By Camelia Rodriguez
PINOY Associate Editor
Last month, upon hearing that former Philippine President Corazon Aquino passed away, I quickly said a prayer and immediately took to my Facebook and Twitter to update my statuses to say: “R.I.P. Cory Aquino. There will never be another like you.”
And I truly meant it. The strength and courage Cory Aquino showed during the incarceration and, later, the assassination of her husband Ninoy (events that may have caused anyone else to want to just give up) is beyond inspiring.
Despite Aquino’s world-wide recognition for the movement she inspired in the Philippines, there are still those who never heard of her and what she had done. A few friends (Filipino Americans) asked me, “Who is Cory Aquino?” It stunned me that they had never heard of this woman or what she did. I responded with a one-sentence answer, “She was the former Philippine president who led a bloodless revolt in 1986 to overthrow Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship.” All I’d hear in return was, “Oh, okay.”
Granted many of us young Filipino Americans are second or third generation and we are not required to learn Philippine history (because as Americans we are taught the Constitution and events of World War I in school), is it not our responsibility to take it upon ourselves to learn about the nation of which we are descendants of?
How can one proclaim that they have “Filipino pride” when they do not even know whom the Philippines regards as “bayanis” or who was the woman to bravely stand up to a dictator to free the nation that she loved?
I do not mean to preach or to come off sounding like I’m above other young Filipino Americans – that most certainly is not my point. But I will admit my own ignorance.
It was not until my first year at DePaul University when I took the course “Asian American Histories” that I learned of the involvement of Filipino men and women during World War II. We did not spend too much time in class discussing this as there was much more we needed to cover throughout the course, but I wanted to know more. I was fascinated and excited to know that Filipinos played a major role in WWII fighting on the American side.
I can’t help but wonder if the people who insist on wearing t-shirts with the Filipino design even understand how the flag came to be and what it stands for. I also can’t help but shake my head at the people who get tattoos of “baybayin” words only because it looks cool and not for the significance of the ancient Filipino script.
It’s easy for one to exclaim “Filipino pride!” But having the knowledge about what it is you are proud of will make people believe you.•