Filipino “pride” is our downfall, we have an excess of it in our culture, to our detriment. We are obsessed with being the vida and the center of attention. Life, however, isn’t built up on grand gestures but rather the simple and consistent daily acts performed without fanfare and with humility and the love of honest work. St Therese talked about the importance of small acts, done with great love. This mindset is what motivates one to keep studying, working, saving money—the compound interest of doing the right thing when no one is watching. It’s in this humility and consistency that we build up curiosity, imagination, the openness to learning and hearing other viewpoints. But as long as we are caught up in our need for applause and external validation we will not be a truth-seeking nation
Is this denial of truth rooted in our culture of “hiya”, saving face and a distorted sense of pakikisama ? Most of our corruption occurs in small ways, our people pleasing and trying to be everything to everybody, until it snowballs into an avalanche at the national level. Until we challenge these deeply rooted parts of our culture-which begin at home and in our families—we won’t be a truth seeking people.
Filipino “pride” is our downfall, we have an excess of it in our culture, to our detriment. We are obsessed with being the vida and the center of attention. Life, however, isn’t built up on grand gestures but rather the simple and consistent daily acts performed without fanfare and with humility and the love of honest work. St Therese talked about the importance of small acts, done with great love. This mindset is what motivates one to keep studying, working, saving money—the compound interest of doing the right thing when no one is watching. It’s in this humility and consistency that we build up curiosity, imagination, the openness to learning and hearing other viewpoints. But as long as we are caught up in our need for applause and external validation we will not be a truth-seeking nation
Is this denial of truth rooted in our culture of “hiya”, saving face and a distorted sense of pakikisama ? Most of our corruption occurs in small ways, our people pleasing and trying to be everything to everybody, until it snowballs into an avalanche at the national level. Until we challenge these deeply rooted parts of our culture-which begin at home and in our families—we won’t be a truth seeking people.