---

Responses to Barth Suretsky's Article

From: Danzig<danzig?88@yahoo.com>
Subject: reaction to "Be Proud to Be a Filipino"
Date: 3 Dec 2000

I have some questions regarding Barth Suretsky's article.

Vietnam finally liberated itself from the Chinese, the Japanese, the French, and the Americans, but what Suretsky saw in April, 1998 was not Vietnamese pride but a return to French colonialism. He saw the "opera house in Hanoi," which was "modeled after the Opera in Paris," the "Second Empire theater," the "tree-lined" streets (emulating the boulevards of Paris?), and French-style cafes. Is this "pride in being Vietnamese," or pride in French culture? What was the motive behind this restoration? Is Saigon like Metro Manila during the late '70s and early '80s, a showcase for foreign investors and the local elite, with slum dwellers and "subversives" forced to the margins? Once the local elite receive a taste of Western-inspired opulence and ambition (e.g., studies abroad, tie-ups with multinationals to open trendy cafes and malls, marketing of trendy products such as cellular
telephones, luxury sports cars and other vehicles, etc.), will pollution, materialism, and urban migration eventually turn Saigon into another Manila? Do we see similar signs in Taipei and Bangkok?

Similarly, in his paragraphs on Manila, he talks about "beautiful edifices" from the Commonwealth period. Weren't these built by Americans? Does the same go for the Jai Alai Building, the Met, and the Rizal Stadium? Do these symbolize pride in being Filipino, or pride in a American colonial past?

Third, Suretsky quotes Huxtable, who wrote, "a disposable culture loses the right to call itself a civilization at all." Aren't all cultures influenced by globalization and mass commercial communication like that? From the United States, perhaps the biggest "throw-away" society in the world, to every nation now influenced by pop Western culture such as Hollywood movies and television shows, music videos, professional sports, and spending, perhaps Filipinos are not the only ones who are "dysfunctional." And what did Vietnam throw away when it embraced French culture, or the Philippines American culture?

Fourth, what do Vietnam in 1965-1975 and the Philippines during the late '60s to the early '70s have in common? Who controlled South Vietnam during the conflict, and who came in under a moral imperative to save Saigon generals from disaster? Who implemented Martial Law in the Philippines and who supported him? Do we see similar events in South American and African countries, if not Asian nations like Indonesia? Is it possible that lack of national pride is not the sole reason for socioeconomic problems in the Philippines?

Fifth, regarding the rice terraces, are these still "feat[s] of engineering"? Are they meant to be artistic artifacts or attempts by early people to produce food supplies from mountain areas? How does appreciation of such lead to national pride? Come to think of it, how does this type of
pride translate into more employment, the development of self-sustaining heavy and service industries, and more capital for the country? Are these
terraces similar to Brazilian rain forests, resources that should be preserved at all costs, even if it means sacrificing the lives of locals in exchange for treasures that will most likely be seen as aesthetically pleasing by the affluent?

Sixth, if the Filipino becomes aware of the "duplicity employed by the Americans and the Spaniards to sell out and make meaningless the very independent state that Aguinaldo declared," what is the possibility that this will translate into something similar to the Vietnam conflict? Will Filipinos disallow the use of English, throw out all expats, and take over multinational companies? Or worse, end up with something similar to Red
China's Cultural Revolution or Cambodia's Year Zero, where citizens will engage in rehabilitation to reverse "fifty years of American brainwashing"?
And after that, will it be a return to opera houses and French cafes, if not to malls, jokes through cellular telephones, professional basketball leagues, and industries run by expats, the Filipino elite, and the government?

Is it possible that a lack of national pride has less to do with socioeconomic success than the factors that lead to socioeconomic success for newly industrialized countries, if not all developed countries, namely (a) borrowing money at low interest rates with no strings attached, (b) protecting the economy and (c) intellectual piracy?

Are socioeconomic problems due to some form of dysfunctionality or lack of national pride, or should we bring in other factors? Consider, for example, the remark "Be proud to be a Filipino." Didn't Marcos say something similar with his utopian Bagong Lipunan ("New Society") program?

From: "Matthews" <deljane@sympatico.ca>
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 21:59:02 -0400

I like what I have read. I am an expat also but I still love the Philippines. It is a shame that not that may, including those who are still living in the Philippines really know their country and who they are. Could it be that the American system of education and curricula are at fault? When are we going to wake up and see how beautiful the country is and how beautiful the people could be?

The graft and corruption is dismal, the laziness and penchant for easy money is pathetic. But I agree with you, these are just symptoms of what really ills the country. Is there anything we can do about it? I am willing to help in whatever smal way I can.

Mr. Suretsky

Sometimes, it takes the view of someone like you looking in from the outside for a clearer picture of what ail this country. Looking back, almost four hundred years in the "monastery" , 50 years in "hollywood" plus five years of forced flritation with "Pokemon" has left an indelible psychedelic impression in our soul and identity. No doubt about it, long years of subjugation is the culprit.

Deep inside, we truly love our country proud of it even embracing many of its imperfections. What we badly need to reverse this national trauma is a government that can keep the end of the bargain in terms of real service to the people and not the other way around.

We deeply as a people appreciate your concern and I can truly say you are more Filipino than the rest of us. More power and may God bless you always.

---

---