The Ultimate Question for Filipinos

In the recent days, I started to engage myself in discussions in social media about news and current events happening in the Philippines. I find it challenging and frustrating. Reading through comments from one news to another, I realized every Filipino seems to find answers to questions that are either difficult or impractical in the modern times. So, this led me to think what could be the ultimate question for Filipinos to ask. Perhaps, this can be challenging.

It seems hard to find a single question that tries to encompass all different inquiries and thoughts of Filipinos coming from different socioeconomic background and possessing varying personalities. However, one theme is evident. That is negativism. For example, there is news about the government or any government official. Almost everybody seems to cast doubt, reject or show hesitancy and mistrust. Later on, I was asking myself is being Filipino also being negative? Afterwards, I tried to think objectively. Yes, this question seems to sum up the prevailing thoughts of Filipinos on current issues, but this could not be the ultimate question for a Filipino.

Thereafter, I continued my search for a single question for every Filipino. The previous question seems to focus on the negative aspects of being a Filipino. Noticeably, I sensed that we Filipinos seem to consider ourselves the best. Well, a question on whether we Filipinos are indeed one of the world's best is perhaps a better one than making an emphasis on pessimism.

So, I made further observations. Indeed, many Filipinos think this way. There are two major evidences for this. Firstly, there exists so-called Filipino pride and honor. We always take pride on every achievement any Filipino has achieved. But evidently, there are also Filipinos who are skeptic or simply envious of another's success. We Filipinos always find ways to make our "but's and if's".

Say for example, one Filipino boxer who is one of the world's pound-for-pound boxer. When there is a news about his success, everybody appears to be passionate and supportive. But let few days pass, once there are news about the personal life of this famous boxer, almost everyone seems to have a well-prepared opinion about it. More than the issues affecting the country, we Filipinos are more interested in the personal lives of others more than knowing how  determination and effort have helped one to succeed, which is something anyone can get inspiration from. This gives me the idea that if Filipinos are one of the best, it seems ironic for us to talk about people rather than concrete ideas. This is a good contrast to successful people who are in constant pursuit of betterment of their craft and skills, independent of any external influence or what others say and do.

The second observation I got that supports my question on whether Filipinos are indeed one of the best is that Filipinos seems to think they deserve to get only the best. From the best government to various services Filipinos can benefit from. With all those complaints from transportation inconvenience to entertainment preferences, I could almost say that Filipinos are acting to be the best. This has led me thinking, are we really the best such that we deserve getting only the best.

Finding the answers was frustrating. I ended up making another question. Why do we complain when we ourselves are not even disciplined? We generally do not follow rules. Almost everyone tries to evade processes and would want shortcuts. We are given enough guidance but we simply ignore it. Then in the end, when something happens bad, we complain. Worse, we do it without careful thinking.

Oh no! I must be degrading my own race. That should not be the case. I believe on the Filipino spirit, courage and resilience. However, asking ourselves as Filipinos, whether we are one of the best seems to feed narcissism, which emanated and deeply rooted from ourselves.  We always think of what we can get that if we end up not getting it, we become so negative. This sounds like being toddlers such that we only complain for the things that we do not have and want. Thus, the first two questions on being negative or best are not perhaps the ultimate question for us to ask.

So what is really the ultimate question? After careful analysis and thorough observation both from experience and knowledge gained from logical thinking, I can say that every Filipino must ask what he or she can contribute for the country, even at his or her own expense. I think this question must be introduced as early as possible, especially the young generation. This is because the current generations seems to forget about making genuine concrete contribution for the country. Instead any average Filipino would only think what he or she can get something from the country and its government . This explains why we complain and think negative, because we do not focus on real actions initiated not by others but by ourselves.

What can I do for my country even at my own expense? If you have an answer, then do it or continue with it. Merely talking and speculating about it is an option. If it can inspire others to do the same, then share it. If you have other reasons of sharing it, just forget it. Lastly, if you are having a difficult time answering the question, take time but do not waste it. Think you have been a Filipino first before knowing who you are today. Now, here is the real challenge.