My friend forwarded to me an article that really bothered me. I was so disturbed that I wonder if it's just me being "oh so patriotic" or it's a very alarming phenomenon that is going on with the younger generation in my home country. Are the schools to be blamed for this?
I was raised to be patriotic since I was in preschool. We would sing the “Lupang Hinirang” every morning during the flag ceremony, and we would chant the “Pilipinas Kong Hirang” every afternoon during the flag retreat. Not to mention the recitation of the “Panatang Makabayan” after the singing of the National Anthem. I would sing and recite every word by heart. My Alma Mater did a good job! I learned to love my country and my countrymen deeply.
In college, I went to the University of the Philippines; I received a higher level of education on patriotism. It is the kind of education that taught me how to make a stand and remain firmly on the side of the political arena that protects and upholds democracy and human rights. I learned to love my country and my countrymen more deeply.
What's happening to my country and my countrymen who I learned to love so deeply?
"The present generation does not seem to have the same devotion to country that we, as children, learned from our parents and teachers. At home and in school before the war, we were taught to love the Philippines as the land of our birth and "the child of the sun returning" as the English lyrics of the anthem then proclaimed. The soldiers who fought in Bataan must have gathered strength and courage from the strains of that sacred song as they resisted the alien invader, many of them to death.
Some may say that our anthem is not as martial as the Star Spangled Banner of the Americans or the Marseillaise of France to whip the blood to thoughts of glory. The Filipinos are not a bellicose people. Our "Lupang Hinirang" sings of peace, the beauty of our hills and seas and the azure skies, and the treasured liberty we will defend with our very lives. We should all rise to hear those gallant words."
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18 comments:
Yan lang ang problema sa yo. Nag-UP ka. Heheheheh! Joke lang...
I myself is guilty for not knowing the words of both the US and RP anthems. What I did is type in small font both songs and laminate it. I carry them in my wallet. When the occasion demands, I just accessed it. When you seldom sing them, it's hard to recall the words, you know. But of course, I stand in attention when anthems are sung, even if I dont know the words.
i can sing both national anthems, actually sila lang yung kabisado ko besides, bahay kubo, leron leron sinta and a little bit more, am not in the mood to think and type here everything lolz.
anyways, i am patriotic and i am proud to be filipino...... mas naramdaman ko ang pagiging pinoy ko pag nasa ibang bansa ako..... nakaka touch pag ang ibang lahi ay tinitingala tayo.....
i remember when i was in the ship sa japan, roomate ko is vietnamese, aba pinag malaki nya na yung brief nya ay OMNI, made in the phils hehehe! tapos yung nakasama ko na malaysian, he is a moslem but his name is RIZAL, thats his first name, he told me he was named after JOSE RIZAL talaga.... see......
I am always proud of the country where i came from..... but since am here sa US, syempre, i am also giving my loyalty sa bansang ito.... why shouldnt i?? sabi nila theres no place like HOME, thats true, i wont deny that but i can say the USA is my second HOME, so this is still a home di ba??
basta yun na yun... in situations that USA and Philippines differ on ideas, i am rational naman to think kung saan ako.... ganon lang yun//.....
JOTIM
PUNZI, nasobrahan ba ng pagiging taga-UP? Oy, di naman ako naging aktibista dati :)
TJ, That's a good idea indeed. Dito kasi nagha-hum lang ako sa American Anthem, nakakahiya, mailagay nga rin ang lyrics sa wallet ko para join na rin ako...hehehe
JOTIM, kababata...taas-noo-taga-daet-ako...totoo yan, parang mas naging makabayan ako at nagsusulat ako ng tungol sa Pilipinas ngayong nandito na ako. Tama ka...am proud to be Pinoy too! Ngayon ko lang na-prove na nandito na ako na iba talaga tayo, akala ko nung nasa Pinas pa ako kalokohan lang yun. Sa mga National Conventions, parati pakilala ko, "I'm Maria,I am a Filipina" tutal ang kasunod na tanong sakin, "where are you from?".
What's in a song if it does not evoke any feeling?
In my view our anthem was relevant after the wars I and II. Because there was that sense of rebuilding and being victorious against powerful external forces.
During the early years of Marcos' New Society era, the "bagong lipunan song" (I can't remember its title) was relevant. The song evoked a feeling of advancement and progress.
Then during the darker days of the Marcos era, the song "Bayan ko" made us feel the martyrdom of people like Ninoy who fought the dictatorship.
Quote:
Our "Lupang Hinirang" sings of peace, the beauty of our hills and seas and the azure skies, and the treasured liberty we will defend with our very lives.
For the younger generations today, what feeling does those words evoke? how would the youth relate to those words? It's becoming more and more difficult. Where are the hills, the seas and the skies? How can we defend our country when there is no visible enemy, but corrupt and incompetent people within that destroys it?
Perhaps our national anthem has become irrelevant. We can do either of two things. Change it, or change ourselves.
KA URO, that is a brilliant reaction to this post! Only a person full of wisdom can make such reflections of the article and my post. This is sad but true...
"Perhaps our national anthem has become irrelevant. We can do either of two things. Change it, or change ourselves."
I have to agree with Ka Uro. If only media in the Philippines can be put to good use. With all those Korean telenovelas shown in prime time tv, the MTV and all those rap songs that remain almost unmatched by Filipino slapstick humor of noontime shows and shouting matches in our own telenovelas which form the aesthetic values of the masses, the chances of being patriotic may be bleak.
Yun naman e opinion ko lang po.
what, indeed, is happening? i posted about this in my blog on the day it appeared. and now, after reading the other comments, i think it really is a matter of relevance. but i don't think the media front is so bleak. after all, the fact that tagalog (not english) is now the language of choice on tv should be cause for optimism. now, if we can only direct this to nation-building instead of nation-destroying...
I dont know if everybody will agree with this.... usually we can feel that we are truly Filipino if we are not in Philippines! Why, we dont care when we are in our own land. Living a simple life. What we did there is go to work, watch news, gimik dito , gimik doon, punta sa fiestahan. Whining about our government in dealing with crimes and rising prices of oil and etc.Then matutulog and will do the same thing the following day.
In short hawak natin ang oras, we dont feel the pressure of living. We have a lot of friends and relatives to turn to in times of crises (financially and emotionally) .
But working or living abroad really makes us feel Filipino, we miss our native dishes... must work hard so that we can pay for our bills especially the credit cards we own and of course padala ng pera sa pamilya sa Pinas. We would like to eat our own food but its cheaper to eat in Mcdo than buying Filipino foods.Feel proud if somebody praised our simple achievements and will hear from the bosses thats why they prefer to hire Filipinos because of excellence in performance.. These small things make us value ourselves as being Pinoys….. sana nga hindi na dapat lumabas ng Pinas para magising ang bawat Pilipino na tayo ay Pilipino…. im sure this will happen if CRAB MENTALITY is gone......... but some pinoys also binabaon yan kahit sa labas ng Pilipinas. heheheheh. so sad...
TITO ROLLY, when I was bach home those Korean telenovelas were just starting, uso pa nga F4 noon eh (ngayon ba?). I agree that the media is a very powerful instrument to bring back nationalism.
VONJOBI, that is a very optimistic insight, and I think that is very much needed by our countrymen. A lot of negativity can be felt, seen and heard that being optimistic in this ind of reality is really impressive. And I am hopeful as you are...
ARVIN, right bakit ba mas nagsusulat ako ng tungkol sa Pilipinas ngayong nasa Amerika na ako? At sobrang naghahanap akio ng mga lutong "gata" na dati hindi o naman pinapansin pag nakahain sa harap ko? Mas naging nationalistic ba ako ngayong umalis ako sa Pilipinas?
my two cents worth. Being patriotic doesn't necessarily mean one should know the national anthem. It is not the only measurement for patriotism. A lot of our leaders knows our national anthem but they're the ones prostituting our country.
this is very disturbing indeed!
i read the article and was infuriated. It just showed how we Filipinos are confused and miseducated.
I myself have experienced seeing what Mr. Cruz related, I got involved in an argument with a group of students in one of the moviehouses in the university belt area of Manila when I remind them to stand up and honor the national anthem.
Maybe this happens only in Manila, I never saw this type of incident when I was in Cebu. In Cebu, people
even sing the "Lupang Hinirang" in their dialect (after singing the tagalor version) and even stop
their car when they hear the song.
camil
Mas naging patriotic ako lalu ng nag-join ako sa military dito 'kze mas mahalaga ang role mo kahit kakaramput lang ang naco contribute mo kumpara sa entirety ng armed forces. sana nga hindi mo na kailangang lumabas para magising lang.....
dondee
TITO SAM, it's true that knowing the anthem by heart is not the only measure of patriotism. And it's a shame for all those government leaders who tarnish the Filipino pride instead of being the role models. How can we really show reverence to the Phil Flag, a symbol of our nationality?
CAMIL, I grew up in Bicol and I hope they still honor the symbol of our country and our nationality as they do in Cebu. Cebu is still historical being the first place where we acquired our first independence from the colonizers(when Lapu-lapu killed Magellan in Mactan).
DONDEE, "sana nga hindi mo na kailangang lumabas para magising lang"...sana nga!
JAYRED, continue to make our country proud of you. Shame on those migrants who are lost and don't even know their roots and their own culture. I made a book for my daughter (www.teachersol.blog-city.com), a legacy for her and her children's children, so they will always know where they came from. I have a family tree (paternal/ maternal)graphed for her too. My daughter couldn't speak Tagalog fluently anymore, but she knows she's a Filipina.
makabayan pa rin ako kahit anong mangyari:) di ko mahabaan komento ko dahil nasa mall kami:)) hehehe
nangungumusta lang.
speaking of updating the national anthem, check out Update the National Anthem?. ambeth ocampo weighs in on a different aspect.
LWS, kamusta ang bakasyon? Balitaan mo ako ha. Good to know you haven't fogotten your roots.
VONJOBI, a good research! This opening line caught me: "Can our youth still identify with a tune that is over a century old? Or do we reinvent or repackage that same tune to make our youth sit up, rap, or dance, as they revisit the past?"
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