatever the trend is in America, the Philippines will surely follow it in the same way that a sheep will follow its master. These are the gods that the Filipino worships. Gods who speak in foreign tongues and act in alien ways.

This foreignness, if we reflect on it, may in fact be the reason why the Filipino is so attracted to its gods: perhaps the Filipino is trying to escape his being a Filipino and evade the responsibility that comes with culture. The responsibility that culture has is that it should evolve from its influences until it reaches a point wherein it is fully separate and original from its influences. The Filipino culture does not have that.

In fact, one of the Philippines’ most treasured intellects, Nick Joaquin, made the observation that the lack of variety in the early Filipino potteries imply that Filipino culture did not grow to reach its full potential at all. Instead, it was contented to take the backseat while our other Asian neighbours picked up steam and developed what is to become their rich cultures.

As for the Filipino wanting to escape his being a Filipino, another philosophical question arises from that: could it be that the Filipino copies the pop culture of rich foreign countries (U.S.A., U.K., and Japan just to name a few) because it is only through such activity will the Filipino feel as if he doesn’t belong to a third world country? Or perhaps it may go even deeper in that the Filipino imitates the pop culture of these countries because that is the only thing that he is capable of copying- the shallow stuff?

We don’t see a Filipino version of NASA in the country but we do see a lot of singers singing American pop songs in karaoke bars. As Prof. Dr. Alfredo Co said in one of his lectures when I was in college, singing and dancing are very common in the Philippines because these two activities do not require a lot of thinking at all.

Even if some may claim that they are okay with this kind of setting this does not give this atrocious setting an excuse to continue. Why do Filipinos continue to adore their foreign gods when they know in their hearts that they can never be like their gods no matter how hard they try?

Alas, it is too late for us for we have already crossed the river. We have adopted several foreign languages as equal to our mother tongue because the foreign gods made it a requirement for us to be able to work and earn a living in their countries. Saying this made me realize that perhaps the real god Filipinos worship is money, but taking into consideration all other evidences, there is sufficient proof that what the Filipinos worship is actually the idea of not being a Filipino!

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