Philippine map shirts, anyone?

Go to the malls, department stores, or even the drygoods sections of every public market in the country and you cannot miss this amazing spectacle: Every shirtmaker or shirt brand seems to have shirts of every conceivable color and style emblazoned with a map of the Philippines.Go to the malls, department stores, or even the drygoods sections of every public market in the country and you cannot miss this amazing spectacle: Every shirtmaker or shirt brand seems to have shirts of every conceivable color and style emblazoned with a map of the Philippines.

Not even the United States, whose citizens are perhaps among of the most patriotic people in the world, can match the sheer scope of proliferation of "Philippine map" shirts. It is as if a law has been passed making it punishable for any seller not to carry such shirts in his store.

But no such coercive sort transpired. So the temptation is to conclude that, for some inexplicable reason, Filipinos have suddenly decided to go on a patriotism binge. And maybe they decided too that the medium of choice should be shirts emblazoned with a Philippine map.

But have Filipinos really become patriotic? Going by the difference between the number of shirts made in what can only be described as an orgy of production and the number of shirts sold and worn, the inevitable answer would have to be a sad and sorry no.

Maybe it is a wrong proposition to equate the "Philippine map" shirts with patriotism. Filipinos are just not as big on shirt messages as, say, western countries. And, if at all, the concept of patriotism never appeals much to Filipinos, much less as a printed message on a shirt.

For it is difficult to imagine a people who would dry their laundry on the outstretched arms of an Andres Bonifacio statue or make the image of Jose Rizal the cover of a matchbox would spend good money on a shirt just to express a concept as alien to them as patriotism.

I say alien because if Filipinos do not even stop for the flag as it is being raised in morning ceremonies, how can the mere wearing of a "Philippine map" shirt convey the feeling you no longer feel for the national emblem?

What patriotism could possibly reside in a people who find nothing wrong when a singer like Martin Nievera, who cannot even be true to his wife, insists it is his inalienable right to sing the national anthem in whichever way he pleases.

A national anthem has to be unique and precise for a reason: It represents a country. Imagine the confusion, not to mention debauchery, if that country allows as many versions as there are citizens insisting on singing the anthem their own way.

If we cannot even agree on that, how can we insist that wearing the Philippine map on a shirt manifests the same patriotism we adamantly refuse to recognize elsewhere? If patriotism has faded in this country, it cannot be brought back to focus by just the brightness of shirt colors.

So, if it is not meant to manifest patriotism, how then to explain the "Philippine map" shirts that have proliferated in stores everywhere? To begin with they are, simply put, products to be sold with an eye on profit.

Admittedly, whoever started the idea may have been inspired by some concept. It could have been truly to manifest patriotism, for all we know. But somewhere along the way, the concept got hijacked by profit motives, you know, the way instant noodles have taken over square meals.

Every once in a while, some great clothing fad seizes the Philippines that it almost becomes difficult to breathe. But nothing has been as big a flop as this one. For something that is being sold everywhere, almost nobody seems to be wearing "Philippine map" shirts anywhere.

Oh yes, there are a few exceptions — the true patriots and believers, and those who want to be counted in. But the greater majority shun the shirts, not because they are less patriotic or anything. Somehow, falling in line or stopping for red lights just feels more appropriate.