A letter for the people of the Philippines: ( from Nathan Allen ) Eleanor Roosevelt said Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people. Sadly, perhaps due to colonization and other factors, the Philippines may have established itself as a country full of small minds - and by that I mean people that were intentionally discouraged from being ambitious, and kept from their potential. Those in power wanted to keep it that way, and to some extent I believe its still the same today. The masses (who Im addressing in this letter) are encouraged to keep consuming products and stay focused on (and distracted by) trashy, mindless TV and gossip. Ive seen it happen in the US. Its good for the economy, but bad for the culture (it makes things easier for a government to manipulate its people and keep them powerless). CONSUMERS AND COPYCATS The Philippines seems to be a country full of consumers and copycats. What do I mean by that? Media consumption - TV, radio, and Internet...and its all designed to manipulate you one way or the other. Encouraged through the media is shopping - youve got to have the latest shoes, bags, and phones. Otherwise, your value in society isnt very high. Just like in the US, its a very shallow, endless cycle of consumption, but Philippines, what are you producing? What are you contributing to the world in terms of original literature, art, and music? From what Ive seen, I think you have a LOT to offer... You are widely known to be some of the best cover-artists in the world. You can recreate almost any song - sometimes even better than the original! Pinoy vocalist Arnel Pineda becoming the lead singer of the iconic American band Journey is a good example of this. Youre such gifted musicians and vocalists, and your grasp of the English language is impressive - so where are your own musical contributions? I know you have some classic Filipino songs, but Im talking about international hits (and Fil-Am artists dont count). Filipinos, perhaps hundreds of years of colonization have left you holding back your talent...and feeling like you dont have a voice to speak up with - that your opinions dont matter, and have no value. That is understandable (given your countrys repressive history), but we live in a different world now, and I hope you can begin to take the first few steps away from that oppressive colonial past. The way I see it, for you, the sky is the limit. FILIPINOS: Dont try to be more like us, try to be more like YOU. I believe what the the world needs now is more you, not more us.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 18:21:35 +0000