Get Real Philippines ‘Nuff Of This Hero Crap
A blogger friend called my attention to a banner going around Facebook. It is this one:
It’s a nice graphic if I may say so myself. However, I’m not at all impressed with the message it imparts. My apologies to Mark Gosingtian, the artist responsible for this artwork.
I’m certain Mark got his inspiration for this artwork from the outpouring of assistance for the victims of the recent floods. I can’t blame him. It really is quite a sight seeing people working together to help those in need. The effect is amplified even more when the scenes are rendered in slow motion and set to dramatic music. Such is the power of video editing.
Well, as I said earlier, I am not at all impressed with the message.
Where I’m From Everyone’s A Hero
(Mark I’m really sorry. In case you read this I just want you to know that I don’t mean to offend you especially since I got word that you may actually be doing this for charity.)
My main problem with Mark’s slogan is that it is one big exaggeration and a flat out lie. My other problem is that because it was rendered in such a fashionable manner it will certainly attract a bit of a following. Remember those ubiquitous Ako Mismo dogtags?
I know the message is meant to be inspirational and I sincerely hope it does inspire Filipinos to come out with real initiatives aimed at getting our country moving towards real progress. But that’s the problem. Slogans like these don’t really do that sort of thing. They always fail to produce meaningful results. Worse they even contribute to the dumbing down of this country by reinforcing the wrong notion that everything is alright. Unfortunately, where such an attitude or belief is the prevalent one you can be sure real progress is almost non-existent.
To be blunt about it. We are not a nation of heroes. We are just a nation of ordinary people currently facing extraordinary challenges. How we turn out afterwards is of course yet to be seen. I am betting though that even we apply Rhonda Bryne’s visualization technique to this hero thing there is no way we will become a nation of heroes.
Instead of aspiring for hero status why don’t we just aspire for something a little more down to earth. How about we aspire to be a nation of rational thinking people? And, if having a slogan is a must then I would suggest something less “fashionable” but truly meaningful. I propose this one from the netizen known only as Benign0:
Get Real Philippines!
It’s pretty simple, isn’t it? It may not be as sexy as “Where I’m From Everyone’s A Hero” but it certainly does more than just create an artificial feeling of patriotism. For one it tells you to do something. Now, the great thing about it is that if you feel you’re really up to it there’s already a place where you can go to get ideas. I’ll provide the link in a bit but before that I want to warn you the content in the site you’re going to see will challenge your beliefs and make you think really hard.
So, are you ready to exercise your brain and get real or would you rather just wear the national colors on your shirt and feel all hero-like? Well, if you’re the former then proceed here. And, if you really want to get into the nitty gritty of being real for the Philippines go here.
[...] Original post: Get Real Philippines ‘Nuff Of This Hero Crap [...]
If it’s true that the proceeds are going to charity, then it’s actually pretty effective, considering the audience. It’s a matter of priority, I suppose: if it’s meant to be more an emotional tug on people’s wallets, then all well and good, because it’s exactly the kind of thing people here would respond favorably to. But beyond that, it does send a dangerously over-optimistic message, as you pointed out.
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I’ve introduced so many new ‘slogans’ myself over the last nine years that it’s refreshing to see an insightful getting back to the basics of the original one that started it all.
May I add this other bit that might further add perspective (but hopefully not cloud your elegantly simple call):
The whole idea of a society of winners — a place known above all for its best — leads with surprising speed to a narrow pyramidal social structure. And then to division and widespread passivity. That in turn leads to false populism and mediocrity; to a world obssessed by bread and circuses, Heroes, and the need for leadership.
- John Ralston Saul, in his book On Equilibrium
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where i’m from, everyone’s a hero? Idiot is the right word for that.
idiot i say because even if we see that something is wrong with the government, our lifestyle, ourselves, we didn’t do something that will change it/us for the better.
we see corruption in the government, but we are too afraid to risk saying no or even just to expose it.
we see rampant degradation of our natural resources that leads to vaious disasters and mam-made incidents that costs lives yet we didn’t stop polluting out waters, denuding our forest, destroying natural fish habitat, throwing non-biodegradeable garbage to our soils, etc.
we claim to know a lot of things that can be done for a better philippines yet we didin’t even bother to lift a finger to get it done.
we continue to dream and dream yet each time we wake up and face the reality of the situation, we are just overwhelmed by the distraction around us. going to malls, burying ourselves at work, surfing the net and doing everything except those that can change the way we live.
now is the time to act….
if we want to change the way we live, then let us start with ourselves.
a simple “no” to every corrupt act, a small trip to the garbage can for every garbage that we throw, learn to follow the law even though other won’t….
yes, we can and we will…..
strive to change within and show to the world that the filipino can indeed change.
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No time to congratulate ourselves. We did good in the
rescue and recovery. We thank for the new generation. They
have shown they can give help and are volunteering to give
help. There is a lot of work to do.
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lpgd Reply:
October 12th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
well, those who feel they need to can congratulate themselves for whatever it is that they did to help. what’s important is that we don’t stop there. if we don’t do more after all the relief work is completed then we will just end up with the same situation we were in before all these problems started.
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Fair point. For most, it’s a feel-good thing. A very self-satisfied pat in the back.
I am not one of those apologists for Pinoy society, nor am I one of the delusional idiots who call themselves optimists – but I personally ordered a few shirts.
Although for me, and I believe for others too, it really has little to do with literally believing what is written on the shirt -
I mean I’ve got a fair number of “Pinoy” shirts – Yabang Pinoy, some Francis M designs, Nike Team Pilipinas shirts etc.. etc.. (No glow in the dark Manny Pacquiao shirts for me though) – and they’re really mostly an attempt to ‘inspire’ other Pinoy’s into what I like to call, for lack of a better word – ‘yabang’ in being a Pinoy.
Again, don’t take that too literally, I just can’t think of a better word right now. IMO, one of the major problems of Pinoy society – and the reason why ‘real initiatives aimed at getting our country moving towards real progress’ – as you put it – is not happening is because this ‘yabang’ is sorely lacking in Pinoy society as it is.
As opposed to wearing a shirt that says – Hindi ko kaya yan, nasa Pinas kasi ako. Or Walang kwenta ang Pinas dahil walang kwenta ang gobyerno.
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lpgd Reply:
October 13th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
i do get your point about having yabang. however, i think it would be better for us to take pride in real achievements not false, exaggerated claims.
our “collective heroism” in the aftermath of ondoy and pepeng is hardly an achievement. it’s just a natural reaction which we can also see in other places experiencing similar calamities. what could have qualified as an achievement is the prevention of massive floodings through collective and anticipatory action involving the government and the public. unfortunately, there’s no such thing for us to be truly proud of.
i can assure you i know what you mean about not taking it literally. i’m sure you know the difference as well. for all i know you just like wearing slogans on your shirts.
filipino pride is good but only if it is for some real achievement otherwise we’re just making fools of ourselves. and, no, wearing a shirt with something like “Hindi ko kaya yan, nasa Pinas kasi ako. Or Walang kwenta ang Pinas dahil walang kwenta ang gobyerno.” is not something i recommend.
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well obviously it’s just the same crap as what lpgd say on Ako Mismo movement….
Why not just do it, instead of saying I will do it…
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[...] As the popular facebook avatar picture states, where I come from, everyone is a hero. [...]
Most people would just buy the shirt for “porma” purposes. Nothing else. That’s what I observe.
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lpgd Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 2:45 am
jamie,
oh so true. while there’s really nothing wrong with that i’d still prefer that we not promote such patently false slogans. why not go for slogans that instruct people to do something to improve themselves and the philippines something like “don’t be poor, be rich,” and my personal favorite “vote wisely. don’t vote for cheese or tilapia.”
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What the country is lacking is National Pride and this is definitely what you guys (ms. author) are lacking. The purpose for the hero campaign is for us to regain our sense of self worth and love of country and countrymen. If we continue to work hard towards a common goal. Mark’s logo not only inspired countless others but sureley made them feel that the Philippines is still worth fighting for. There is no progress because people like you continue to bribe the cops, violate the laws and disrespect even the honest officials just because you can! Get a life and try to really be a hero for your country.
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admin Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 4:52 am
hero boy,
that’s mr. author to you. : ) : ). seriously, how did this shirt design inspire so many exactly? and inspire to do what exactly? i’ll tell you what. it inspired them to wear a cool-looking shirt. that’s all. i’ll tell you pointbank this hero campaign will not help people regain love of country or self worth or any of that. think about it. this campaign merely glosses over our faults. it denies the fact that we as a people need a lot of improving to do. by characterizing ourselves as heroes we not only ignore the problems that we need to solve we also make ourselves look like fools.
now, i just find it funny that you wrote this “Mark’s logo not only inspired countless others but sureley made them feel that the Philippines is still worth fighting for.” you really do have a loony way of looking at things, dont you? did mark’s shirt really do that. and how exactly do those emo-kids wearing this shirt intend to fight for the country now that they’ve been inspired to do so? print more shirts with pointless slogans?
now this is where you really get stupid. you wrote “There is no progress because people like you continue to bribe the cops, violate the laws and disrespect even the honest officials just because you can! Get a life and try to really be a hero for your country.” are you some sort of elemental with an all seeing eye. how on earth coul you possibly know if i do engage in such things? i have one advice for you hero boy/king manyak@gmail.com. LAY OFF THE RUGBY!
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Iya Justimbaste Reply:
January 25th, 2010 at 1:51 am
trendy kasi… kaya nauuso…
)
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bokyo Reply:
March 4th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
It’s like the same with the Philippines map on the left side of the shirt. First it was like a bit patriotic, but now I’m perceiving it as wearing it only to look cool.
And Noynoyistas are right now making it as a trademark.
good point. though, if both your and Mark’s shirts were already out at the time ondoy would have stricken my vicinity and can’t decide whether i should help those who were flooded–
- and saw a shirt with “Get Real, Philippines”, probably i would have thought about blaming them for bringing this upon themselves, considering the clogged drainage system, the geographical grade of the lot and not having to elect politicians who will enforce platforms to support rapid emergency disaster recovery measures. they should help themselves and clean their own mess, and eventually ended up watching them all drown away.
- if instead i saw the slogan that you’re bashing, probably i would have thought that while they could have avoided this and didn’t, it doesn’t change the fact that they are suffering, and they need help, fast. i am not perfect, i am not as strong and as disciplined as you are, mr. author, but may be this time i can do something right, i can have enough will to help those who are suffering, and would have signed up to bring relief goods to severely affected areas, because where i’m from, everyone is a hero.
If the slogan downright pisses you off, may be instead of changing the slogan to Get real, Philippines, which by the way is very ambiguous, why not change the slogan to
“Where I’m from, everyone will be heroes” to set an idealism that will unite us with a common goal while make us feel good without sounding like hypocrites.
I cannot say I agree with your concept of what a hero is supposed to be, but I am hopeful that you will understand in time, on your own. Take care
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admin Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
tbb,
bashing is too strong a word. i’m merely expressing my view that the slogan in question is a big showbiz lie. anyway, i like your version better although i would still prefer we do away with all the hero crap at least until we all re-learn what it really means to be a hero. the way we use the word nowadays clearly shows how trivial we treat the concept. lahat na lang hero.?1?
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PinoyBuzz Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
TBB,
I was toying with several slogan ideas:
“Where I’m from everybody eats kornik.”
“Where I’m from everybody eats isaw.”
“Where I’m from everybody uses a tabo.”
“Where I am from everybody refuses to eat the last piece of food on the table.”
“Where I am from everybody points with their lips.”
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how dare you tell such things when you yourselves haven’t done anything for the country?
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hey anon,
how would you know if we have or haven’t done anything significant for the country? are you supernatural or something?
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