Rock the Boat, Damn It!

You've been told so many times - by your parents, your friends, your religious leaders, your teachers, your professors. Do NOT rock the boat! Or, in more familiar terms, "That is wrong! This is how you SHOULD act!" Yes, once you enter college, you've been molded into something that would usually not get on anyone's nerves. Something that almost blindly follows tradition. Something - not someone.

You see,becoming part of a culture, a family, requires that you give up some things. Some things not worth giving up, in my opinion. Like dreams. Always you hear the words "Be practical". Well, practical is something akin to "existing", a far cry from "living your life". 

Repression is one of the most rampant phenomenon in our country. Repression of talent, repression of dreams ("Taas ng pangarap mo!"), repression of the greatness that lies within. If only we realize that we need to do something different from our forefathers, we could be the greatest nation in the world.

Let's look at Filipino history. A history of defeat, I am sorry to say. 300+ years under Spain, 40+ years under the USA, a few years under the Japanese, we are a people DEFEATED time and again. Why? Because we are never united toward a common goal. Case in point: Jose Rizal, national hero, wanted the Philippines to be a province of Spain. Screw historians for naming him national hero. Katipunan wanted independence. But then again, Aguinaldo and Bonifacio both wanted the power. See the division? See the lack of agreement? It's time to do something about it!

If only we can be united, we can be great. But sadly, we can't even be united under one language! Some people insist on maintaining the local dialect over the national language. Save cultural heritage? Bullshit. The only way to ensure a culture's survival is for it to be in a flourishing environment - but with this divisive behavior, how can we flourish? Some Filipinos don't even know how to speak Filipino. Dear.

Shame on the politicians who pocket the money for education and development. We need support for our talents, but the money is too busy getting politicians free trips to Europe to ever get around to helping scholars, scientists, or athletes.

Shame on them in their Mercedes-Benz cars and their mansions and their children in the Ateneo or in La Salle, while the rest are excluded because they "don't know how to play the game". These apathetic people make the nation stagnate. They should be inspiring poor people, not ignoring them. They should be reaching out. I never see that happening. EVER. People, giving dole outs is NOT reaching out and inspiring them. Talking in documentaries is NOT reaching out. Pope John Paul II got shot - he was reaching out. That's the standard. But avoid getting shot if you can.

Please, rock this boat of ignorance. Rock this boat of every man for himself. Look at how that worked out. We make the mistake of thinking that achievement is NOT something we can do working together. The rich leave out the poor, and the poor think badly of the rich. It won't work.

Survival of the fittest is an excuse you cannot afford to use, if you really want to see the Philippines as a first world country. If you think some people deserve what they have, think again - that is what they've been set up for. Maybe YOU can help them realize what they have to do, instead of blaming them for their plight. If you think you don't deserve what you have, you must be doing something wrong. Find it, ask for help. Again: no man is an island!

In the meantime, I'll be here inspiring people to think and look at how they can help other people, and help themselves in the process.