The Shamcey Supsup brouhaha: It's just a beauty pageant

So what if Shamcey Supsup did not win the Miss Universe beauty pageant? She's hot and she's smart. Obviously, Filipinos can't be satisfied with taking what is self evident. Instead we want credentialled validation. What does that say about our society? Simple: Philippine society is bankrupt of substance and conviction.

Without substance and conviction, people need to be told what to believe in. Add lack of substance and conviction into the the brew that is a society that also lacks a tradition of critical thought, and we get the obvious outcome -- a society that, to borrow the words of modern-day philosopher John Ralston Saul, is "obssessed by bread and circuses, Heroes, and the need for leadership".

So it takes a crown on the head of Supsup to get Filipinos to believe she is a winner. Strange. Filipinos are renowned for fancying themselves God's gift to the human race despite nary a smidgen of a track record of any collective achievement to speak of. How much of a leap of imagination does it take to see past the Miss Universe crown that eluded Supsup? Certainly a lot less than what it takes to heap claims of being the most "blessed" country in the Far East. Yes, the Filipino can.