Time for Filipinos to understand and RESPECT Asian values and look less to the West for validation

The Philippines doesn’t have to give up its religion, form of government, or way of life. I doubt very seriously if the Filipinos are ever going to do that anyway, because those practices are already embedded in their subconscious and have been a big part of their cultural identity all their lives.

Plus, renouncing the current form of government and way of life might put the entire country on the brink of political and economic coup de ‘etat which no one wants.

Insead, what I’m suggesting is to get genuine insight and deeper understanding of other Asian countries’ religious ideologies (i.e., Buddhism, Taoism, Asceticism, Hinduism, etcetera), and how these nation are able to preserve these time-tested traditions, customs, and practices into their modern lives.

I believe the world, especially a growing number of Filipinos, now realize that the Philippines’ Roman Catholicism and Protestantism are not congruent with other Asian religions and ethnic makeup, and put the country in a somewhat odd position with their neighboring countries.

Yet, to ask Filipinos to renounce their western religion is equivalent to asking them to commit heresy with their faith, disown a big part of their identity, and not have their western guide their hypocritical political and business affairs.

Instead, what Filipinos should do is embrace the “peaceful, selfless, and humble” teachings of these Asian religion—by adopting the teachings as equal to the teachings of their western religion—if they’re really serious about their quest to become an “independent Asian country.”

My suggestion may or may not work in overcoming the “Colonial” and “Crab” ways of the Filipino people, but it is certainly worth a try since no other suggestions have worked in the past.

Finally, from a global perspective, the international community will probably start seeing the Philippines in a new light as a truly Asian nation—like the war-torn Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam that have surpassed the Philippines in all aspect of being exotic and peaceful—instead of the “Mexico of the Far East,” that is violently dangerous and full of arrogant and selfish people.


---------------------
This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion!