Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Tungkol kay William Henry Scott at sarili kong paniniwala

Gusto ko itong si William Henry Scott dahil sa may mga nilansag siyang mito tungkol sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas.

Pero itong sipi mula sa artikulo niyang "The myth of the cultural minorities" ang nagpatibay sa aking paniniwala sa kanyang mga pahayag:

"When the Americans usurped the Spanish colony and discovered this dichotomy, they were a little embarrassed about words like conquered and unconquered because of the rhetoric of their democratic Constitution. They preferred to think that imperialist imbalances were created not by aggression but by natural scientific order. They therefore quickly produced an explanation for Filipino variations which was not very different from that old creation myth about dark races having been left in the oven too long, and others having been taken out at just the right time.

"The American creation myth was called the Wave Migration Theory.

"According to this Theory, the Philippine archipelago was peopled by a series of waves of migrants, each of which was superior to the one that preceded it. First came the pygmies--short, black, and primitive--in other words, as unlike Governor Taft as possible. Then came a wave of slightly taller, lighter, and more advanced people who drove the earlier ones into the hills by their natural superiority. And so on, wave after wave, until the last best migration of all--those whose descendants were so advanced they could appreciate the advantages of submitting to American rule."
Samakatwid, produkto ng imperyalismo ang teoryang ito. Kaya dapat nang huwag ilagay sa mga aklat pampaaralan ang tungkol sa teoryang ito. (May nakita pa akong mga aklat na nagpapakalat ng Wave Migration Theory nitong Hunyo 2013.)

Down with imperialism! :-)

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Isang repleksyon para sa taong 2013 at ilang bagay para sa susunod na taon

Ang taong ito ang isa sa mabungang taon para sa akin.

Una, marami akong natanggap na biyaya/blessings. Pisikal (maraming pera kumpara dati. :-D ) at intelektwal (maraming panahon para makapagbasa ng mga librong dating nakastack lang).

Ikalawa, maraming nakilalang bagong kaibigan. :-)

At ikatlo, nairaos ang pag-iisang dibdib namin ng aking asawa sa Simbahan. :-)


Sa susunod na taon, mga nais kong mangyari:

1. maipasa ang non-Tagalog/Other Filipino Languages Proficiency Exam;
2. makapaghapag ng thesis proposal at maaprubahan ito ng panel;
3. makasulat pa ng mas maraming akda;
4. matanggap sa isa pang writing workshop; at
5. huwag nang magkasakit, lalo na ay maospital, si Likha.

Sana mangyari ang mga ito. :-)

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

It's been a long, long, long time... (with apologies to George Harrison)

It's been a long, long, long time since I've opened, read, wrote, and posted my entries here on my blog. Numerous tasks have overtaken my "free time". Hope I could post my new writings in the future. :-)

Anyway, I just want to say to my readers:

(image from: http://saintchristophers.net/Customer-Content/stchristophers/CMS/images/Merry-Christmas-prev.jpg)