Cherice on Oprah

Pride in what exactly?

Lea Salonga is an achiever. But cascading her achievements to the rest of Filipino humanity is a stretch and nothing more than pure fantasy. To be proud to be Filipino because of the achievements of a handful of individuals is an underclass fantasy. Let’s instead be proud to be Filipino – but let us be proud for the RIGHT REASONS... and not simply of singers & boxers. Our pride needs to be underpinned by an ethic of collective achievement. Collective achievement is achievement that cannot be attributed to any one person. For example, Japan’s achievement of recovering mightily from its World War II defeat is not because of the efforts any one Japanese hero or even small handful of them. Its success can be attributed primarily to the overall character of Japanese society.

If we have achieved nothing collectively as a people, then how can there be pride in being a part of this collective "Filipinos"? We need to at the very least feel a shared accountability for the overall character of Filipinos collectively. Individual achievement is easy because each one of us have direct control over our individual destinies.There are in fact thousands of examples of Filipinos that are individually successful. To have true, sustainable and natural pride in being Filipino the real challenge lies in pulling ourselves together to achieve as a people and not only as individuals. Our success as individuals is our own individual business and no one has the right to piggyback on any one’s individual achievement. The collective success of The Filipino, on the other hand, is our collective business.

We therefore cannot go out there and achieve individually and then trumpet the overall greatness of Filipinos on the basis of this individual achievement. For every successful Filipino individual there will be hundreds of thousands of others who will undermine this achievement. How then do we impart the mindsets of achievers on the collective character of the Filipino? Unfortunately there is no easy way of doing this. Pointing out the obvious fact that the Philippine nation amounts to nothing more than a dismal failure merely elicits anger and denial. Indeed, careful examination of what so-called “nationalists”encourage us to uphold in the name of “national pride” yields some disturbing insight. Be proud to be Filipino and the rest will follow – this encourages delusional and empty pride that is ultimately unsustainable. Express yourself in “Filipino”, our national language – this essentially cuts Filipinos off from the language that connects us to cutting-edge knowledge – English. Protect and perpetuate Filipino tradition – why should we if there is nothing in our tradition that made us successful as a people?
We need to cut through the layers of mindsets built up over the centuries and get to the very heart of what it means to be a nation – a collective dream to achieve together and not only as individuals and certainly not apart from one another. Once we have achieved this, then the substance we crave to feed our pride to be Filipino will come naturally.

Certainly there are many higher-profile initiatives led by a who’s who list of political names aiming to achieve progress. Such initiatives come and go. Yet the above three inputs into our culture stand out as unchanged constants in the last five decades that saw the Philippines go from a shining legacy of American colonial rule to what it is today – a basket case in a region of achievers.

i say again lovinni, those you pointed out are achievements of individual filipinos. we have no right to piggyback on their achievements. what i am waiting for is a collective achievement of filipinos as a nation... like how south koreans have risen from the ashes of war into one of the most progressive nation in asia. singapore who used to be a swampy village into an economic hub in asia.

you know whenever i meet asians elsewhere, they talk about how proud they are as japanese, koreans, etc but not for the singers, boxers, etc they have but for how great their country is and their collective achievements...

let ask ask ourselves, what have we as a NATION not as an individuals achieved??? dream on!

your thread is a starting point to a number of real issues...all meshed together & need not be on a separate thread.

surely there are so many filipino achievers in music, literature, arts, technology, etc. but they wouldn't become one if not for the use of western innovations... pop music, internet, & of course, the english language itself. take this away from filipinos & tell me what would happen? if not for the western "you tube" invention, the farthest charice would go is perhaps at your regular noon time show. of course, the minds & talents of those achievers you mentioned cannot be harnessed if not for western products and tools of innovation. from where do we think these guys flexed their minds? not from the "balarila" i'm sure.

i salute their indivual achievements that's for sure. but i simply cannot trumpet my "proud pinoy" slogan for something someone did on their own. especially when they have molded themselves with the help of learning tools all too foreign.

lets get real philippines!

my hairs stands detailing for every melody Charice is singing... and just like Oprah... i applauded with surprised... Excellent performance...!!

without a doubt, many of our fellow filipinos have reached the status of world class achievers, errrr, i mean performers. but quite the obvious, their talents did not became success stories not without western intervention...

if charice guested in one of those pinoy tv shows, would she get that amount of popularity mileage? or can you proudly say "i saw charice singing in eat bulaga & Wow! Whooo... that's something!". if not for oprah, charice would just be your regular noon time show contestant.

leah salonga for years acted & sang in the philippines but never reached farther than those "silly love teams" as she said herself. broadway/ms saigon made her talents recognized.

if only pinoys invented you tube & perhaps called it "tubo mo"??? then our home grown talents would get the mileage we deserve.

my fellow filipinos, if indeed we want to feel proud of our talents, let us first be able to bring them closer to the world, in our own ways & means.

get real tatess... read again. calling jhunbug. paki translate nga... pero pasensya na po. hindi ko gawain maki ride-on sa tagumpay ng ibang tao.

lets be proud to be pinoys. but be proud for the right reasons.

mariah, is being a diva your definition of "smart"? no wonder you look up at celebrities in politics & catapult them as your leaders... smart eh???

hello norms, good to hear from you again. first, i need an open mind... para sa lahat, kuro kuro lang at wala pong personalan okay.

i simply can't be "proud of being pinoy" just because of someone's singing talent or individual achievements. besides, oprah & you tube do have a business relationship & charice, well, is nothing but a commercial commodity. oprah's comments are of course part of her script. her talents, well really she's good but that's her own business & being a pinoy has got nothing to do with her enhanced vocal ability. besides, many people are already having such talent & there's nothing to be excited about that.

EMS, the "mighty pinoys?" i don't think so. even the Pinoy riggers are saying the same thing "if not for Pinoys, Saudi oil cannot be brought to land". But the logic here is that, who were the ones who invented technological advancements which essentially, is the foundation of your industries (ie. medical, oil mining, etc) and of course, your jobs. most of all, you were educated by western resources since most of what you learned from school, are taught by the westerners thru their books & other mediums, right? you see, you were taught by the west so in future, you can serve them right. i doubt if they will ever hire you if you were taught by filipino textbooks if of course there are any. i mean c'mon, how many textbooks do you see out there that are written by pinoys much more in tagalog? how many technological advancements our techies are producing everyday? yes there are some but all of them were inflated by western standards of education.

i will however be proud of being a pinoy if for example;

1) we see manila streets as spotless and clean.
2) traffic although congested, are well organized.
3) pinays in japan are not known to be pr..ti.(you know).
4) politicians are actualy doing their jobs.. & people are electing the right ones.
5) the education system is actually educating people.
6) 80% of the forest instead of 20% still stands today.
7) rice is being produced rather than imported.
8) our tv shows aren't full of garbage.
9) presidents are elected by vote & not by street politics.
10) ofw's, instead of fuelling other country's business, should be fuelling their homeland.

however, i do understand your plight... your (what used to be mine) country is in deep deep & desperate need of hereos. often, your idea of a hero is someone like lea salonga & charice. so sad... but for a nation of "komiks", "fanta-serye" & "karaoke" lovers, no wonder your idea of being a hero & pinoy achiever is somewhat construed.

i am sorry norms but really, i cannot have charice as the content of my filipino pride. again, i wanted to be proud of being pinoy but ONLY FOR THE RIGHT REASONS & collectively & not from an individual at that. of course, i am not asking you to stop what you're doing or that you should believe in me, at the end of the day, we need only to compare our status as the product of our conceptual beliefs. you believe in yours, i believe in mine then let's see where its going to take us...

please my dear friends, save yourself from such diluted concepts & let your future children understand what real hereos should be... escape from you denial syndrome & most of all GET REAL PHILIPPINES!

Let Alecs be with his own opinion, Thats our rule here. Respect! If Alecs dont feel to be a part of celebrating the success of our kabayan, so be it. Ganyan ba talaga ang nagiging mentality once na nakatungtong ka sa ibang bansa na progresibo? Its like putting down the name of a fellow pinoy na nagiging successful( Parang crab mentality yan ah). Ganyan din ba ang isasagot mo sa isang puti kung sakaling mabanggit nya sayo na may isang magaling na pinoy singer na nagpahanga kay oprah or may isang mighty boxer from the south that makes every Pinoy worth mentioning by a foreigner? Well, for me Pinoys will never be pinoy once you take away all the bad things you mentioned in your example. As i always been telling my friends, no matter how bad your past or your experiences, dont deny it! It will already be a a part of your personal 201 file and that will make you stronger in the future. Just like gold, na kailangang dumaan sa apoy to reveal its true beautiful yellow color.

Just my opinion, Im not insisting it to anyone.

"Thy will be done!" 

ganon ka na ba kababaw arnauld? masaya ka na ba na ang pinas ay na-ilagay sa mapa dahil lang sa pag kanta? betcha by golly wow! well im sorry bro but that's not something i can be proud of, mas mataas pa dyan ang pangarap ko!

mababaw na kung mababaw, but the fact is that I'm considerate to all the good things.. di ko alam baka manhid ka na nga.. at least im contented.. ur dreams? i'm gonna leave that 2 you, and it's your right to prove your point, pero sana naman wag ka na managasa ng iba... Glecs opened a positive thread and suddenly you grand-stood and bombarded us with ur negative comments it's not proper you know and no matter how low you think of us.. we are most likely to have higher standard of ethics than you.. and you'll probably reach the top of everest but i bet you there's nothing there. and the sad thing is you'll spend the rest of your life living with your ego.... up there!

same as the intensity of cherice... good thing she is a genuine pinoy, unlike mudbloods here.

btw, if der's any bad thing to being "proud pinoy", definitely u mudblood. shame... shame... shame...

nice, post though... thanks.

"Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray" (anonymous)

geez, alecs, r u gay? guess so...

u only envy glecs post, though... u thought it shud hav been u. lolz!

u r right, it really sucks being a filipino, you know, when it comprises people like u... mudbloods.

nice post... :)

"Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray" (anonymous)

i really like charise so much and im proud of here!

did you see the thread of tatess? Siya unang bumoto...dali bisitahin nyo

magandang idea yan, for another thread.Try ko ha? wait na lang kayo.

Medyo personalan na.... hehehehe... medyo awat muna sa personal attacks.
Ayoko sana magpost dito and just let opinions and exchange of ideas flow.
I will defend anyone's right to voice out their opinion even though their opinion is something that would almost make me knock their head off. That is the pain in free speech.
If you don't like the opinion, try not to resort to personal attacks. Come up with a better statement to sell your ideas. Or just get out of the thread.

Now on the topic of piggybacking on other people's achievement.... I think it is not. These people are serving as flickers of light in the darkness of the country's situation. It may be in the field of music, or the field of sports, or academics, etc. and I see them as that... flickers of light.
It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness as the Good Lord says.
And in a cold dark night the flickers of light by the stars in the sky give us hope for a bright new day.

To remind everyone again... sell your ideas well and not resort to personal attacks.

Click Logo for the Filexpatriates Group

Fil-expat group is inviting you to attend the sport activity, please be there... as you said, you are looking for the accomplishment of a group not an individual....join a group and show leadership.

You said your statements and if you believe you are right on your principles ,,, come on we are inviting you to join us... don't be afraid, all of us are civilized and a true blooded filipinos.....pinoy kami at masaya kami pag may tagumpay ang isa.....

bawat tao, anong lahi ka man, babae o lalaki,
ay nilikha na magkakaiba..dagdagan pa ng mga eksperiensya at napag-aralan..in short, walang tao na nilikha na magkakapareho..dyan po nag-uugat ang mga pagkakaiba ng mga tao sa mundo..lalo na ng mga pagkakaiba sa mga kuro-kuro..(tama po b??)

opinyon mo, opinyon ko, lahat mahalaga!..ang diperensya lang ay kung paano ipapaliwanag, paano tatanggapin at ang motibo sa pagpapahayag ng opinyon..

QL po ay isang public forum..At nagkataong me isang kababayan ang nasiyahan sa isa pa nating kakabayan..
Malamang ang motibo ng paglalagay nya sa forum na ito ay pra ibahagi ang kasiyahan at pagmamalaking naramdaman nya dahil isang kalahi ang nabigyang pansin sa ibang bansa kya "PROUD TO BE PINOY" kasi pinoy naman lahat ng andito sa filexpat (supposed to be lahat?)..YAN AY OPINYON NYA..

Ngayon sabi nga: "Our success as individuals is our own individual business and no one has the right to piggyback on any one’s individual achievement. The collective success of The Filipino, on the other hand, is our collective business. We therefore cannot go out there and achieve individually and then trumpet the overall greatness of Filipinos on the basis of this individual achievement". ETO NAMAN AY OPINYON MO..

ANG OPINYON KO NAMAN AY GANIRE:
opinyon mo, mahalaga sa u..
opinyon ko, mahalaga sa kin!..
ano ba ang motibo mo at sumagot ka sa thread na ito?
ipahayag ang "SARILING KURO-KURO NG MALAYA"!

PERO PARA SABIHIN NA MALI AKO AT TURUAN PA AKO NG DAPAT KONG ISIPIN AT GAWIN, AT HUSGAHAN NG DAHIL LAMANG SA ISANG "THREAD" NA ITO, ABA! ABA! ABA! (tao ka ba??)

mga pare, mga mare..
kuro-kuro lang! walang personalan!!
khit anong lahi ka pa..khit ano pa ang estado mo sa buhay, RESPETO LANG PO SA BAWAT ISA!!

O cya, post na ulit mga kabayan!!!

Copy ko kaya lahat ng youtube video nya di nakakasawa lalo na pag nasa pick na ng note aliw na kaka kilabot. complain na nga kapit-bahay kasi umaga gabi Charise.

 "Be of good courage and HE shall strengthen thine heart..." (www.truelovewaits.co...)

nakakatuwa talaga ang magbasa ng thread hehehe

nakakaaliw kanya kanyang kuro-kuro kanya kanyang isip kanya-kanyang kaalaman based on their experiences based on their knowledge based on their heart based on what the readers will say etc. etc.

nakakadugo ng ilong hahaha

respect na lang sa kanya kanyang opinion don't take it seriously

Lec sama po kayo sa aming SportFest...

debate sa pilipinas,senado, congreso, ngayon pati sa QL, ---> yan kc napupulot sa kapapanuod ng WOWAWEE,

yes i guess you're right. many pinoy folks will never be enlightened about the truth simply because they choose not too.

ay buhay pa pala itong thread na ito, sensya na, ngayon ko lang nabasa. Naaliw ako kay "alecscotland".

Simple lang yan mga repapips, wag nyo na lang pansinin mga comments ni Mr. Right (alecscotland), then tuloy lang usapan bout sa thread. Isipin nyo na lang, saling-pusa lang sya sa ating mga "low-level" na pinoy na hindi marunong umintindi. Tignan nyo, aalis din yan. :)

As for Cherice, grabe kang bata ka! Ano bang pinakain sa iyo ng nanay mo!! GALING GALING!!! \o/