Cultural imperialism is also to blame
Cultural imperialism also has something to do also with the Philippines situation, Josef said.
“Parang tinuruan tayo na i-appreciate na naman ‘yong magaling sa kanila, ‘yong negosyo nila, na kikita supposedly tayo, pero of course, mas malaki ang kita nila… ‘Yong labor natin, lagi na lang mura. Tapos marami silang research ukol sa kung paano solusyunan ang mga problema… tayo, wala” (We are taught to appreciate, again, what’s good for them (imperialist countries), their businesses which would supposedly benefit us but which of course benefit them more. And they have many researches about how to solve their own problems, while we don’t), he explained.
Self-sufficiency: the answer to current and future crisis
He said the Philippines must learn how to stand on its own.
“Ang kailangan talaga, self-sufficiency. Kasi ang laki ng ating likas na yaman; ang dami nating lupa, ang dami pa nating puwedeng magawa sa loob ng bansa. Pero, I think, ang national consciousness, especially the national leadership, parang palabas nang palabas [o kailangang dumepende sa tulong mula sa labas]… So, I think, ang nangyayari ngayon is an example of a situation na sana ay hindi nangyari kung mas marami pa tayong ginawang efforts toward self-sufficiency” (We need self-sufficiency. We have rich natural resources; we have a lot of land. There is so much we can do here. But I think the national consciousness, especially of the national leadership, is that everything should go outward (or that we need to depend on outside help). So I think what is happening now is an example of a situation which would not have taken place if we had exerted more efforts toward self-sufficiency), Josef said.
“Naisip ko lang, parang hindi tayo makaalis sa dependence sa ibang bansa. I don’t know if it is natural and a logical tendency, pero maybe I can answer the question of how to solve the financial crisis, by posing another question: ‘Yun na lang ba ang tanging paraan para mag-progress tayo as a nation? Or are there other ways and means of making our country more independent, more creative, more sufficient, more empowered? Parang ang baba-baba ng self-esteem natin. Kapag walang tulong sa labas, hindi tayo uunlad. Parang hindi tama ‘yon. Parang mali” (I just thought, it seems that we cannot break away from dependence on other countries. I don’t know if it’s natural and a logical tendency, but perhaps I can answer the question of how to solve the financial crisis by posing another question: Is dependence is the only way for us to progress as a nation? Or are there other ways and means of making our country more independent, more creative, more sufficient, and more empowered? It seems that our self-esteem is very, very low. If there’s no outside help, we cannot grow. There is something wrong with that attitude), he added.
“‘Yan kasi ang itinuro sa atin ng mga colonizers, for many years: na parang inferior tayo, we always look up to them. Pero puwede naman tayong iwan kahit kalian. At kapag iniwanan na tayo, wala na, wala na tayong tatakbuhan kundi ang mga sarili natin” (That’s what the colonizers taught us, to think that we are inferior to them, that we must always look up to them. However, they can easily abandon us, and once they do so, we are left with nothing, with no one to run to but ourselves).(Bulatlat.com)
