Filipino Nationalism Essay

Patriotism has had a long history in our state. In our battle for freedom. there have been periods when strong nationalist feelings fired our people to action and other periods when patriotism seemed to be forgotten. Not merely did patriotism as a sentiment have its extremums and vales. patriotism as a political construct has been espoused at one clip or another by different sectors of society which projected peculiar nationalist ends as their ain involvements and historical fortunes demanded.

The ilustrados who led the Propaganda Movement were showing the nationalist ends of the Filipino elite when they demanded reforms which would give them engagement in political regulation and a greater portion in economic benefits. The people. led by Bonifacio. went further than the ilustrados. They demonstrated the highest nationalist ardor when they spontaneously heeded the call of the Katipunan and fought an anti-colonial revolution against Spain. They had practically won their freedom when they were confronted by a new coloniser.

Patriotism once more sustained the people in their fierce opposition to American regulation. Many from among the multitudes fought for a decennary more. even as most of the ilustrado leaders changed sides and collaborated with the enemy. Their end. their ideal was independency. They equated independency with a better life. and justly so. although they had no clear thought of the economic dimensions of the independent society they aspired for beyond the immediate demand for land to the tillers.

Patriotism at that clip was aggregate patriotism. It was clearly anti-colonial ; its dominant end was political independency.

American colonial policy suppressed Philippine patriotism by military runs against opposition groups – the members of which is branded as bandits and criminals –and by the Sedition Law ( 1901 ) which imposed the decease punishment or a long prison term on anyone who advocated independency from the United States even by peaceable agencies. The Flag Law ( 1907 ) prohibited the show of the Filipino flag. that symbol of Filipino patriotism. from 1907 to 1919.

As for Andres Bonifacio. the leader of the anti-colonial battle. it was merely in 1921. when Senator Lope K. Santos authored a jurisprudence doing his birthday a national vacation. that he was recognized as a national hero. On the other manus. with Governor Taft’s blessing. Rizal has been proclaimed a national hero every bit early as 1901.

The American disposal gave every aid to this acknowledgment because. in the words of Governor-General W. Cameron Forbes. “Rizal ne’er advocated independency. nor did he recommend armed opposition to the authorities. He urged reform from within by promotion. by public instruction. and entreaty to the public scruples. ” Rizal became the symbol of “safe” nationalism. ( my citation Markss – Bert )

American populace policy further undermined Filipino patriotism through the educational system which imposed the English linguistic communication as a medium of direction. projected American society and civilization as theoretical accounts to be emulated. omitted all reference of Filipino opposition to American conquering and the barbarous suppression of that opposition. inculcated the thought that Filipinos must undergo tuition in self-government to merit independency. and presented the United States as our generous helper.

Although the donees of American instruction began to absorb American values and civilization and to wish American consumer goods. the bulk of Filipinos remained faithful to the ideal of independency. Politicians hence had to declare in run addresss that they would work for “immediate. complete and absolute independence” . in order to acquire the people’s ballots. But this independency was now to be requested from the coloniser who had promised to allow it in due clip.

Actually. the major political leaders. stand foring as they did the landlord category which grew rich on the export-crop economic system dependant on the US market. had become afraid of the economic troubles independency would convey. Hence. there were cases when leaders of the independency Missions themselves in private requested American functionaries to prorogue the grant of independency preferring alternatively greater liberty. that is. more political power from themselves.

Manuel L. Quezon himself had worked in secret against the Jones Bill. Because they had acquiesced to the growing of a dependent economic system. these leaders could non really good explicate the economic worlds to the people nor could they adopt economic independency since they were the donees of economic dependance. Independence hence remained a political end.

Patriotism as anti-colonialism was raised to new highs of necessity by the barbarous Nipponese business. Ironically plenty. this hatred for one coloniser merely increased the yearning for the return of the other coloniser and our blind religion in his promises.

While an aroused patriotism and a healthy intuition made most Filipinos see the fake independency by Japan and right measure Japan’s exploitatory designs on our economic system and natural resources. we failed to acknowledge really similar policies and aims when these came from our American friends.

When our “liberators” demanded that we accord American citizens the same rights as Filipinos. when they asked for military and naval bases on our dirt. non adequate Filipinos objected. We did non see these as disparagements of the sovereignty we had merely regained. Our nationalist aspirations were satisfied with flag independency. The economic dimensions of patriotism were non yet clearly within the position of the bulk.

Soon. nevertheless. economic jobs originating from the re-imposition of free trade and the renewed domination of our economic system by foreign. largely American. corporations would do more Filipinos realize that the undertaking of patriotism did non stop with the attainment of political independency.

In fact. American intercessions in our internal personal businesss and American influence on our foreign policy made believing Filipinos uncertainty that we were even politically independent. The subservience of the Filipino authorities to American dictates was most obvious under our most pro-American. and so. American-made president. Ramon Magsaysay.

About single-handedly. Senator Claro M. Recto espoused the nationalist causes against Magsaysay’s pro-Americanism. He said that US-bases made a jeer of our independency and would expose us to atomic obliteration ; he advocated an independent foreign policy. Above all. he projected the economic facet of patriotism. opposed the granting of particular inducements to pull foreign investings and alternatively advocated nationalist industrialisation. On the last point. he had the concurrency of President Carlos P. Garcia and of Filipino business communities who supported Garcia’s “Filipino First” policy.

Although the patriotism of these Filipino enterpriser was based on their narrow economic involvements ( they wanted the authorities to protect them against foreign competition and to give them penchant in dollar allotments ) . Filipino First as a patriot motto inspired other sectors to voice out nationalist demands in their peculiar Fieldss. Educators. for illustration. asked for freedom to plan a form of instruction more antiphonal to Filipino demands.

Recto has raised the streamer of economic patriotism. and clearly showed that the greatest obstruction to its realisation is American imperialism. which moving in behalf of corporate giants. force per unit areas weaker provinces to open their economic systems to incursion and control. His definition of patriotism is still valid today: “…a streamer of freedom proclaiming the national involvements of the people. to be protected and safeguarded by themselves so that the fruits of their attempts and the wealth derived from their God-given resources shall accrue to them and therefore enable all of our people to lift above poorness and March on to prosperity. contentment and self-respect. ” From this definition. we can infer the major features of Filipino patriotism for our clip.

Patriotism is defensive. protective. Patriots believe that the resources of our state should be for the benefit of our people today and in the hereafter. Since our economic system is progressively being dominated by foreign corporations with the active intercession in their behalf of their authoritiess. patriotism is needfully anti-imperialist. This means chiefly. American and Nipponese imperialism though it includes the operation of other advanced states every bit good.

However. anti-imperialism is non racism. Patriots are non anti-American or anti-Japanese ; they are merely against those policies of authoritiess that harm the involvements of the Filipino people. policies which these authoritiess pressure our authorities to follow.

For illustration. patriots criticize the many inducements and privileges given to foreign corporations which take over countries of the economic system that could good be handled by Filipino business communities if our authorities gave them penchant and protection. Whereas Filipino business communities would hold no ground to remit their net incomes abroad. foreign corporations are guaranteed by our authorities the privilege of remitting their full net incomes in dollars. Therefore. a big portion of the dollar net incomes of our exports merely goes to finance these net income remittals.

A 2nd illustration: patriots criticize export orientation which satisfy the demands of others instead than those of our ain people. We export our best fish and runts to Japan and import their transcribed mackerel. Our best fruits are for export. Meanwhile. 77 % of Filipino kids between the ages of one and four are enduring from malnutrition.

The nationalist end is the public assistance of the Filipino multitudes ; hence the 2nd major quality of patriotism is its mass character. Our people themselves must protect and progress their ain involvements. Patriotism should no longer function the involvement of one or another sector as in the yesteryear. Mass patriotism is hence democratic ; it believes in the greatest possible engagement of the people in the finding of policy. peculiarly in the re-orientation of our development plan. Corollary ends of mass-based patriotism are a more just distribution of economic resources and a
merely and humanist society.

Patriotism does non recommend economic. political. scientific or cultural isolation. It is non anti-development ; it does non long to return to an idealized yesteryear. Patriotism believes that our people deserve all the easiness and comfort. good wellness. and entree to the best merchandises of man’s mind and artistic spirit that the highest accomplishments of modern scientific discipline and art can supply. For this ground. patriotism believes in economic. political. scientific and cultural exchanges with other states but it will be careful and selective. ever puting precedence on the demands and public assistance of the Filipino people.

As a national political orientation. patriotism must pervade every facet of Philippine life. We have been witnessing in past old ages heightened involvement in cultural civilization every bit good as local music and art. These are manifestations of cultural patriotism. However. if this new sense of cultural individuality is non integrated with economic and political patriotism and alternatively is used to deviate our attending from turning foreign control of our economic system. so this cultural development is a ill service to our people.

Patriotism demands both economic and political independency. It resists and condemns foreign intercession in our internal personal businesss every bit good as in the behavior of our foreign policy. The US bases are an indefensible disparagement of our sovereignty and should be dismantles. In the field of instruction. the usage of our national linguistic communication vas the medium of direction is a primary nationalist demand. Instruction is ever more effectual in the national linguistic communication. This should non be taken as ill will to English or any other foreign linguistic communication. They should be learned as a foreign linguistic communication because that is what they are.

It is a step of our colonial outlook that we are more interested in understanding and being understood by aliens than we are in developing an efficient medium for internal communicating. The multiplicity of Philippine linguistic communication is frequently advanced as an statement by those who have favor for English. Let us non bury that these are sister linguistic communications and hence command of Pilipino is boundlessly easier for a Visayan or a Pampango than command of English. if merely there were no psychological barriers originating from colonial conditioning. We must non compare good instruction with proficiency in English.

Education can be a powerful arm in propagating patriotism. A nationalist instruction would put great importance on the instruction of Philippine history from the point of position of the Filipino people. This will develop an anti-colonial. anti-imperialist orientation based on our historical experience as a people. Such a history should clear up how. why. and for whose benefit our people have been exploited and oppressed.

A nationalist instruction would besides stress a critical survey of the Philippine economic system so that as a people we will larn to be wary of economic plans proposed by foreign authoritiess and establishments. Furthermore. we should cognize how the universe capitalist system operates so we will understand in what manner economic development will impact our people. In history as in economic sciences. we must utilize merely one yardstick. We must judge past events and present developments in footings of whether or non they served or will function the best involvements of the people.

The Filipino people have the right to make up one’s mind what sort of society they want. what is best for them. They should endeavor to hold the fullest political and economic independency to chart their ain hereafter. This is the kernel of patriotism.

Beginning: Issues Without Tears. A Layman’s Manual of Current Issues. Volume II ( 1984 ) . Teacher Aid Program ( TAP ) – Leticia R. Constantino. Director credits to the proprietor