Myself acting all nationalistic (an attempt, anyway)

Got sent out of the office today by my boss. I should rant about it, but no, I will resist the urge. It's quite a long and complicated story. Oh well...

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It's raining. I usually don't mind such occurrences, but right now it's such an injustice. I am not a big fan of washing the car, I could let months pass by before I finally pick up the old bucket and chamois. Last night I suddenly felt the urge to be a busybody and washed the car after "only" 2 weeks. And then it rains? Thanks.

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Was watching television last night and chanced upon a feature on the multi-lingual education approach of a public school in a small public schools in the hinterlands of Kalinga province. It struck me that the teachers there were genuinely concerned about educating their pupils. Then I remembered the other selfless professions that I have encountered, read or heard of. There's this pastor in Camarines Sur from a well-to-do family who uprooted his entire family from an exclusive subdivision and lived in a meager hut amidst the rice paddies and the fishing village sans electricity, running water and other necessities. Then there is the social worker in Pangasinan who volunteered to help out the poorest of the farm workers despite being poor herself. The barrio doctor who gave up a lucrative practice to help out people who couldn't afford proper medical services. How many more people have we heard of giving up economic freedom for another man's cause?

I'm sure a lot of people would want to emulate their example but have all sorts of excuses that justify their not doing so. I myself have been faced with such a decision but took the road often traveled. Do I feel guilty? A bit, yes, but for the most part, not really. (Insert boos *here*)

Talking about the road less/often traveled, I remember the valedictory address of this teenage wunderkind who graduated from a rigorous advanced physics course at the university. She mentioned the phenomena of university students taking shortcuts through the grassy fields instead of taking the sidewalks, a metaphor for the trailblazing efforts of these future leaders and citizens who would eventually graduate (or not) and integrate themselves into the real world. So fine, I took the sidewalk, someone has to.

Before you take that pitchfork out of the barn, allow me to defend myself.

I don't have a passport, thus I am stuck in this god-forsaken country. Not only is this a product of laziness (though in large part, it is), but I do not have any intentions either of leaving it for "greener pastures" preferring to be an active and productive member of this nation's citizenry rather than volunteering to be productive for any other. I am not a cow, I don't care if the grass is greener anywhere it may be. I work, therefore am a productive member of society, paying taxes, contributing to the GDP and all macroeconomic stuff. I live on my own, doing my own groceries, paying the rent, shop on a whim and travel domestically, the money I get from my salary circulates through the national economy thus providing more jobs, services and adding to the purchasing power of those around me. I have no assets under my name, no savings and a lot of credit card expenses, thus I am in poverty. The only difference I can see between myself and those selfless people is that while they do the good work actively, I am achieving this passively. Pathetic excuse, I know, but you must admit the effort to be nationalistic is there.

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Back when I was doing community work in Pangasinan, I was babysitting this Canadian national who was doing a video documentary on the Philippines as a sort of hobby. Apparently, she was doing some research online and got into contact with the left-leaning (at best) umbrella organization I was then working for. They promptly okayed for her to go observe some of the people and their conditions as long as she tagged along with us for her "safety".

She was okay, struggling to eat with her hands, learning to carry buckets of water so she could bathe and wash her hair, and walk kilometers a day so she could get up close and personal with her subjects. One day, I didn't have anything to do and was lazing around when she asked if I could take her to the power plant, the monolithic abomination that we were supposed to be protesting against. I guess I was really bored so I took up the task despite never having gone there myself. This was also the first time I personally had to babysit her as the leader of our group was usually the one giving her the tour.

While walking amid the gravel path leading to the plant, she whips out her videocamera and starts asking away. Mostly her questions revolved around my personal take on the state of the nation and why the poor were getting poorer in this country. I tried my best to give her my most intelligent answers, I'd hate to be the bumbling ignoramus in her documentary or a comic relief. I couldn't recall any of her questions nor my answers but for the last one. She asked me if I thought there was still hope for the country, the people. I stopped, looked straight at her (well, the camera as well) and answered "Of course, I wouldn't be doing this otherwise." Yeah! High five, very nice!