Thursday, May 10, 2007
Thoughts on Independence Day
On Independence, Over-Dependence and Interdependence
The invitations are coming in. Wyndham Hotel at Lee Mannheim Road is buzzing with weekly gatherings of people in search of fresh muses, prince charming, ticket vendors, and dance fanatics who allocate a chunk of their income paying dinner parties and donning dainty gowns. Groups are scurrying to reserve the traditional forest preserve for that once a year picnic precluded by a miniature parade or a quasi motorcade. One, two, three or all groups will invite the same people. Some will willingly respond. Some will go into hiding. Old faces will emerge like persistent weeds while the new ones will be stifled by their lack of clout. One celebration, same cuisine, overlapping activities, a common history, fragments - too many groups doing the same thing. You guessed it right. There are barely three weeks before Philippine Independence Day Celebration tickets come knocking again through our friends’ faces, the phone, the snail mail or through an e-vite.
Just like last year, the year before and for many more years to come (unless someone is brave enough to introduce a drastic change), our community will drown with whining complaints, fuzzy accusations and desperate blame games in understanding the rationale behind the Filipino’s perennial division. Some say we have taken the spirit of Independence to the bone. Everyone wants to be a chief and no one wants to be a subordinate. Like tiny microbes, we have preferred to organize as a microscopic serfdom instead of aspiring to grow into a sturdy empire. It seems as if the tribal spirit has never left the majority, leaving the extraordinary few to burn out in their own passion or isolated in their own activism.
Was the Philippine Independence something that the Filipino people as a nation really fought for, something that the colonizers and imperialist governments toyed with to save face and succumb to the inevitable change of power, or a historical blunder we are still trying to figure out. Is it the former, the latter, all of the above or none of the above? Raise your hand. What do you say? As for me, I dare not delve into historical data lest I throw mud on my face. I cast these questions for your groups to speculate. Instead of gossiping and bickering, why not indulge in an intellectual discussion for a change. Be sure you leave your "bolos" and your "revolvers" at home. Avoid any alcoholic drop. Control the tempers. Everything will be fine. As they say, "walang sabunutan!"
Sometime back, without having anything better to do, I coined a phrase in cyberspace and threw some cents about interdependence, "competitive interdependence" to be specific. In business, they call it "mergers and acquisitions". In a non-for profit organization, it is a coalition, an alliance or a confederation of some sort. From an ideogenetic standpoint, it is the conglomeration of matured independent states, both as a geographic attribute and as a mode of being. And in a day to day simple vocabulary, it is nothing else but making deals with others for our own survival or prosperity.
Meanwhile, when pesky individuals or groups sell us anything (from vintage calendars of adipose models to raffle tickets ruffled without prices) - all for the sake of a yet unknown but worthy cause, we could not help but think of their over-dependence on the same old fund raising strategy that drains out resources towards vague goals and inefficient means. The other day, for instance, I overheard a Filipino organization official worrying on how to spend the surplus money his organization has. He is not alone. There are a few Filipino American organizations whose members are so generous that they give without knowing what they are giving for. Perhaps they are not aware that souvenir programs good for recycling bins and fashion shows from so called designers (who are actually tailors or dressmakers) are mostly revenue sources for individual perusal and not for philanthropic purposes.
Generosity is a virtue. Unfortunately, there are those who abuse and transform it into folly. Over dependence is an attitude of mechanical dimensions that sucks out the energy from a source until the well runs dry and the sea becomes a desert. It is the training field for parasites, maggots and other human forms of despicable vermin.
After having "fought" for our Independence from the Spaniards, the Americans, the Japanese, the Dutch, the British, and other political and economic colonizers of the Philippines, we probably were not trained enough to consolidate our resources and work as a cohesive nation. On the contrary, our regions were used to battle against each other. Even among the intellectual elite, those who were blessed with better education, the Philippines was offered as a State, or as a Province. Is there anyone at all who completely defended the Filipino’s ability for self governance based on his awareness and pride for his own nation and his own people? Or was the struggle only a reaction against systematic political abuses to the point that Philippine Independence became a mere deliverance from colonial subjugation and not a total transition towards self-sufficiency and cultural sovereignty?
We have so many groups celebrating the Philippine Independence Day but not so much when it comes to election days (for fear of being selected as a Jury member?), and even less when it involves relevant issues such as immigration reform, supporting a Filipino American candidate for public service, or lobbying for the benefit of the Filipino World War II soldiers. Puzzling, isn’t it?
So what do you do next? First, greet your mother a "Happy Mother’s Day!". Next, recall the nugget of wisdom she has told you many times. Then, share the thought and pass the buzz around. (The Philippine Independence Month celebrations in Chicago and Suburbs will be a huge fete. Thousands of people will join the floats and march through the Golden Mile towards Grant Park. Once there, our local bands and singers will work as interdependent talents to bring out only the best sound ever. Broadcast and printed media journalist and writers will need to ask for a special pass from organizers to have a reserved space for the press. Sign up for the forthcoming picnics. Volunteers are needed to coordinate the different native games like sipa, piko, patentero, and tumbang preso to name a few. The food will be set up like our typical barrio fiesta in small booths made of nipa. Come with an empty tummy. Forget about line dancing and the usual "spaghetti" music. We have a myriad possession of folk dances to recall).
Suddenly, I woke up. The scenario looked so beautiful I am sure it was only a dream. Back in the old overused space of Labagh woods. June 10, 2007. We have the different dance groups dancing to a borrowed non-Filipino music in their own slovenly old ways. We have a long line of people waiting to be fed while small groups have their own food as other small groups of people go from one open corner to another. Out of nowhere, there will be a huddle of separate groups with separate banners and separate pictures. Kodak moments, of course.
The day is almost over. If we do not cease from being so overly dependent on the old ways of doing things for the sake of convenience and easy comfort, the expression of our Independence can not mature into the levels of interdependence. As a friend with Marxist tendencies vehemently argued with me, "Pare, the Pinoy is still a tribe. We have Ilonggos, Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Bicolanos, Bisayas, Cebuanos, Tarantados and other extra terrestrial aliens, to name a few. But are you that quixotic to think that there really is a Filipino nation?" Go ahead. Call me quixotic. I still believe that there is a Filipino nation. Do you?
The invitations are coming in. Wyndham Hotel at Lee Mannheim Road is buzzing with weekly gatherings of people in search of fresh muses, prince charming, ticket vendors, and dance fanatics who allocate a chunk of their income paying dinner parties and donning dainty gowns. Groups are scurrying to reserve the traditional forest preserve for that once a year picnic precluded by a miniature parade or a quasi motorcade. One, two, three or all groups will invite the same people. Some will willingly respond. Some will go into hiding. Old faces will emerge like persistent weeds while the new ones will be stifled by their lack of clout. One celebration, same cuisine, overlapping activities, a common history, fragments - too many groups doing the same thing. You guessed it right. There are barely three weeks before Philippine Independence Day Celebration tickets come knocking again through our friends’ faces, the phone, the snail mail or through an e-vite.
Just like last year, the year before and for many more years to come (unless someone is brave enough to introduce a drastic change), our community will drown with whining complaints, fuzzy accusations and desperate blame games in understanding the rationale behind the Filipino’s perennial division. Some say we have taken the spirit of Independence to the bone. Everyone wants to be a chief and no one wants to be a subordinate. Like tiny microbes, we have preferred to organize as a microscopic serfdom instead of aspiring to grow into a sturdy empire. It seems as if the tribal spirit has never left the majority, leaving the extraordinary few to burn out in their own passion or isolated in their own activism.
Was the Philippine Independence something that the Filipino people as a nation really fought for, something that the colonizers and imperialist governments toyed with to save face and succumb to the inevitable change of power, or a historical blunder we are still trying to figure out. Is it the former, the latter, all of the above or none of the above? Raise your hand. What do you say? As for me, I dare not delve into historical data lest I throw mud on my face. I cast these questions for your groups to speculate. Instead of gossiping and bickering, why not indulge in an intellectual discussion for a change. Be sure you leave your "bolos" and your "revolvers" at home. Avoid any alcoholic drop. Control the tempers. Everything will be fine. As they say, "walang sabunutan!"
Sometime back, without having anything better to do, I coined a phrase in cyberspace and threw some cents about interdependence, "competitive interdependence" to be specific. In business, they call it "mergers and acquisitions". In a non-for profit organization, it is a coalition, an alliance or a confederation of some sort. From an ideogenetic standpoint, it is the conglomeration of matured independent states, both as a geographic attribute and as a mode of being. And in a day to day simple vocabulary, it is nothing else but making deals with others for our own survival or prosperity.
Meanwhile, when pesky individuals or groups sell us anything (from vintage calendars of adipose models to raffle tickets ruffled without prices) - all for the sake of a yet unknown but worthy cause, we could not help but think of their over-dependence on the same old fund raising strategy that drains out resources towards vague goals and inefficient means. The other day, for instance, I overheard a Filipino organization official worrying on how to spend the surplus money his organization has. He is not alone. There are a few Filipino American organizations whose members are so generous that they give without knowing what they are giving for. Perhaps they are not aware that souvenir programs good for recycling bins and fashion shows from so called designers (who are actually tailors or dressmakers) are mostly revenue sources for individual perusal and not for philanthropic purposes.
Generosity is a virtue. Unfortunately, there are those who abuse and transform it into folly. Over dependence is an attitude of mechanical dimensions that sucks out the energy from a source until the well runs dry and the sea becomes a desert. It is the training field for parasites, maggots and other human forms of despicable vermin.
After having "fought" for our Independence from the Spaniards, the Americans, the Japanese, the Dutch, the British, and other political and economic colonizers of the Philippines, we probably were not trained enough to consolidate our resources and work as a cohesive nation. On the contrary, our regions were used to battle against each other. Even among the intellectual elite, those who were blessed with better education, the Philippines was offered as a State, or as a Province. Is there anyone at all who completely defended the Filipino’s ability for self governance based on his awareness and pride for his own nation and his own people? Or was the struggle only a reaction against systematic political abuses to the point that Philippine Independence became a mere deliverance from colonial subjugation and not a total transition towards self-sufficiency and cultural sovereignty?
We have so many groups celebrating the Philippine Independence Day but not so much when it comes to election days (for fear of being selected as a Jury member?), and even less when it involves relevant issues such as immigration reform, supporting a Filipino American candidate for public service, or lobbying for the benefit of the Filipino World War II soldiers. Puzzling, isn’t it?
So what do you do next? First, greet your mother a "Happy Mother’s Day!". Next, recall the nugget of wisdom she has told you many times. Then, share the thought and pass the buzz around. (The Philippine Independence Month celebrations in Chicago and Suburbs will be a huge fete. Thousands of people will join the floats and march through the Golden Mile towards Grant Park. Once there, our local bands and singers will work as interdependent talents to bring out only the best sound ever. Broadcast and printed media journalist and writers will need to ask for a special pass from organizers to have a reserved space for the press. Sign up for the forthcoming picnics. Volunteers are needed to coordinate the different native games like sipa, piko, patentero, and tumbang preso to name a few. The food will be set up like our typical barrio fiesta in small booths made of nipa. Come with an empty tummy. Forget about line dancing and the usual "spaghetti" music. We have a myriad possession of folk dances to recall).
Suddenly, I woke up. The scenario looked so beautiful I am sure it was only a dream. Back in the old overused space of Labagh woods. June 10, 2007. We have the different dance groups dancing to a borrowed non-Filipino music in their own slovenly old ways. We have a long line of people waiting to be fed while small groups have their own food as other small groups of people go from one open corner to another. Out of nowhere, there will be a huddle of separate groups with separate banners and separate pictures. Kodak moments, of course.
The day is almost over. If we do not cease from being so overly dependent on the old ways of doing things for the sake of convenience and easy comfort, the expression of our Independence can not mature into the levels of interdependence. As a friend with Marxist tendencies vehemently argued with me, "Pare, the Pinoy is still a tribe. We have Ilonggos, Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Bicolanos, Bisayas, Cebuanos, Tarantados and other extra terrestrial aliens, to name a few. But are you that quixotic to think that there really is a Filipino nation?" Go ahead. Call me quixotic. I still believe that there is a Filipino nation. Do you?
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