Going beyond 'same same'

The editorial "Same same" (Inquirer, 1/21/08) observed: "This is a great evil of our times, this 'pare-pareho lang sila' mentality, which justifies tolerating the status quo on the defeatist assumption that all leaders are the same ... When the youth say 'they' are all the same, they obviously don't include themselves. And if they are the majority (which they are) then it means the youth can seize the day---but don't want to. They have judged, but refuse to be judged themselves." Thus the editorial clearly explained why we Filipinos point the accusing finger at our leaders for our follies, but never at ourselves. The editorial challenges us as a nation to wake us up from our stupor.

We can look to Japan as a model. Like the Philippines, it was a feudal society. Japan started its very long but sure path to progress during the Meiji Restoration from 1868 through 1914. When it started, the Meiji government was manned by very young people, with the youngest at 31 and the oldest at 41.

During that time, Japan sent its most talented and skilled people abroad, not to send back money, but to acquire more knowledge and skills that, upon their return, they could use to speed up their country's development. The Meiji government didn't support individual talents for the sole purpose of improving a person. It emphasized loyalty and service to the nation first, before anything else. It also declared its bureaucracy vacant, so that public service would be peopled by the best and most qualified, thus eliminating nepotism.

It also converted from an agricultural to an industrial state. It aggressively and sincerely supported businesses, whether public or private, from light to heavy industries, so that the Japanese would learn how to build their country through hard work and patience.

In our country, our leaders must realize that remittance money is not the solution to our problems. Building industries here, producing "proudly Pinoy-made" products will entice our highly skilled workers to help rebuild our industries.

Japan also dismantled the feudal system that was the cause of inequality, injustice and divisiveness. The elitist samurai were suddenly treated as the peasants' equal; but they did not resent it because they knew it was good for Japan's future. In our country, we can start with Congress, by abolishing the pork barrel which is the source of all evil.

During the Meiji era, a credible and trustworthy government inspired the Japanese to build a great nation. Which the Japanese did, acquiring world-power status after so many decades of immense self-belief, patience, hard work and sheer determination.

We shouldn't feel powerless in the face of all the things happening around us. We can try the best we can to teach our children the value of patriotism and service to others. We may not see progress in our lifetime; it will take many years for us to become a developed nation. But we must start now by removing all the evils afflicting our society, starting with our leaders who think they are above the law.

(Taken from the Letters to the Editor section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer January 28,2008)