"All Filipinos want to be something else: the poor want to be Americans, and the rich want to be Spaniards. " Nobody wants to be Filipino," Suretsky, an American author, quoted his friend's remark in his article entitled Inferiority Complex: A Filipino Malady.
The remark is quite provocative as it aroused considerable public attention not just in Asia but across the globe. And yes, we couldn't deny the fact that, in general, Asians have an inferiority complex not only in terms of literacy but also in some major aspects.
The prevailing national pride and values of Asian countries are underdeveloped, and there are inferiority feelings toward the Western world in broader sections of the population; well, I guess this was brought upon by the kind of mentality we've today.
In some lenses, Asians must be in complete distress, slowly losing their sense of value to their heritage. Take how other countries see Asians as poorly proficient in their history. Thus, this explains the weak national pride foundation. And that this was why the West took this opportunity to subjugate the region.
The world was conquered using a tool, an educational system, brought by the Americans during its colonization period that continued on miseducating Filipinos by glorifying the boons of continuing foreign domination at the expense of indigenous culture, highlighting the fact that it intends to avoid recognition of the country's history and heroic resistance of the mighty ancestors in the past.
The years of colonization by the Americans were also accompanied by attempts of cultural brainwashing, bringing Asian identities, norms, and values into liberalization today. Considering the changes, as part of the competitive world economy, Asian countries can no longer abstain from Western performance standards because the further reduction of English language teaching can only be detrimental to economic progress.
It sounds like heresy – but the question may be allowed whether the colonial experience is a centuries-lasting mortgage or an attempt at the fast assignment of blame.
Let's take pop culture and entertainment belonging to the cultural inventory of the Philippines, where they've prominent figures like Lea Salonga, Regine Velasquez, Aguilar, and so. Still, Filipinos tend to patronize international or foreign stars more than our local ones.
Looking at the other lens, most Asian countries have relatively weak economic development that made them known to be a sick region. Why? I think this is because of the Asian preferences for foreign products, where they tend to ignore local products to fit in the trend.
In terms of physical features aspect, Asians are generally of smaller physiques and often have flat noses than Americans. I guess they are putting their national pride at a disadvantage (at some racial people's point).
Now considering all the lenses above, we can conclude that Asians are in an identity crisis and doubt because of this deteriorated belief and colonial mentality, making this prevailing selfishness, apathy, and the culture of blame-shifting from the region's borders destroying the sense of values.
But if only we ever realize that national pride could be found in other, more modest dimensions, we won't be clinging to this kind of mentality anymore. Because this pride in a speculative frame, Asian pride, should not be shouted out from the rooftop because, as the saying goes: "With the wind, you make yourself; you cannot fill your sails."
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