doomed?

In the heights of all the chaos happening now in Mindanao and the frequent airing of bad news one after another in this country, some might think that the Philippines is really bound down to the mud.

I cannot blame who those who think that way because how can you ever ignore the reality? we just can't disregard the fact that a lot of our Mindanaoan brothers and sisters are suffering the ramification of this almost unending war with the Muslim rebels but how do we really end it?Who are really the oppressed ones and are there really valid reasons for this war to necessitate?

Even the rampant hold-ups, kidnapping, carnapping. These things are excessively widespread in the Metro Manila area. Those are three words but are capable of scaring off a lot of potential tourists, investors and even our fellowmen to freely enjoy the place's hidden beauty.

I guess one thing i realized is that the biggest contributor of these negativism is the media itself. I know this will make almost a lot of media people to raise their eyebrows but the way i see it is that they are one of the contributors of putting this country down. They tend to focus on the dirtiest situations so that they will have the first inside scope about what's going on. I am not against freedom of speech but then again try to assess if there are really some worth when you try to relay them.

I do not wish to go on pointing fingers because it wouldn't help. What i want to drive out is that we have so many beautiful beaches and we have 7,100 islands which exudes a lot of agricultural products enough to satisfy the whole nation and can even cater some tourists to enjoy them. Even our culture is very rich. Jump from one island to another and you wil be enamoured by the rainbows of stories. How can one be ever bored with each island's history? There are always legends, chronicles of the past and even the place itself can romance you to its perfection.

The people? Don't you think we are one of the charming beings on earth? We never fail to be enthusiastic about building camaraderie with each other just standing outside of our homes or simply in sari sari stores. Look out and notice how beautiful the smiles are of those who are passing by. See how our children enjoy the gifts of nature... be it simply taking a bath in the rain or playing as cooks using leaves, stones and sticks. Try traveling through the mountains and you'll see people sitting on wooden stairs carefully inspecting their hairs for lice. Don't get it wrong. They may have lice but they are happy, simple people. How about those men considered as "tambays" in any corner? Try talking to them about any ordinary stuff and you'll be surprised how far the conversation will go.

I cannot help but boast about how intelligent and smart we, Filipinos, are. Inspite of the lack of sources, we are still educated and learned. Imagine how it will be like if we have all the access to the newest technology or newest information? I bet we can all surpass all the achievements of the other countries.

Have you heard the songs written by our composers? We are lovers of love, life and we can even dance to the music of our failures opting to even laugh about it. Others might think that we don't take ourselves seriously but will you opt to be miserable about those things or will you choose to be happy inspite of what you are seriously going through? Have you tried listening to ordinary Filipino beings joke? We take life lightly and we don't make suicide an option not like the other races wherein they experience hardships and off they get their guns and kill themselves.

There are so many things to be thankful of which i want to write but won't because of lack of time. What I'm trying to bequeath to you readers are hope and dream. Be thankful that we can still see a lot of things which we can change because that would mean we still have the chance to improve ourselves and further develop this country. We have no reason to be hopeless because there are a lot of space to make things for the better. Hold on to hope and dream. Go on. Dream big for this country and never lose hope. Take action and see the changes with big or small steps.

Being doomed is an option. To those who think that this country is doomed, then you are going nowhere. you are a loser because where else will you go when you see a dead end? But if you choose to have hope, you will always see the light that can lead us to our dreams and aspirations. We will always have the avenue to achieve the greatest if not the best. We will always have our own ideals to lead us where we want ourselves to be as a country. Why would you ever give that up?

So is this country doomed? the answer is a big No.