While I'm watching the live updates on the 2011 Women's World Cup finals and vigorously rooting for Japan, I am contemplating on this 7-11 survey that I saw a couple of days ago, and I'm talking of the previous' week's survey: Proud ka pa din bang maging Pinoy? (Are you still proud to be a Filipino?)
While it's a good thing that majority is proud to be one, it's alarming to see a huge number is not. 42% is just not right, it's almost half of the people who took the survey. And I may not be the best person to talk about this, just look at my profile and you'll know why. It's not surprising that a lot of Filipinos doesn't feel the pride of being one, we are a flawed nation. We have a disgustingly corrupt government and people lack discipline. When we are on international news, it's usually something that would upset the world. We have very little sense of patriotism, something I really envy from other countries. We have a lot to work on to improve, and saying that is an understatement.
Here's the thing though, I may not like a lot of Filipino stuff and I have a huge longing to go out of the country, to Japan specifically. But I know in my heart, that here is where my home is. This is the only place I would choose to die. I see the real beauty of my country and its people and I look forward to seeing more. While I breath, I hope to live to see the day that we become a nation truly proud for who we are. And yes, I am proud to be a Filipino.
