Philippine History and the Filipinos

I took Philippine history class last semester, so I would like to discuss it on my blog. and also share my point of view.

I became more aware about the Philippine through said class. Basically, I love to study history

, especially of a country I want to go to, because it is the best way to know more about it. After all, a country's history shapes its people and culture. By knowing about it, I can also develop a sense of affinity to them. Some people might say, "Don't look back at what's already done or what happened in the past". However, I disagree with that because history exists for learning from mistakes that the previous generation have committed, such as massacres and the World Wars, and also for passing on what they have achieved to the next generation. If people don't look back at the past, there would be no meaning to it. Sadly enough, those people would mist likely commit the same mistakes again.

As I build the relationship with the Filipino people, I have noticed that they are really proud of themselves. But now, I understand. It was derived from the history that the Filipinos went through. They struggled from colonization by several countries, and fought bravely against those countries towards their independence. 

My country, Japan, has never been colonized by any country, so it was a little bit hard for me to think of how the Filipinos felt during the colonial period, but I was able to see and feel their intense feeling towards independence by visiting historical places in the Philippines that was actually a requirement in our history class.

Jose Rizal, one of the revolutionaries, fought and died for the country. Emilio Aguinaldo was also one of the revolutionaries who succeeded in leading the country to independence in the end. The similarity of both of them was that they were patriots. This feeling if nationality was successfully inherited to the next generation. However, I can also think like this: they can not help being like that due to the experience of successive colonization by  several countries before. 

Patriotism has been vanishing in Japan ever since the country's loss during World War II. It is true that America suppressed the dignity that the Japanese had during the occupation. Many achievements by Japanese troops were erased from the textbooks used at school. I admitted that Japan did hideous things to other countries, including the Philippines. However, I don't think it's enough reason for the Japanese to lose pride of themselves

Why is the Philippines developing rapidly even though its people faced several natural disasters in the past year? It's because they are optimistic and believe that they can do anything. On the other hand, the recent recession has been ailing Japan. It is not because of its economy surrounding the Japanese but because of pessimism that they have unconsciously been holding within them. There are many things that Japanese people can learn from the Philippines, and it is time for Japan to recover the dignity that got lost after World War II to overcome the recession.