That’s what everybody says our biggest problem is anyway. Whenever politicians spice up their sanctimonious speeches decrying our so-called "crab mentality" or putting each other down, I would disagree and defend the poor defenseless crabs from this unjustified calumny – the crabs may actually be pushing each other up and out! Did anybody bother to ask the crabs, or at least the crab experts, if they actually have a negative, self-destructive and defeatist mentality? Give the poor crabs a break this Easter and do not project our own frailties and our defeatist mentality on these creatures!
This Easter Sunday, let us all count the many blessings of the Philippines instead of languishing in perpetual self-flagellation. Why do we allow ourselves to wallow in self-pity, masochism and martyrdom, in perpetual Biyernes Santo inculcated by the Spanish friars and colonizers, when the central theme and bedrock of Christian faith is the resurrection of Christ? We continue to mourn the passion and death of Christ yet He rose from the dead and forever vanquished evil and pessimism for us.
Let us use the Easter message to liberate the Filipino national psyche from the colonial idea that tends to romanticize poverty and suffering as noble and saintly, for they used to sermon that the poor and the downtrodden will eventually enjoy peace in heaven anyway. How can the Philippines enjoy true economic liberation if there is no subversion of the unjust and if the oppressive culture of pessimism in the hearts and minds of many people continues?
In the memorable 1992 Hollywood film Scent of a Woman starring Al Pacino and Chris O’Donnell, apart from the magical tango scene with the beautiful Gabrielle Anwar, one of the best scenes is the angry speech of Al Pacino as Lt. Col. Frank Slade at a Boston private school. Here he says that worse than young soldiers suffering torn limbs in war was the tragedy of "amputated spirits" of many people because there are no prosthetics that can help repair these. We hope that the miracle of Easter will remind us to heal the national spirit and liberate it from a defeatist and colonial era culture of pessimism.
In the same manner, telenovelas and soap operas featuring oppressed wives or victims are popular on TV and in film. These Cinderella tales are the modern-day opium to the masses with their heart-wrenching sagas of beautiful damsels in perpetual distress dreaming of their Prince Charming to rescue them from poverty and misery.
Our national history is drenched with so much blood and tears of tragedy: the tragic betrayal of General Emilio Aguinaldo by the Macabebe soldiers, the tragic and unjust execution of Katipunan Supremo Andres Bonifacio in the hands of his fellow revolutionaries, the violent killing of General Antonio Luna by his comrades in the revolution, the treacherous betrayal by ilustrado Filipino leaders of anti-colonial revolutionary General Macario Sakay during the American military pacification campaign of our archipelago. We often remember our heroes for their tragedies, not for their triumphs.
Every year, it is heart-breaking and depressing to witness the losses of overpaid Philippine basketball superstars in the Olympics, world basketball championships and even Asian basketball tournaments. Like in economics, where a nation takes an inventory of its natural resources and competitive advantages in the globalization competition, we should face the facts – we are a nation of GMAs, Jose Rizals, Carlos P. Romulos and Joyce Jimenezes or people with short or average height. Maradona of Argentina was short in height, but soccer allowed him to become a world champion and for him to give glory to his country in the World Cup and in the Olympics.
Every year when the Philippine national contingent returns from the Olympics or the Asian Games, politicians and leaders of society indulge in national self-flagellation over our losing to even such "backward" nations as North Korea in medal rankings, without reorienting our sports obsession away from over-emphasis in basketball. Spectator sports are some of the best ways to boost national self-esteem, national pride, patriotic fervor and civic spirit. Why then shouldn’t our political, business and civic leaders liberate the people from the American colonial legacy of basketball mania and balance it out with other sports where Filipinos can become world conquerors and champions?
Instead of overpaying basketball superstars with millions of pesos and even resorting to the desperate trick of importing Americans or mestizo balikbayans, we should redistribute these many millions to other underpaid but talented athletes in sports such as soccer, badminton, swimming, track and field, bicycling, volleyball and diving. We should build soccer fields in every public school or urban slum or barrio nationwide instead of pouring so many millions of pesos into basketball leagues and basketball courts. Even poor Third World nations like Cameroon can become a world contender in soccer and other sports which can allow the Filipino and Asian flexibility, physical dexterity and natural abilities to shine as world champions. The proper orientation and utilization of popular sports is one strong antidote to cure the age-old defeatist culture of pessimism, helping nurture national pride, self-respect and national confidence.
It’s Easter Sunday! Hope springs eternal, let us all have new lives, fresh perspectives and dreams for the future. For once, curse the country less, laugh less at self-deprecating jokes. Count the many blessings of the Philippines and let us all create a more Optimistic Republic!