Evil Woobie

I have news feeds in my browser and am no stranger to depressing news about this country’s economy, political instability and civil discord. Hence, in my morning net journeys I have decided to blog only about current events that are socially relevant and/or those that are personal to me.

This breaking news from inquirer.net belongs to both.

We often hear about Filipinos ranting over the hard life we suffer as a race. But it is rare that a Filipino will kill himself over it. A normal, psychologically stable citizen of this nation lives through the day either ranting or smiling. We whine so much about a lot of things, but it takes so little to make us laugh.

This is what I call “Filipino Optimism”. We find the energy to smile regardless of the odds that are against us. As I’ve been telling my OFW brother who suffers the same discrimination that our other OFWs suffer in a foreign land, our race’s innate ability to make light of things is one of the many outstanding traits that make us a hardy bunch. We do not find it odd that people are laughing as a group, or that people smile as we approach them. We smile with our families and friends even if we only have enough in our pockets to get us through the day.

This is the one thing that sets us apart. Our spirit. Our positive views and belief in a better future. Let’s not lose that hope.

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