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BY SONIA D. DAQUILA
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National Psyche
WHEN we hear the word “Philippines”, we think of a nation. When we say “Filipinos”, we mean a people. What creates distinctions of a nation from other nations? What makes Filipinos a people? The answer is “uniqueness.”
A nation is bound by common culture shaped by history, literature, language, norms, folkways, songs, mores, customs, and traditions. There are material culture, too, shown by artifacts, buildings and structures.
More lasting, however, is the invisible bond that binds the people together, the commonality of their outlooks and their concept of God, the universe, their country, and their fellow human beings.
For the German people, they call this Weltanschauung. Generally, sociologists and psychologists call this holistic manifestation of a nation’s natural disposition “national psyche” or “the soul of the people.”
The Philippine national psyche is a paradox of strength and flexibility, of sentimental and of happy disposition. It is only in the Philippines where the Christmas season starts in September and lasts for more than a hundred days. In some houses or establishments, Christmas extends up to Lent season or even the whole year round.
In the lowest ebb of their lives, trying moments test the solidarity of Filipinos. They draw out the best from them. The EDSA Revolution set aside socio-economic distinctions among Filipinos in the face of the recognized common enemy, the dictator. Natural and man-made calamities made the Filipinos realize they are one.
Filipinos are peace-loving, gentle and patient that they work without complaint to the point of being exploited; they are tolerant to the point of becoming indifferent. They are also meek, unconsciously becoming gullible at times. The Filipinos can bear acts of injustice for years, as Julito Kanoy, in his book Portrait of a Pinoy wrote, “The Pinoy is as patient as a carabao (his national animal) but it can go berserk (nagwawala like a tamaraw).”
Like the proverbial cogon grass, however, Filipinos can flare up but quickly die down. Sadly, like the dormant volcanoes, there can be explosions. After all the sounds and fury though, they slide back to what they are, “Happy or happy-go-lucky”, patient, tolerant, or dormant, or indifferent. Like volcanoes scattered in the country, they never learn from the past. There may be explosions intermittently, not learning lessons of the past at all. (delsocorrodaquila@gmail.com/PN)
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