Quezonâs 1938 Address: A Flawed Country
âWe must find the flaws, if there be any, in our concept of individual and community life, as well as in our character, and proceed at once to remedy them.â
In his 1938, President Manuel L. Quezon gave a speech on policies and achievements of the government and regeneration of the Filipino.
In his speech, Quezon addressed that Filipinos are not below other race and that he has faith in the people and community alike. However, as he also stated, some of what are considered positive attitudes have become dormant and what is more visible now (or at least, during the 1930s) are the negative attitudes.
Souce: https://makingitfuninthephilippines.blogspot.com/2015/02/ten-ways-that-failipino-culture-is.html
One of the negative qualities Quezon mentioned is Filipinosâ tendency to be soft and easy-going, in other terms, lazy. According to Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Constituency (PERC), Filipinos are known to be "the easiest people in Asia to get along with." But while this attitude is good in maintaining the peace and optimism among people and other countries, this lack of assertiveness could lead to Filipinos becoming dependent on others, as Quezon puts it; âparasitism.â
Source: http://www.getrealphilippines.com/blog/tag/laziness/
In another parts of his speech, Quezon expressed his concerns in Filipinos losing their sense of drive and traits that their forefather had, this includes the drive of creating and improving their communities. This lost of drive could be the result of the countryâs long history of colonization, which in turn, had turned Filipinos into passive citizens.
And finally, Quezon mentioned that Filipinos are slowly losing their tradition, including religion, patriotism, social traditions. Again, just like the previous issue, this problem stems from the Philippines being controlled by different countries. During the colonization of America, religious freedom was introduced. This may have resulted in Filipinos opting out of Catholicism to either change religions at best or dropping their faiths at worst (regardless, Filipinos are still religious during this time, but most likely few are devoted unlike the Spanish era).
What is interesting about Quezonâs words is that it does not only reflect the attitudes of Filipinos during the 1930s but as well as Filipinos during modern times. While we do exhibit values that are positive, including hospitality and respect (especially towards the elderly), we still have not outgrown some of our negative traits.
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/402650022911341499/?autologin=true
Even though people like Quezon dream of fixing the flaws of the Filipinos, such as imposing social and ethical codes, if the people themselves donât want to be fixed, then what is the point in trying. Every country and people have its flaws, but that is no excuse for being a lackluster country. Filipinos are bound to repeat the same mistakes if they do not look back and learn from their forefather and their forefathers' mistakes and achievements.Â
Quezonâs 1938 Address: A Flawed Country
Presented by: Group II
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jujanester. (2016, June 9). Pinoy Life: 8 Classic Filipino Traits and Characteristics. Retrieved from: https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/Filipino-Traits-and-Characteristics
Balinski, R. (2015, February 18). Americaâs Influence in the Philippines. Retrieved from: http://preparetoserve.com/blog/americas-influence-in-the-philippines/
Miller, J. (n.d.). Religion in the Philippines. Retrieved from: https://asiasociety.org/education/religion-philippines