On National pride and Class consciousness
Every nation has its own identity, and every identity must have been imbues with a unique feature that classified as its own. And that feature is National pride. National consciousness, alongside class consciousness may likely to have conquered and survived in a hostile environment set upon to us by nature and fate. And though this, it survived the wave of time, though progressive means and through the acceptance of what the person is, to uplift and to reach what is supposed to. Unlike those whom accept-only to become extinct or in the verge of destruction.
National pride and one of its parts, Racial pride, in my own perspective does not mean superiority as what other people used to think of. As what Hitler used to do so, but rather as consciousness as a part of a nation, a recognition since that they uphold its tradition, its faith, and honour to the land; as well as its class status and on how to emancipate from it in order to create a new order in a new society, and thus, to serve the aspirations of the people, both local or from its foreign brethren. But then, National consciousness may also require class consciousness and acceptance, in order to liberate ourselves as a nation and through it emancipation from its class standing.
One of which I am thinking of is that “why we have achieve independence from foreign and domestic oppression while the system remains rotten?” Is it neither because of the leader nor the action made, but of the idea and inspiration coming from the people whom used to work hard while being maltreated by foreign as well as domestic oppressor; due to the fact that in that rotten society social classes makes a nation weak and vulnerable to oppression. The majority of the oppressed, whom doing menial labour and having a low way of life are the bulk of the liberating, forces since they are the ones whom are being disenfranchised, thus likely to rebel. Just like the agrarian uprisings and millennial revolts in the Philippines whose objective is freedom from foreign and domestic oppression, that leads to a creation of a new society they wanted. And these unsung masses, along with their leaders whom used to get killed for their beliefs, gave inspiration to other ones to show the goal why they wanted “freedom”. Freedom doesn’t mean “freedom as a nation” but also “freedom” from its class and to build an equal society, through national consciousness, merit, and of hope towards one another.
Filipinos can be classified as an example of these. After centuries of subjection by the white man, of their efforts to degrade and enslave the inhabitants, Filipinos, especially the oppressed masses in the rural areas tried and failed but their heart of being a “free” man and its identity as a “Filipino” prevail, and so its class consciousness as a working class, specifically a farmer. In spite of hardships given, their deaths, banishments, still their identity and their hope remain as they continue fighting.
But then, why Filipinos, as a nation didn’t free from its class since they gained independence?
In spite of being independent, or what the others called as “sham” independence, the remnants of the old system prevailed, and so are the classes. Being a semi-feudal, semi-colonial country always carries a large strain of this rotten system since this system, which weakens the nation, makes vulnerable to foreign and domestic oppression. The struggle to destroy them remained still, as the oppressed, imbued with hope and faith as a part of the nation, as makers of history wanted to destroy every piece in order to set a new society under them, as what Karl Marx said a “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” must have been. Through National Democratic means. This nation nearly lost its identity because of that rotten system prevailing, in which it caters to the interest of foreigners and not of its heritage, especially the majority-the poor working class.
In addition to that,
I notice that National pride seemed to becoming a facade, a cosmetic in a face a puppet state. Through meaningless slogans to the "fashionalistic" sentiments that carried little or no patriotism, I really think that Nationalism as of now becomes worth nothing-especially to nations wherein opened much to free trade and lessening its patriotic, working class appeal to accumulate more foreign aid and support-in other words, sacrificing its own dignity for a few bucks.
Imagine,
We've encountered the mercenary traditions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the curtailment of civil rights and freedom of thought especially amongst the activists and other progressive leaning persons who advocate genuine national pride and class consciousness, of several scandals wherein corrupts the country and of life itself, and even the "rise" of false "patriots" who are in fact mere puppets of a foreign oppressor, who utilizes a "washed-out" patriotism and blaming the genuine patriots who supported a dignified state and a progressive community of peoples imbued with patriotic sentiment and of class conciousness as members of the working class.
Noticing about these facts, it seems that "a need for genuine national pride through working class patriotism" is encouraged as a means to counter the growing effects of wholesale westernization, of globalization also encouraged by vested western interests as well as of bourgeois-chauvinist "nationalism" which is limited to buying goods and watching boxing matches and of the like, including contemporary music which in fact emulates much of the west. People somehow may ought to undersand the fact in order to break off ties from it, of needing Bonifacios not Aguinaldos, of needing De Los Reyeses, of Evangelistas not those of collaborationists a la Paterno and of the like-including Roxas, who bannered buying Filipino goods liked the shoes of the imperialist.
National pride and one of its parts, Racial pride, in my own perspective does not mean superiority as what other people used to think of. As what Hitler used to do so, but rather as consciousness as a part of a nation, a recognition since that they uphold its tradition, its faith, and honour to the land; as well as its class status and on how to emancipate from it in order to create a new order in a new society, and thus, to serve the aspirations of the people, both local or from its foreign brethren. But then, National consciousness may also require class consciousness and acceptance, in order to liberate ourselves as a nation and through it emancipation from its class standing.
One of which I am thinking of is that “why we have achieve independence from foreign and domestic oppression while the system remains rotten?” Is it neither because of the leader nor the action made, but of the idea and inspiration coming from the people whom used to work hard while being maltreated by foreign as well as domestic oppressor; due to the fact that in that rotten society social classes makes a nation weak and vulnerable to oppression. The majority of the oppressed, whom doing menial labour and having a low way of life are the bulk of the liberating, forces since they are the ones whom are being disenfranchised, thus likely to rebel. Just like the agrarian uprisings and millennial revolts in the Philippines whose objective is freedom from foreign and domestic oppression, that leads to a creation of a new society they wanted. And these unsung masses, along with their leaders whom used to get killed for their beliefs, gave inspiration to other ones to show the goal why they wanted “freedom”. Freedom doesn’t mean “freedom as a nation” but also “freedom” from its class and to build an equal society, through national consciousness, merit, and of hope towards one another.
Filipinos can be classified as an example of these. After centuries of subjection by the white man, of their efforts to degrade and enslave the inhabitants, Filipinos, especially the oppressed masses in the rural areas tried and failed but their heart of being a “free” man and its identity as a “Filipino” prevail, and so its class consciousness as a working class, specifically a farmer. In spite of hardships given, their deaths, banishments, still their identity and their hope remain as they continue fighting.
But then, why Filipinos, as a nation didn’t free from its class since they gained independence?
In spite of being independent, or what the others called as “sham” independence, the remnants of the old system prevailed, and so are the classes. Being a semi-feudal, semi-colonial country always carries a large strain of this rotten system since this system, which weakens the nation, makes vulnerable to foreign and domestic oppression. The struggle to destroy them remained still, as the oppressed, imbued with hope and faith as a part of the nation, as makers of history wanted to destroy every piece in order to set a new society under them, as what Karl Marx said a “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” must have been. Through National Democratic means. This nation nearly lost its identity because of that rotten system prevailing, in which it caters to the interest of foreigners and not of its heritage, especially the majority-the poor working class.
In addition to that,
I notice that National pride seemed to becoming a facade, a cosmetic in a face a puppet state. Through meaningless slogans to the "fashionalistic" sentiments that carried little or no patriotism, I really think that Nationalism as of now becomes worth nothing-especially to nations wherein opened much to free trade and lessening its patriotic, working class appeal to accumulate more foreign aid and support-in other words, sacrificing its own dignity for a few bucks.
Imagine,
We've encountered the mercenary traditions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the curtailment of civil rights and freedom of thought especially amongst the activists and other progressive leaning persons who advocate genuine national pride and class consciousness, of several scandals wherein corrupts the country and of life itself, and even the "rise" of false "patriots" who are in fact mere puppets of a foreign oppressor, who utilizes a "washed-out" patriotism and blaming the genuine patriots who supported a dignified state and a progressive community of peoples imbued with patriotic sentiment and of class conciousness as members of the working class.
Noticing about these facts, it seems that "a need for genuine national pride through working class patriotism" is encouraged as a means to counter the growing effects of wholesale westernization, of globalization also encouraged by vested western interests as well as of bourgeois-chauvinist "nationalism" which is limited to buying goods and watching boxing matches and of the like, including contemporary music which in fact emulates much of the west. People somehow may ought to undersand the fact in order to break off ties from it, of needing Bonifacios not Aguinaldos, of needing De Los Reyeses, of Evangelistas not those of collaborationists a la Paterno and of the like-including Roxas, who bannered buying Filipino goods liked the shoes of the imperialist.
And in addition to that,
Patriots of the working class type, true to its idea that they wanted a real, dignified homeland within the international community of peoples, also wanted to realize what the late Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's statement:
"In the past we had no fatherland, nor could we had one. But now that we have overthrown capitalism and power is in our hand, in the hands of the people, we have a fatherland, and we will uphold its independence. Do you want our socialist fatherland to be beaten and to lose its independence? If you dont want this, you must put an end to its backwardness in the shortest time and develop a genuine Bolshevik tempo in building up its socialist economy. There is no other way... "
"In the past we had no fatherland, nor could we had one. But now that we have overthrown capitalism and power is in our hand, in the hands of the people, we have a fatherland, and we will uphold its independence. Do you want our socialist fatherland to be beaten and to lose its independence? If you dont want this, you must put an end to its backwardness in the shortest time and develop a genuine Bolshevik tempo in building up its socialist economy. There is no other way... "
Somehow it is true as workers of every nations, living in a nation in fact a nation of profiteers wanted genuine national pride, this time imbued with class consciousness to counter, destroy the age-old chauvinist "nationalistic" appeal of the profiteers and of the like and to build a real homeland wherein it genuinely uphold its independence whilst cooperating with all nations in building a community of peoples: just, peaceful, prosperous. Due to the fact that nationalism, in a proletarian sense, is more national than the bourgeoisie, since they (the proletariat) showed its real contribution to the country; however they remained poor since their fruits of hard work are destined to those whom are greed in nature.
