Personally, I believe both sides have valid points. On one hand, I would agree that certain things about our culture and character tend to limit our potential for greatness. Some of us like to think that we lack imagination. Sure, we can be imaginative enough to turn old, discarded US military vehicles into jeepneys complete with shiny horse ornaments and other bling bling but we don’t seem to have the ability to realize that its design is already in need of a major adjustment if not a complete revision. I think this also has something to do with our “pwede na yan” attitude. In any case, it’s not hard to imagine how having such an attitude can lead to many problems, big and small.

On the other hand, I can also see how our elite — who, in my understanding, are those belonging to the old rich and landed families — can adversely influence how things go in this country of ours. It’s no secret many so-called public servants belong to this class and they seek and cling to power not because of a desire to serve but to protect or worse to expand their interests.

This particular notion about this country’s elite is explored or rather exposed in a report written by Greg Rushford in the July-August edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review. It’s supposedly an investigative report about the alleged feud between the Macapagal-Arroyo and Lopez families and how this decades old clan war has become a hindrance to the country’s development. From what I’ve read in a report released yesterday by Inquirer. net Rushford’s article makes for very interesting reading.

I find it particularly interesting how our elite got to be so wealthy. Obviously the source of their wealth is land. But that hardly explains it. What I want to know is how these families were able to acquire all their real estate. Was it by force, political maneuverings or by some twist of fate?

If you want a teaser of Rushford’s article go to Inquirer.net.