Bert M Drona is a nationalist; he lives in the United States.
I chanced upon his blog The Filipino Mind
(thefilipinomind.com)
because I was surfing for "Liga Filipina" after having come across on
Facebook the link to "9 Rizalian Examples For Today's Filipinos" by Michael
Charleston "Xiao" Chua (30 December 2018, news.abs-cbn.com),
and I find what Mr Drona says in his Profile
intriguing:
FILIPINO NATIONALISM –
is the bottom line; sine-qua-non for the common good of the native
(Malay/indio)Filipino majority. Nationalism must precede any plan/action in
dealing with globalization.
I see 2 issues in that short paragraph:
(1) Nationalism is for the common good of the majority.
(2) Nationalism must precede globalization.
My kind of nationalism would be for the common good of all citizens in this country. I will not
separate the majority from the minority; they are all Filipinos to me, and
nationalism is for all Filipinos.
I say that if the Philippines wants to develop from a 3rd
World to a 1st World country, it must globalize its thinking – not necessarily after thinking or realizing nationalism.
The fruits of globalization and nationalism can be harvested at the same time;
in fact, I believe if you cannot globalize, you cannot nationalize. Think Big, think small.
Mr Chua is my kind of nationalist. He has "9 Rizalian
Examples For Today's Filipinos" (30 December 2018, ABS-CBN News, news.abs-cbn.com):
(1) Be progressive.
(2) Think critically.
(3) Educate yourself.
(4) Develop your talents.
(5) Make a difference.
(6) Respect women.
(7) Know your history.
(8) Think ahead.
(9) Be a nation-builder.
To be progressive, Mr Chua encourages Filipinos to troll the
powerful: "Tell people the ills of society so progress can be achieved."
To think critically, follow Rizal and the Propagandists
(image from 1.bp.blogspot.com):
"They did not wait for miracles to happen but advocated scientific and
reasonable approaches in solving problems."
Educate yourself or people not using a standard curriculum
but instead "anchored on developing the strengths of each student."
In developing their own talents, the propagandists
"were actually proving a point about Filipinos being their own people,
their own Nation."
Even as an exile in Dapitan, Rizal made a difference; "He
tried to change the lives of the people by instilling… a sense of industry and
pride in work."
Rizal praised the women of Malolos "who agitated to be
taught the Spanish language," meaning they wanted to know more – and think
better, teach their children better.
You have to know your history. "You cannot love someone
you don't know. If we want to love our country, we have to learn about its past
to better understand it."
Mr Chua says, "Trying to think ahead makes us proactive
in creating a better future."
In having to be a nation-builder, Mr Chua says, "Rizal
demonstrated to us that we can use our talents, our thoughts and our simple
efforts to foster a healthy unity and to make us understand each other more."
Better.
Thank you, Mr Chua; you made me forget La Liga Pilipina, but
you made Rizal my true-blue nationalist!517
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