#2. Know Our Heroes

I would guess that most Fil-Ams will need to do a bit of work in this area, especially the ones that were born in the states or were raised most of their lives there, like myself. Most likely, we know little of the history other than that the islands were once a colony of Spain and then came under the rule of the United States. Otherwise, all the dates are fuzzy, knowledge of the facts thin, and the actual heroes unknown. Of course, our education in the states included only a paragraph or two if at all in World and American history text books. So there was a convenient excuse - sort of.

These days, I'm trying to connect so many dots about my family story and place it in the context of history. At the time of my birth in 1970, President Ferdinand Marcos had already been in rulership for 4 1/2 years. He declared martial law in September 1972, three months before we emigrated to the America. I had no understanding about martial law (I thought it was like karate) despite my father's attempts to describe it. I remember stories of Magellan and Lapu-Lapu only because the name of this native warrior had a funny name. I also thought that it was cool that "we" killed Magellan. I also vaguely remember the assasination of Benigno Aquino, Jr. in 1983 and was too pre-occupied with other things, like my first girlfriend in 1986 when the subsequent People's Power Revolution took place.

So it is no surprise why Manny Pacquiao is the only hero of most Pinoys these days. Our sense of history is so shallow.

Pacman knows how to fight and beat the crap out of Mexican fighters, but the last time I checked, he has yet to fight for freedom and independence or against oppression. Many of the Philippine heroes were revolutionaries in such battles.

I challenge all of us, including myself to educate ourselves and find out more about Lapu-Lapu, Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, and his wife, Corazon Aquino - the list includes many more. Access to information these days is ridiculously easy. There are entries on Wikipedia and documentaries on You-Tube to help you in your education. There is also concern that the current and next generations will forget about their national heroes. I guess that all of us need to reaquaint ourselves with their stories to inspire and awaken the "old soul" within us.

I have started with Ninoy Aquino, and have been inspired by his courage and bravery. His infamous and prophetic quote "The Filipino is worth dying for" has both shaken and captivated me. My hope is that our pride in being Pinoy grow beyond celebrity, entertainment, and personality - all of which are good. There are many people in our history whom we can be absolutely proud of and whose lives should inspire us to greatness.