Filipinos Should Learn How to Catch Fish, NOT To Keep Asking For Fish

There is this proverb among the Chinese that says, "Give man a fish and he will only have a meal a day, teach a man to fish and he will have a meal for a lifetime." The proverb is true, however we can also restate as, "If I give you fish then you will only have a meal a day, if you don't learn to fish you will never have a meal for a lifetime." And that's what the Philippines needs... forget about the idea of a welfare state- it's stupid and not to mention, not feasible to run in the long run. Either you learn how to fish and don't expect to be given fish unless you really couldn't catch your own fish.

In the Philippines, we can observe the two types of Pinoys. There are Pinoys who belong to the cluster of enlightened Filipinos and Pinoys who choose to become Failipinos. Both sectors of Pinoys show a different attitude towards the proverb. The Failipino has a different attitude towards learning how to fish vs. that of the enlightened Filipino. Remember the proverb itself is figurative and not literal. Learning to fish means learning to get your own resources and managing them. Getting fish means just to live by begging instead of working for one's income or in short, living as a freeloader.

Failipinos and their attitude towards fishing.

Failipinos have that bad attitude towards learning how to fish because of their "haciendero mentality" which does not only exist among the rich but sadly, also among the middle class and the poor. They have that attitude that they want to be in an eternal state of bliss, which may be the reason why the Philippines tops 90 as of current in the world's happiness survey. Learning to fish means you must have hard work. Fishing can be defined as hard labor that requires you to make sacrifices. Sometimes, you go out there and you hardly catch anything and you must make adjustments to get the best fish available. The idea of doing hard work and sacrificing momentary happiness is a concept that's very foreign to Failipinos.

A reasonwhy so many OFWs usually remain poor is because they are taking care of lazy friends and relatives. Freeloaders not only suck out money but they also spending it recklessly - I have noticed how freeloaders tend to spend the money on stuff they don't need like video game consoles, the latest gadgets, VIP tickets to concerts, etc. I am not saying buying such stuff is inherently evil but it becomes evil when you are treating them as needs, not as wants and when you decide to spend money left and right as if it's unlimited. Likewise, expecting a lazy person to learn how to save is like expecting a pig to help you plow your field. Maybe this might explain why a lot of Failipinos have sadly entered into the drug trade industry and why the Philippines is a paradise for drug dealers.

Enlightened Pinoys and their attitude towards fishing.

Enlightened Filipinos on the other hand view that money that's easy come is easy go, hard-earned income creates more money in the long run. When I just talked about fishing, enlightened Pinoys are willing to make sacrifices. Some OFWs are not like the typical OFWs (Okay Fine Whatever, Wherever, Whenever), instead they are OFWs with a real plan in life. That is, they are willing to do anything legitimate to provide long-term money even if it means sweating out and they don't allow their children to be dependent on them. Instead, they want to teach the value of hard work and sacrifice to their children for greater happiness in the long term. They have the attitude that they must be willing to move to the good areas of the water to get better fish, no matter how far it may be. They are willing to spend time repairing their boats so they can go to areas where the fish catch is better. They work while looking forward to the reward of hard labor that is even if I am not rich, at least I am not poor.

One can consider the story of Bongbong's owner Reynaldo Villarin. The Pinoy businessman I am talking about started out as a humble baker who did everything he can to make outstanding piaya even if it meant to take long cuts. What he did made the Bongbong's Piaya a memorable delicacy and today, it's a nationwide craze. Although not all who work hard will become big time businessmen like Lucio Tan (who started out as a janitor in a tobacco factory while working hard to finish his chemical engineering degree), but certainly when people work hard, the least that happens is to get out of poverty. No more living in stinky slums or having to rent, maybe they don't live in a mansion but they have their own lot and even if they don't have the latest video game systems or gadgets, at least they are able to eat healthy food, have a decent car and not have too much of a problem as most of their needs are met. Again, not everybody can be rich but anybody can certainly get out of poverty if they are willing to fish and not to keep asking for fish.