Why is Filipino society so divided & angry, when all of us Filipinos regardless of color only want progress?

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Rillifane

This is a very useful and intelligent question. I am glad you have asked it.

Conflict is an unfortunate fact of the human condition and exists everywhere to the detriment of everyone.

I am a mixed race Anglo-Asian American and we have just as many conflicts in the United States as there are in the Phillipines.

Because the USA is wealthier, many of these conflicts are overlooked but they are there beneath the surface. If, God forbid, there were to be a severe economic downturn in the USA you might very well see fighting in the streets.

Indeed, even at present, the conditions in some parts of the USA are little different from civil war with heavily armed gangs battling each other for control.

So the truth is that almost all countries that do not have homogenous populations have these same problems.

This is not to condone disunity of course. Whether in the Phillipines or the USA the benefits of unity and cooperation are obvious. People of good will everywhere owe it to their nation, their community, and their family to promote tolerance, understanding and cooperation among all men and all nations.

Let us pray that these things can be achieved.

.

Sweetness

I'm Native American, and honestly we have similar problems. I think its just when you have societies where there is more opportunity for some, and less for others - it causes so much unrest among the people and divides them. Some have more money, social power, and although people want to believe you can do anything in America, you may have to work 10 times harder than someone else born into the right color of skin, or a life of privelage. Religious beliefs are complicated as well because everyone believes they are right, and no church or religious sect preaches to accept anothers religion as right - that in itself causes a lot of conflict as well and prevents people from becoming "one". Its a really complex question, and I don't have all the answers. I can just relate to your frustrations and concerns as someone who has the same types of questions and observations within my own race.

SquareEyedDoll

I have no idea as well and this is a question that I have been asking myself. I wish everyone would just stop blaming each other and just work together.

NONAME

mark ryan above me says has hit right on.

we are basically many nations within one nation.
we are not filipinos but rather we are either tagalog, ilocano, kapampangan, bisaya, ilonggo, waray, indigenous, etc.
& we are also rich or poor, haves or have nots, lefts or rights, etc. etc. etc.

i have one thing to point out though, i do not believe that everyone of us wants progress, i mean progress for the better. some do want progress but only for themselves or to progress backwards or sideways or whatever. remember we still have some people with the crab mentality.

& lastly the all mighty pride. we as a nation have so much pride, it hurts us. we have pride in our own hometown, our own dialect, the doctrine we believe in or was born in & those overpower the willingness to really want progress because we would rather vote someone into public office because that person grew up in the same town we did, or we speak the same dialect or we can benefit from that person.

Binibini

that's everywhere man.

Norbert S

BiniBini says it succinctly: "It's everywhere, man!" You use the word "WE" far too freely. You do not speak for everyone! It is extremely presumptious of you to make such a statement. Conflict is part of every life system in nature; Trees compete with vines and grasses for sunlight and water; ocean creatures constantly compete for food and mates, as do ALL land creatures including man! The winners survive (although their offspring may not be so lucky) but the next generation must fight for itself. If competition makes you uncomfortable, then stay in your home, or in your church, where it's "safe" and comfortable (forgetting all about those outside who have neither home nor computer). What have you done to help those less fortunate than you lately?

ohioan_femme

As a Filipino who is living in America and who checks the news every morning, I can tell you that Philippines is not the only country that has problems. Corruption? Divisiveness? Poverty? Unemployment? Insurgency? Crimes? I'm telling you that even America, the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world has them. I know because I have experienced and seen them. The only thing I know that America has and the Philippines doesn't have is school shootings.

Kris!atd

sorry but i dont think this is true but im not very news oriented if that makes sense.

because we are just forcing ourselves to become one nation. our process is not natural. consider this: in japan, a japanese can go all over his country and speak only one language. same goes with korea. china shares a common writing in general. so the philippines has 78 languages with 500+ dialects. need i say more?

annabelle p

Because there is jealousy and competition among the Filipinos. Take the regions, for example. Tagalog-speaking Filipinos don't like their Visayan counterpart and vice-versa. You said it, we are all divided and good intentions do not count anymore. Progress will never take off the ground because of us. Simply put, we are the culprit for our country's retardation, not the President nor the economy.

Rick

This is the nature of culture throughout history.

One could say it's a matter of people not liking differences or perhaps because those values are incompatiable to some level. The nature of 'diversity' comes down to two things 1)compromise 2)or the more reasonable intergration

It's either the two co-exist with more autonomous control within or it's universal application of values and the elimination of others through sheer dominance of numbers. The first is what we hear of acclaimed all the time, the later is what usually happens.

Now I'm not going to give the simple math on this, because it's a complicated issue. Governments are intended to sow those differences. Ideally they allow reasonable authority to given areas but they have a unifying goal...in which all people can unite behind. The Filipino people need to find that common goal, and allow some level of control to values which aren't all too threatening to the unity.

The method to this will vary, but dialogue must arise from all the factions and the people as a whole. If you have these worries...write to someone that is unlike you. Someone influencial and just talk. Be the example for your desired change. Experience the world outside of yourself and reccomend to your fellow man the need to find common ground and see the dignity in all of us.

The goal can't be to change everything. You can only control one thing with absolute control: you.

BlackHat

Maybe because of our geographical division, that leads to "small" cultural differences.

apple of ur eyes(:

i live in the united states, but i do know whats going on in my home country.

i've asked myself that question millions of times.

and my answer always ends up as "because the philippines is so damn corrupted in nearly everything that is ran by the government"

ehh. yeah. i agree with you totally though.

kalbo

philippinos never developed emotionally

tranquil

It could stem from the centuries of indoctrination from the colonizers.

Divide and conquer. If the nation is divided amongst itself, it will be easier to infiltrate and defeat.

pero_102

complicated situation with simple solution by machiavelli
"let a foreign power govern" or a parliamentary form of government rules

again, there is no such thing as "religious war" to the very core. All are politically motivated.

lastly, i think you just said the root cause of all problems, having the goal of family and nation in mind is individualism, why not a universal goal, environmentalism.

Y S

Almost all, if not all, societies have tensions along racial, social, religious, ideological lines and other dimensions.

Your observations are an indication that you are not as exposed to as many countries/societies and cultures. Because if you do, you will not make such generalizations about the Philippine society since similar things are happening everywhere else.

My advice is more travels and you will see. Maybe more readings will suffice.

angel1^[]^1 divine

Because too many corruptions in the Philippines.

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