The culture of Dependency and the Search for a Savior
One of the heritage that we received from Spain was religion. If you are a reader of history, Spain used religion as a tool to subdue and control the Philippines and the Filipinos. Jose Rizal noted how cleverly the friars was able to induce the natives to submission by constantly telling them that they were all sinners, and they were nobodies, and that the way to heaven was not to do good deeds or follow your own understanding, but to seek forgiveness as only the Church can grant. Curiously, a hundred years after we gained independence of Spain, and in spite of the legions of great teachings Christianity can offer, the message above is still one of the main themes you can hear in many homilies. And sadly, the average Filipino not only hears this message from the priest, but also hears this from his public officials. This is in contrast to the theme that Protestant ethic helped build the prosperity of the United States by stressing that the way to look good to the Lord is to work hard, and be an honest law abiding citizen.
I would reckon a few hundred years of repetition has deliver that strongly, and unfortunately the way our society has developed, it has indeed reinforced to the average Juan that it is true. He looks around, and indeed they see that in our society, most of the people that have progressed are those with the right compadre, or sponsor.
If you witness the great hoopla and importance we place on elections, you will note so many people so zealously trying to look for saviors, which many of the candidates are also too willing to be the pretenders. In more progressive countries, elections are less of an event. People know that officials are just human, and most things will be alright irregardless of who sits in power, as long as they are vigilant, and keeps them honest, and not to do something too stupid.
The most popular show here is Wowowee, where the contestants take turn telling their tales of woe, in the hope of attracting donations or charity. Every politician will tell you that almost on a daily basis, he receives legions of requests for help and doleouts.
Unfortunately, the people making the promises are not only too human, but clearly unable to fulfill such, and moreover have really a different selfish agenda in mind. The last 50 years of the Philippines plays like a refrain that never goes away- leaders and institutions failing the trust.
That is not only in the Philippines. Across the world, almost every major credible person or institution have also not come up to expectations – be it General Motors, Wall Street, Goldman Sachs, the Catholic Church, Tiger Woods, Bill Clinton, the European Union, Toyota, or even Obama.
The Filipinos should be told to trust themselves, and rely on their own efforts to better themselves. IN many Asian countries, leaders connect with followers, and tell them to work hard and sacrifice. In here, because of such culture of dependency, the leaders who ask for sacrifice typically don’t get reelected, and therefore the most the potential candidate will be able to do is to pretend they have solutions, and get the vote.
I read a story about the Chinese farmer, and the proverbs that they spawned over the centuries, “ No food without blood and sweat.”, “ Don’t depend on heaven for food, but on your own two hands carrying the load.”, and “ If a man works hard, the land will not be lazy”.
Or specially the last one, “ No one who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.”
I am afraid of human saviors because we have not seen any the last 50 years here, and the most promising ones have invariably been the most disappointment. Moreover, if you look at 20th century history, the biggest damage have been by purported very popular saviors – Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Kim Il Sung, Pol Pot , etc.
Let us stop waiting for a savior, but rely on ourselves. The future of the Philippines is not on any one person, but in all of us.
June 5th, 2010 at 4:53 am
“The Filipinos should be told to trust themselves, and rely on their own efforts to better themselves.” -
Agreed! Dependency-mindset & attitude has been the great block in our progress as persons & citizens of this country. Thus, a paradigm shift into self-sustaining, & self-reliant mindset is the key to develop responsible citizens & leaders. The answer to the question “How To?” depends on our creative thinking, self-confidence, & persistence to explore all possibilities for growth & success. Thus, no savior on this planet can be able to save us from poverty & misery except the “savior” which resides in our head since conception & birth – ‘MIND’, sophistically designed by our creator, the Infinite Intelligence.
July 18th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
One of the Filipino traits which I believe I could be most proud of is the solidarity in the family. Some may say it’s the love and care that build the ties, but others may say it’s dependency. When you ask parents from a less fortunate families on how could they rise out from poverty, they would simply say their only hope is their children. If their child finish his/her studies and got a job, maybe work abroad and send home dollars, or maybe marry a foreigner and bring them over. Sometimes, it’s easier to pass on your dream to someone when you think you can’t fulfill it and just hope that that someone could. Truly, this is a Filipino culture that has been rooted from our history and still exist until now which could be pass on through generations.
I’m hoping that the leaders that we put in our country should be an “inspiration” for us to dream, not a “savior” for us to stop dreaming.
July 27th, 2010 at 2:43 am
It is true,Leaders and Institutions failing the trust. That is why there are two kinds of Filipinos now residing in the Philippines, the KATIPUNEROS and the ILLUSTRADOZ. Centuries of differences which make them hard to blend to each other, only the church made them to stand together after that they go different ways.
March 31st, 2011 at 12:09 pm
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December 21st, 2011 at 8:53 am
If we look at Philippines-Inc. from the vantage of Computer Industry we can say that Philippines had been victimize with corrupted software. If Christian teaching can be compared to software, The good LORD didn’t intend that his followers would fall in our predicament. True christian teaching can lead one to contentment, prosperity and happiness. After all JESUS said “I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly” The truth of the matter is that what we acquired from Spain-hence from Rome is a kind of corrupted christianity. There were courageous individuals in Europe around that time (1500s) that fight to correct it, i.e. The Reformation, (Martin Luther, Zwingli and others who were persecuted by Rome for exposing her errors, yet Rome remain adamant. Now 4 centuries later we see the fruit of what corrupted teaching in Christianity had done to us, not only to us, but to some Latin American countries. I can confidently argue that the prosperity of the United States and some countries of Western Europe were due to the fact they they understand more what real christianity is all about and how it can help in nation building.