It's been really fun reading this thread, lalo na nung "buhay" pa si Manang D.
OT muna ako to start with: a friend shared an article from the Economist on the diminishing English proficiency of Filipinos, even English teachers at that. Marami daw hindi man lang pumapasa sa English proficiency test, kaya tuloy, call centers supervisors are thinking whether to stay in the Philippines or take their businesses elsewhere. Hindi po magandang balita ito, dahil call centers are bringing in jobs to Filipinos. The Economist cited the culprit for this problem as no other than this : the change in the use of Filipino rather than English in certain school subjects.
Kaya po, please lang, tama na ang debate over whether we should be speaking in English or in Filipino (or Tagalog, whatsoever). I am A Filipino and am proud of being a Filipino. We used to be looked on as far better speakers of English than anybody else in Asia, but because somebody among our policy makers thought we are not being nationalistic by speaking English in schools, we are losing our edge in the job front outside the Philippines today. we have become like internet users who wanted to go back to a time when computers were not heard of. What's nationalistic about that?
End of OT
MDN, thank you for this thread. 'Really thought provoking.
Yes, i agree with those who posted before me that not one of us has any right to cast the first stone.
But i also agree that if we feel and think and believe one of our dear friends is going astray (merong GF but may wifey and family sa Pinas) we have a responsibility, even an obligation to tell them where we stand on the issue. However, like Erick said, 'madaling sabihin, mahirap gawin'. Sometimes, it's awkward. Sometimes, you are not close enough to the person to feel confident enough to tell them what you think. At other times naman, you are too close to the person that you have come to fully understand WHY they are doing it.
I think being in a foreign land gives us all a sense of anonymity. To some who have had bad experiences back home, this new soil gives them a fresh start, a new life, a new beginning. And for a time, perhaps the novelty of things shakes us off our moral foundations, and so, humans that we are, we make mistakes.
One thing I believe is this: in a marriage, and in a family, only the people from within are the only ones who know the real score. Nobody else from without knows the real story. And if there are kids involved, most times, they are the glue that keeps it all together, no matter what storms may come.
Therefore, to the question of whether there is indeed such a thing as "suspended morality", I say, "Yes. Hard may it be to swallow, but the problem does exist. And indeed, it is a problem."
But it is not just a problem faced by Filipinos. A farang friend of mine said this, "I've seen many a good men fall once they came to Thailand." It's not this country's fault, nor its women's. It simply is the very differences between cultures (kasama na rin morality doon), that make it difficult for men to stay loyal to their wives once they see the contrast. (But let us not forget, that there are some Pinoy men who also fall for other Pinays while here in Thailand).
Maybe the next question then would be, what should a wife do, to win her husband back? Ay, paumanhin kay MDN. Dapat siguro sa ibang thread ito'ng question na to. Ot na naman yata.
April 10, 2010, 06:15:13 AM
