THEY say good things about us, words like we are a hospitable people and our spirits are indomitable. But among this beholden words attributed to us we have never been known for being a race of nationalists.
We have a “we don’t care attitude.” It is selfishness. As long as one gets what he/she thinks is due one doesn’t care what is going on around anymore. This attitude has unknowingly and sadly became part of our daily life. Think about petty things done by individuals which makes difficult for others.
Drivers violate every traffic rule when no enforcer is present. Passengers seek their own convenience without consideration to others. They cross not on pedestrian lanes and ride not on loading areas because they think the overpass is too far.
We have a poor taste of excellence. We settle for what we think is good but by standard they are not. Disappointment after disappointment overwhelms us wherever we go.
Try to visit government offices even at the heart of the cities or even at the main capital of the country. You will realize how disorganize the system is. There is a long line to go through considering how far our technologies have brought us. You have to wait for days, weeks, and even months just to get a single document.
You have to bear the heat for instance because of lack of ventilation in many offices. Thank God we are in Baguio where air conditioning is free. You go to their comfort room and you’ll find out that if there is no supply of water.
Government offices which are expected to be the model of high standard become the principal scenes of irregularities. You can’t just help at some point but ask why and how do these happen despite modernization and our high value of education.
My sister had to go the SSS office for almost 10 times just to obtain a certain form. She was told to download it on the net but she kept getting a message of failure to access. She informed this to the clerk at the office but she was again advised to just try and try.
Our standard is low and we feel we can do nothing about it. Take a look at the dictionary and find the description of an apartment. You will be surprised how different it is when you try to rent one in the country. A room now is branded as an apartment by home owners to set high rental fees. The rooms are not even painted and comfort rooms are oftentimes dirty.
Remember the Typhoon Yolanda victims who were promised of decent houses and what they got were either nothing or live-at-your-own-risk bunk houses. They are certainly below the standard.
Foreign observers could not hide their disgust and dismay on the dismal condition of the families who were forced to reside there. It is not humane but this country knows that the residents cannot do anything and soon they will learn to live with it. This is how the system works.
Life is cheap in the country. We lack hospitals which must be a must-have in all areas urban and rural alike. How about the news that a person died because he was not brought to the hospital. The problem is that there is no ambulance owned by the town.
Hospitals are either very far or non-existent. The patient needs to be brought to the next town. Next thing you will hear on the news is corruption of public officials.
This is just a small piece of the whole picture. If you want to glimpse on the entire scenario, watch news. Television has ceased to become the source of entertainment. Our officials, our leaders, they have ransomed the welfare of this land to their personal greed. Big news about corruption, scandals, floods the television news daily.
We have an incoming election. Nationalism asks everyone to vote for who we think deserve the position. For the sake of our country and the concept of nationalism, we must set a high standard for our Barangay officials. We need to vote a candidate that we can trust and someone who can stand by his/her principles no matter the consequences.
Nationalism should not only remain a concept to be taught. It is a voluntary feeling of being proud because of the good things that happen around.
Sadly, we have already developed a rotted system that people accepted. If we want to change this we have to change our attitude. We must understand that there is something better than this. This is nationalism. It takes time, hard work, and sacrifices. We need leaders who can show us what nationalism is.
Kennedy says, “Think what you can do to your country.” If we succeed in setting a higher standard, we will produce nationalistic citizens even without telling them to be one.