Professional Documents
Culture Documents
We, Filipinos, have a say in almost everything. We heavily criticize anything or anyone: case in point, our
Head of State. He is being criticized in all aspects of his life: political decisions, tax plans, or his hairstyle.
Even the snippiest internet bystander has an opinion on how to revive the presidents deforested crown
of glory.
When the son of a jailed senator accidentally shot himself, we were quick to give our psychological
theories in the social media. When Mayweather officially announced his fight with Pacquiao days back,
most of us quickly became boxing analysts complete with our own fight predictions. When the PNP-SAF
had a botched operation last January, we instantly became military strategists on Twitter; we also have a
say on how Toni Gonzaga hosted the Binibining Pilipinas last night.
Our newsfeeds are frequently bombarded with messages. Mostly, hurtful messages. Most of the masses
take turns virtually thrashing each other in the Internet; some give comments based on poor appreciation
of facts or just instantaneous reactions without perusing a shared article first. Add to these the bashers
and harassers which are the tell-tale signs of the sloping of the Pinoy cranial ridge. And in this social
media age, its now easier to comment, to respond, or to pick a word war.
But why are we like this? Maybe the life here in the tropics is so dull that we need to live a separate virtual
existence as a form of escape? Or probably, because if we can share other peoples demise, we may just
feel a little bit better about our lives? Or maybe because of our commentary-oriented media culture?
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Our broadcast stations are rife with talk shows and programs designed for a certain person to talk about
anything under the sun. We are constantly fired upon by the broadcast medias gifts of gab and they
frequently take advantage of the masses emotions to manipulate public opinion.
And with this trend of fostering viewer interactions, they ask for phone-in questions, tweets, or Facebook
comments which get to be published and read in real-time. Seems innocent but this produces know-it-alls
who seemingly think that because they have so much knowledge thanks to Google that their opinions
become all too-important. Fault-finding, is easy.
And our netizens comment just for the act of commenting. Most often, we post responses which are not
well thought-out, much less politically correct. Or some are just proud to comment first. And worst, the
pessimistic tirades online are published by people who cowardly hide behind their masks
of anonymity. After the brouhaha in the cyberspace, whats next? Did the keyboard warriors enlist in the
military to fight against the BIFF?
In this democracy, it is a privilege for us to examine and openly criticize various aspects of life in this
country. Netizens are entitled to their opinion without having to fear for our lives; we are not in the
seventies anymore. Yet, we should remember that the letters we type on our keyboards do not aptly
embody our emotions or the underlying nuances of our messages.
And like what I said to the MSU-Gensan delegates on my blogging seminar last month: a lot of people do
not have the right to their own opinions because they do not know what they are blabbering about.
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But after all the tte--ttes and the ad hominems, what is required from us is to take intelligent actions.
We should not just bury a controversy with another.
Does our country need critics? Yes. It is just proof of the Pinoys active mind. It gives us the time to
analyze and learn from our collective experiences. But if we have a culture of critiquing without action, all
might just come to naught. Because what have we done in our own backyards? We blabber about the
things distant from us, but fail to see what is happening in our own communities. We always fail to listen
to the few wise voices because we are too busy talking ourselves.
We have to remember that the way we talk in the cyberspace is the reflection of our reality. It forms our
consciousness. How we post our comments in the wide web explains our dreams and direction as a
people.
This constitutionally-guaranteed right to speech carries with it, our duties and responsibilities. We have to
criticize fairly by getting the facts right and this way, we influence other people correctly. We have to be
responsible internet users by treating our fellow netizens the same way we do when we meet them in
person.
We dont have a short supply of critics in this country. We have seen a lot of those during the congress
own version of the Mamasapano inquiry. What we need are doers.
And having said that, its time to end this critique. I guess Ive said enough.