It's a problem that some Filipinos have that they keep living in nostalgia. While nothing is wrong with nostalgia in this digital age or that some old fashioned values are still needed (such as respect for nature and family) but the problem of clinging to the past without considering the future is not healthy.
1.) Bringing up Imperial Japan when the empire has long been dead
World War 2 is over and so is Imperial Japan. Why do some people just love to keep bringing up Japan during World War 2? Why are some old generation Filipinos still passing the same attitude of hatred down to their children and grandchildren and now great-grandchildren and beyond? They have to face it that while Imperial Japan indeed was an enemy to the Philippines but Modern Japan is allies with the Philippines and the United States.
Some people still want to keep thinking Imperial Japan is alive and well while still benefiting from Modern Japan's series of electronic products throughout the years. Your childhood had a VHS and your adulthood had the DVD. You may be enjoying Nintendo games or Sony appliances. They're all from Japan. Without Japan's electronic revolution I don't think non-Japanese companies would even have their electronic revolution in this digital age. They don't want to watch Japanese shows because "Japan invaded us last World War 2". Please, that was Imperial Japan that invaded the Philippines. That empire has been shot down and the Japanese people of today live in Modern Japan.
2.) The EDSA or Yellow Revolution nostalgia
Sticking to EDSA-1 and being a martial law crybaby doesn't help open the jar of progress. People just want to remember how "glorious" EDSA was and how the late Cory Aquino supposedly overthrew the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. when she wasn't even leading it. Now they even brag that the widow Lugaw Committee Head Leni Robredo has defeated Bongbong Marcos but why are they afraid of manual recounts?
It's time to ask what did the inexperienced housewife the late Cory do for the Philippines? Did the 1987 Constitution really fix the mistakes of the Marcos Years? The answer is that it only strengthened the crony system that Marcos Sr. placed. It's been 30 years and what progress did the 1987 Constitution bring? Where is the promise of the "pambansang industriya" that economic protectionism has claimed to bring to the Philippines? If anyone benefited from economic protectionism it's the oligarchy. It doesn't protect small businesses but bullies them instead. By not correcting the flaws of the 1987 Constitution the Philippines has remained in stagnancy and got worse after the Marcos Years.
The propaganda of the Yellow Party has always revolved around EDSA and the 1987 Constitution. They had all the chances to fix the mistakes like opening up the economy but they chose to stick to the Aquino Empire's constitution. They always bring up EDSA and the Marcos Years never mind that the problems of the Philippines today can't all be pinned on the Marcoses. They ignore the fact that Bongbong is not his late father or that Noynoy is not his late father. By refusing the move forward all the Yellows did was to move the country backward. They refused to throw out the mistakes of the 1987 Constitution which ended up as cancerous cells for the nation.
3.) Opposing foreign direct investment in the quest to improve the Philippine economy
People like Toady Casino and Neri Colmenares are probably living in too much nostalgia. I wonder do they really cherish the times that we were stuck with that stupid turn around the phone or typewriters while they hypocritically enjoy computers, tablets and smartphones? They think that just because the Philippines has lived with economic protectionism for decades that it can continue to survive. They don't want it to change because they may think that it's the "good old days" and all's that going in their heads. They think of the good old days when protectionism "blessed" the Philippines.
I wonder are many Filipinos too used to the OFW phenomenon that they can't see the truth that it's unreliable? It's a problem that the whole OFW phenomenon has become a norm that everyone doesn't seek to get out of it. Maybe they enjoy the misery of being forced to depart from their loved ones and do the Okay Fine Whatever lifestyle. Maybe too many OFW families are too used to living in a home where father or mother is an absentee, comes back with lots of pasalubong, they waste the money and go back to staying poor. Instead of seeking ways to improve their conditions they just love to enjoy their misery. Such stupidity is one way OFW families tend to make fools out of themselves.
It may also be the reason why anti-foreign direct investment restrictions exist. The oligarchs are living in nostalgia where they love having little or no competition. They could bully small businesses (so much for the claim protectionism protects the small businesses) and their customers. They are too used to it that they don't want change. Worse, some small businesses may not even see how they could benefit from foreign businesses in their quest for survival.
4.) TV networks that do nothing but keep replaying the same shows or remaking telebasuras
The TV networks also do share the problem in imparting the living in nostalgia mentality. I remembered how I mentioned the problem of overly replaying the shows that 90s children watched instead of providing new shows for a new batch of children. One good reason why I hardly watch Filipino TV these days is because I get nothing but the same shows all over again. Yu Yu Hakusho, Dragon Ball Z, Meteor Garden... pabalik balik na lang or in short it's overly replayed to the point any 90s child can say, "Yan na lang ba ipalabas mo?" or "Is that all you have to show?" Oh I couldn't forget how IBC-13 kept replaying Tokusatsu shows but never showed the ending or gave any new shows.
If it's not enough the damage also involves remaking those idiotic 90s telebasuras for a new generation to watch it. I remembered how much I hated "Mula Sa Puso" in the 90s and ABiaS-CBN made a remake of the same telebasura. I don't even care what telebasuras they will remake because they just keep giving it the worst quality they could possibly give. Nothing's improved at all except how telebasuras just get worse almost all the time. The 90s was already bad and the modernized version is even worse. Telebasuras alone are evidence not everything new school or old school is good or bad. Old school telebasura or new school telebasura is still telebasura. Old school good nows and new school good shows are all worth viewing regardless of era.
I guess this is one good reason why they refuse to open up the economy for better Internet. Live TV and Cable TV are already dying. If you're a Tokusatsu fan reading I guess most of you may be watching your favorite views on tablets or PCs instead of watching them on TV. Having nothing but garbage shows makes it hard to combat piracy. Who wants to watch the badly dubbed shows or remakes of telebasuras if they can download fan subs of non-English shows? If the Philippine Internet improves then it will be the downfall of the oligarch TV networks.
5.) The victim card mentality is rooted on past incidents
Every time a Filipino is about to get executed what does Migraine International do? They have the tendency to invoke the name of "Saint" Flor Contemplacion to save that person. Two years ago was a "big celebration" to honor the "martyrdom" of the late Flor. When it was also time for the three drug mules to get executed what happened was that they kept invoking the name of Flor in hopes that the three drug mules will be saved from their rightful sentences. Migrante International should be called Migraine International because they cause migraines to people around them.
There's the problem of Filipinos still hating other countries for executing guilty Filipinos. It didn't stop all because of "Japan invaded us in World War 2" but also with what was mentioned about Migraine International earlier. There's still Filipinos who are probably still wishing Singapore will get hit by a tsunami or more disasters to happen in China because of their citizens who were "wrongfully executed" even if they were really guilty of crimes that were worthy of death row. Their hatred for these countries is indeed cancerous hatred for the Filipino people.
6.) The whole America liberated us during World War 2 mindset never mind the Philippine-American war also happened
I know Americans liberated the Philippines during World War 2. I respect that and I don't intend to be anti-American though I'm pissed off at how the U.S. government today tends to act like it has the right to decide what's right and what's wrong for the world. I'm also not happy with how the U.S. actually caused so much devastation in almost every country they land on claiming to "liberate it" such as the Vietnam War. I wonder do Filipinos who overrate American culture ever realize that the U.S. has had its moments it's also a bully state? Being bullied by the U.S. is no different than being bullied by China or any country for that particular matter.
It's a huge problem to overrate American culture. What's so annoying is that they reason this and this is better because it's American. Being American doesn't make it better or worse. It's all about form and substance that makes something better. What I'm getting frustrated it is years and years of overabundance of American media as if the U.S. is the only country to get imported products from or to sell exports to. Has the Philippines forgotten about its Asian neighbors because many of its people chose to become willing slaves of overrated American culture? While I have nothing against American shows but having nothing but American shows and American shows may contribute to rise of anti-intellectualism in the Philippines.
In the plan for alliances the Philippines can't rely on the U.S. all the time. Not only is the distance that long but consider the fallacy of putting all your balut in just one basket. The U.S. is not the only country to form alliances with. The Philippines could have formed a better alliance against China's land grabbing with other affected countries like Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam and Singapore to band against the Chinese military which I love to call it as the "Hukbo ni Damulag" (Damulag's Army) to defend themselves. Instead, some people just think, "Don't worry America will save us." while other Asian countries affected by China's bullying are doing what they can to fend off the Hubko ni Damulag.
7.) Focusing on the minor mistakes of the past
Focusing on minor mistakes may be a reason why so many people can't let go. It's a problem how some Filipinos tend to have very thick faces and thin skins at the same time. Why do we have Robredo Facial Cream but not Robredo Body Lotion to help make skins thicker? I find myself guilty of that especially I'm slighted over by hecklers that I want to get even with them. But focusing on such people is a huge waste of time. Sure they were wrong but it doesn't give me the right to react or stoop down to their level. One good reason why supporters of any candidate lose their credibility is because of how often they focus on minor mistakes. Others are probably still stuck on minor incidents that happened when they were children or teenagers even if they're already adults. It's no wonder why so many petty battles happen today.
Some people are probably still angry over Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre Jr.s' ear covering act at the Senate when other people did much bigger offenses that he did. One good example is Hindi Kaya Natin's Harvey Keh or Neil Tupas who should be referred to as "gago" for not getting his panel into shape. I admit I was fixated over it until I realized that the problem is that many Filipinos tend to turn anthills into mountains. Even today, many people tend to even think of Justice Secretary Aguirre's ear covering act never mind that the same antic wasn't repeated again during the Mamasapano hearing. Most people don't even realize how the Justice Secretary is getting the job done like putting Leila Dilemma in jail.
One could think about it everyone makes mistakes. Even the most intelligent people can end up becoming stupid at some point in their lives. People can lose sight of what they have to do. While it's good to point out the mistakes but not to dwell on them. Correcting mistakes and learning from them is the way to do things. It's not constructive criticism if all you do is dwell on minor mistakes and not offer solutions to problems that are pointed out.
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Just because we should study history and respect the past doesn't mean we shouldn't move forward. It's all about trying to meet balance between the old and the new. Learn from the past and embracing the future is a must to balance things out.
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