[Book Review] 12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do to Help Our Country

This book came out and became quite popular.  I did have a comment on it, and now is the time to speak up.

I think it misses one important thing every Filipino can do to help our country.  But okay, this is one thing I don't do myself very often, or at least not in print or publications and not on the internet...

13. Speak in Filipino to each other.  Preserve our culture.  Respect our traditions.  Write your books for Filipinos in Filipino.  Teach other Filipino dialects in elementary, high school, and college!  Including Tagalog*!  Don't laugh at fellow Filipinos who have wrong English grammar, it's not our language after all.  Don't laugh at fellow Filipinos who have "wrong" English pronunciations.  They are only "wrong" in the eyes of Americans, etc.  Other English-speaking nations have their own way of pronouncing English: each of the 50 States, the UK, Scotland, Australia, Singapore, Canada, India, Italy, Germany, and so on.  In other words, don't judge fellow Filipinos by other nation's standards!

(*Many do not know a lot of Tagalog words; they call them "very deep" Tagalog words, thus alienating themselves from speaking it more fluently.  And this is the dialect that is the primary basis of the Filipino language.)

Unfortunately because the book with the above title is in English, I don't think its message was brought to all the intended audience.  Or maybe that is the point?  I like the book, and its contents, and its message.  But to reach what I believe is its intended audience, it has to be written in Filipino.  Tagalog, Bisaya, Waray, etc.  In all dialects if possible!

To defend myself, my intended audience for this blog is not just the Filipino people (that's why it's on the net), hence, kindly pardon the English, imperfections aside.  I plan to write one book with the intended audience being Filipinos...  I hope to write it in Filipino.

I said "Speak in Filipino to each other" should be #13, to add to the "12 Little Things."  Personally I think it should be #1.

Oh and...  I do respect traffic officers, policemen, and most specially soldiers.  (#5 on the list.)  But I fear policemen, to tell you the truth.  You could be doing nothing wrong, and then you could just find yourself behind bars, or fined, or abused.  After all, they have guns.  We don't.  I've heard of stories, and I've experienced some of these things first hand.  I think #5 should be changed to, "If you are an authority figure - traffic officer, police, soldier, priest, father, teacher, mayor, president, etc. - practice good leadership,  respect the people under you, and take responsibility for them."  At some point in all of our lives, we each will be in a position of authority.  I think we should do our part well first, before we can ask people to respect us.

By the way, I would vote for Alex "Pinoy" Lacson for senator this May 2010.  He wrote the said book. :-)