The whole 11-hour hostage drama is yet another one of those things that made us Filipinos an infamous bunch. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard people say “Ang bobo talaga ng Pinoy” and “Walang ganyan sa ibang bansa” every time that incident turns up in the news. It made me even more depressed than ever hearing our fellow countrymen insult their motherland and its citizens as if they weren’t Filipinos too. I’ve even heard others say they are ashamed to be called a Pinoy. Well, everytime something this EMBARASSING occur, some of us are like chameleons when changing nationalities to hide. There’s no surprise in that . The sad part of situations like this is the fact that the mistake of one person is blamed on all of us. I know it’s unfair but there’s nothing we could do about that. With the media, the PNP and others are pointing fingers of who’s to blame; the lot of it covers all of us like an avalanche of shame. The problem is, we tend to stay under it. Despite that absolutely horrid week, I don’t think we should all dwell on the negativity of the situation. I disagree to those who dare say that the Philippines have no face to show to the world. I still believe that our country still has its image, we’re just not sure how to maintain it.
That whole week spells both victory and defeat for all of us. And what’s worst, the victory was hardly even noticed. Although, criticized by many for answering “major, major”, Venus Raj still was a ray of sunshine after what happened at Quirino Grandstand and I believe it’s wrong not to appreciate her effort for winning 4th place at the Ms. Universe Pageant 2010. I mean, just think of all the previous representatives of our country who didn’t even made it to the top fifteen, Ms. Raj did what the others had failed to do for a very long time. Sure, she did not bring home the crown, but she brought us something better. She brought us a realization, something many of us pretend not to see. It is not that the crown that matters, it is the courage of representing your country through all that crises and doubts. And with that, I am proud of what she had achieved and we all should be.
Sure, we are in quite a pickle, sure folks around the world have found yet another reason to degrade our race but I don’t think that was the worst part of it all. The worst part of this dilemma is the way we Filipinos treat the dilemma. Einstein once said that, “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Our continues criticisms about the things that have already happened only make us dig our own graves deeper. Why can’t we just focus on making it better? Why can’t we just let go of our pessimism towards ourselves? Right actions for the future are the best apologies for wrong ones in the past. We still have a face to show. And I believe it’s still a beautiful one. We can’t just let one incident change the way we feel about ourselves, about us being in a third world country, about us being a Filipino. With the whole world looking down on us we should make an effort to emerge from that state and change for the betterment of our country. Let’s try to be FAMOUS for something good this time. We should all KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
