What Is A Traditional Philippine Political Elite

Is "necropolitics" a uniquely Filipino political tradition?

It's not. "Necropolitics" is simply another way to call sympathy votes and has been a well-used tactic for people to get into positions of power via proxy.One example I remember off the top of my head is Robert Kennedy, the younger brother of John F. Kennedy. Although possessed of a good reputation by himself, Bobby Kennedy would surely have used the memory of his celebrated brother to help catapult himself to the White House, had his run not been tragically shortened by an assassin's bullet during the Democratic Caucuses.It's in that, "I will continue his/her fight!" It's just in our nation where it works regardless of whether the recipient of necrotic electoral largess has a good chance of winning despite lacking the credentials for the job.

What are some traditional Filipino values?

As per my highly biased experience, Some traditional values are: 1. Family - even though my parents made it out of Philippines, they are still constantly contributing back to their relatives in the Philipines, subsidising for all of my cousins educations and even immigration overseas. Perhaps this is not really a fully Filipino value but rather a traditional Asian value, but sons and daughters are always expected to give back to the family- when the parents are retired, you can still see the children funding their lifestyle.2. Economic Stability - If there's one thing my parents have taught me, it's always choose the safest route - thus me choosing my current route of being a nursing student. They have always said ' Don't you want to provide for your family? To be able to provide a stable income for your future children and household?' Most of my cousins are nurses, doctors. If I ask any of them why, they all refer to how the medical sector is one of the safest jobs you can get that will always have a never ending demand ...at least overseas - head to Philippines and you'll see an influx of nurses who are being underpaid and overworked... Truly depressing3. Group Happiness - Filipinos are the most friendly bunch of people you'll meet. We're happy, we're open. From what I've experienced, were willing to sacrifice our individual happiness for the happiness of the whole people.- please remember these experiences of mine are highly biased. And thus, are not representative of all Filipinos as a whole. Just as I have met Filipinos who love the concept of family, I know many who would easily disregard it as well and this applies to all concepts.

What is your honest opinion on Filipino traditional architectural style?

Filipino architecture and design are no different in value with any other cultural architecture or design. We just failed to market it successfully because of these 2 types of Filipino mentality.Inferiority complex - We always compare ourselves to others instead of reflecting ourselves inwardly and appreciatively. And the usual things that we conpare ourselves to are either the American, European or anything else thats popular in this region. For example, we realize that Westerners appreciate Balinese and Japanese architecture so we try to imitate ourselves to these things. When we cannot similarize it with American, European, Balinese or Japanese, we tend to conclude that ours is inferior. And thus, we do not have the motivation or interest to show our local architecture to the world. We will tend to hide this but instead will tend to highlight some features that would be similar to the cultures I’ve mentioned. We failed to understand the value of our own history, culture and aesthetics because we are too distracted in comparing similarities to cultures of other than our own. We missed out the fact that American, European, Balinese, Japanese architecture became prominent simply because the people of their respective cultures believe it to be valuable and appreciated the aesthetics of it in the beginning. And in turn, people from the outside also learned to appreciate it.Ultranationalistic purism - We tend to feel ashamed of the colonial aspect of our culture. Many believe that everything that is of the West is not traditional even if in reality we practice a very Western-orientated culture in a very traditional sense. Because of this, we tend to overglorify and fabricate the achievements of our pre-colonial culture based on the limited understanding that we have about it. When found lacking, these people tend to create an imaginary and glorified pre-colonial indigenous culture based on limited information and understanding theu gathered from history books and call it the only “real Filipino culture”, whereas the colonial byproduct of Spanish and Austronesian cultural mix with some Chinese and American with a very solid culture that is practiced in the Philippines by Filipinos even today are deemed as fake.

What are the largest problems with Philippine politics?

It doesn’t take a political genius to see that our political scene is fucked up.The thorough butt-fuck on our nation has been sponsored by the unending cycle of corrupt officials, bad governance and the lack of education in the masses.The problem is so in-deep right now that it’s not going to be solved by a single policy or bill.However, beyond that, I personally think there is a much prominent problem with politics in the country. As observed in social media, it seems evident that the people can’t form their own opinions. Let me elaborate.To be able to form your own opinions, it would require knowledge on the matter, critical thinking and knowledge on how governments work. However, it seems that people still fall for the “traditional politician” act.Oh, we all know what a traditional politician sounds like. The kind that offers easy solutions to complex problems. The kind of politician which rhetoric is appealing to emotion rather than through platforms and solutions. They can be found at your nearest barangay hall or at the malacanang.It might sound corny, but I really do think change starts with ourselves. We need that much needed shift in the Filipino paradigm on politics. Let’s show these bundles of ego that the average Filipino can identify if what they talk about on debates are utter bullshit. Let them know that if they offer an easy solution to a complex problem, an average Filipino would ask “How?”Because once the average Filipino is knowledgeable and a critical thinker, it’s going to take a lot more than a poor-sponsored and anti-corruption slogans to win our favor.

How had American colonialism shaped the Philippines?

Americans used education as an instrument in colonization by shaping young minds conform to American ideas. American education system was not for the sole purpose of saving the Filipinos from iliteracy and ignorance. Instead, it was consistent for the broad purposes of American policy.[a] Education as an instrument of economic emancipation—it strengthens the belief that Philippines is essentially meant to be an agricultural country and we cannot do anything about it which resulted to an apathy towards industrialization; [b] Political independence—Filipinos were made to believe in certain political doctrine is absolute and for all people. For example, freedom of press—we cannot nationalize the press because it would be depriving the foreigners; [c] Cultural development—the language problem is the most vital problem that plagued Philippine education. It has been a great issue to use our own language because more Filipinos were against in using it. Filipinos believed that true education is based on English proficiency.In agreement with the philosophy of Constantino, the fact that Filipinos were taught that English was the language of democracy became barrier to democracy itself. American education taught that through an English tongue, Filipinos would achieve the American way of life which makes no distinction between rich and poor, and gives equal opportunity. Filipinos cannot achieve the true essence of democracy because of the dominance of the Americans that was acquired through miseducation.