It is 111th Independence Day today in my beloved Philippines.
Some are asking why are we celebrating Independence Day on June 12 when it was in July 4, 1946 that the US recognized our independence by virtue of the Treaty of Manila. As far as I can remember from my History class, it was observed every 4th of July in the Philippines until President Diosdado Macapagal signed Republic Act no. 4166 into law on August 4, 1964, designating June 12 (which had been previously observed as Flag Day) as the country’s Independence Day.
What is the significance of celebrating our independence day every year. Have we ever ask ourselves if we really are independent in the truest sence of the word? Why is it that most of us think that beauty means fair skin, blonde hair, blue eyes; being classy means Gucci, D&G, YSL and hot wheels means BMW, Benz, Ford, GMC.. Basically we desire to be Americans. Some Filipino parents prepares a grand party when a daughter is engaged to a foreigner. We patronize imported products instead of buying Filipino-made. Even old Filipino values had been thrown into the dustbin because we follow other culture. My point is, where is our identity as Filipinos? We may have been once a colony of Spanish & Americans but we are still Filipinos, we are not them and we will never be them. What works for them does not mean it will be good for us too. We have so many values that are endearing and are worth keeping like respect for our elders, close family ties, care for our olds and many more. National identity cannot be changed. If we insist on changing it, we will just end up being frustrated. For me, we should try to keep & perpetuate our positive values and get rid only of the negatives.
We should instead appreciate being Filipino. We should be proud of our own identity. There burns a fire in us that no other nation has, I think we are just not aware of it. If we Filipinos don't love our country, who will?
Thoughts to ponder especially today...
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