Updated (repost from April 28, 2008).

A number of Filipinos are putting the blame on the politicians’ corruption for the current Philippine situation.

The word corruption is always associated to politicians.

But we always overlooked that we ourselves are also a reflection of what the corrupt leaders are doing. We just like to play the blame game. We ourselves are also guilty of corruption.

The word corrupt according to Answers.com:
adj.

1. Marked by immorality and perversion; depraved.
2. Venal; dishonest: a corrupt mayor.

In my opinion, if you do the following, you are doing corruption to the Philippines yourself.

1. Click Fraud Guilty Website owners. You click your own ads, baaad. You’re good at lashing out politicians, you have against musicians who were accused of copying other musicians materials.

-An officemate was so disgusted with Orange and Lemons and Cueshe for imitating other bands’ music. Double jeopardy. He proudly admitted exchanging clicking of Google ads with his friend.

2. Buying Pirated CDs. Have you bought pirated CDs, fake software and all things fake inside a disk or DVD. It is called Intellectual Property Rights infringement. In simple terms, it is stealing other people’s intellectual product.

A musician worked his butt off, only for his CDs being pirated and bought by ignorant buyers.

3. Purchasing Fake products. You call me radical, stupid or just plain weird, but I don’t buy pant or t-shirts with a fake product name. Yes, I don’t buy those items found in Tutuban or Baclaran. Fake Ralph Lauren or fake Adidas or Nike is a big NO for me.

4. Dishonest partner. Are you dishonest to your girlfriend or wife or husband or boyfriend? Been playing around with your relationship? Then chances are you are a corrupt citizen yourself.

5. A burden to street sweepers. Are you the person who has the habit of just throwing your cigarette butts or candy wrappers just about anywhere? You’re making your surroundings dirty and it’s just another thing for corruption. You may have a clean house or room, but you’re a burden to other people. Isn’t a typical corrupt politician like that?

So wah cha think?

The Philippine medical profession is again at the glare of publicity brought about by the Vincente Sotto operating room spectacle.

I hope the aggrieved person will teach those doctors a lesson. Philippine doctors always get away by burying their mistakes.

On April 15, 2000 a white farmer was shot dead by black Zimbabweans. Those black Zimbabweans were just squatters of the white farmer’s land.

When I read the first two paragraphs of the news article, I was a bit mad. Those killers were just squatters of his land, and they killed him?!

But as I continued to read on, it became clearer. The blacks were demanding to return the land that were unfairly taken from them and given to the white settlers during the white rule.

Who is more evil? Honestly, not easy to answer. But I will try act accordingly to the Christian teachings I learned, as if I have learned something, hehe.

But if I was that white man who got killed, I would probably have given a portion of my land to the black Zimbabweans.

If I was one of the black Zimbabweans, I would appropriately ask a portion of that white man’s land, and if he would not give me any I would still not join in with the other blacks to kill the white farmer.

There are always two sides of the coin. Two sides of the moon, the light and dark. In nationalism too, there are good and bad effects. I will write about the good ones first. The negative ones will be in the next few days or weeks.

Here…

1. It could develop our own national identity. No longer pretensions. No more wearing the masks of Spain or America.

2. It will be good for the local economy. When a Filipino loves the Philippines, he thinks what’s good for the Philippines. He may just remain in the Philippines to help out other Filipinos or go to the other countries to wok, but the Philippines still in his mind and heart.

3. National unity. It may not be perfect, but overall there will be unity. Even the rich countries still has some kinks to iron out.

4. Less regionalism. When there is unity, other regions would think wholly. Lesser discrimination on other ethnicities.

I just knew this last Sunday in my church. William Tyndale is virtually unknown to most people, even to the Christians. But he was the one to first translate the bible into English against the will of the Catholic Church leaders.

William Tyndale, a priest of the Catholic Church was determined to share the words of the Bible to the common people. During his time only the priests and nuns were allowed to read the Holy Scriptures, it was crime for an ordinary citizen, even a king and the penalty for defying the law was death.

William Tyndale was a great influence to many including William Shakespeare.

View the short video:

And watch the 60 minute documentary about the history of the English Bible:

William Tyndale fan site: www.WilliamTyndale.com.

Books and movies about William Tyndale:
- William Tyndale Books at Amazon
- William Tyndale DVDs at Amazon