Cultural Problems of Modern Day Philippine Society

Gallos, Elogene Karl M. 1110131 Veron Cruz CULTURAL PROBLEMS OF MODERN DAY PHILIPPINE SOCIETY The people of the Philippines reflect a society with diverse cultural influences and traditions. The Malays had early contact with traders who introduced Chinese and Indian influences. Islamic traditions were initially introduced to the Malays of the southern Philippine Islands in the 14th century. However, Majority of the modern aspects of Philippine culture evolved under the foreign rule of Spain and, later, the United States. Some of the cultural influences incorporated to the daily lives of the Filipinos are positive, but a lot of those are negative, they are so bad that they turned into problems that we ourselves, possibly have without knowing. One of the best known cultural problem in the Philippine society is what people call, colonial mentality. Filipinos have this mindset that imported things are always better than the locals, in practically every aspect of life. From household products, to literature and choice of music. We were conditioned to think this way. Some may think that this problem is something we can live with but in reality, this is a very serious problem, and it threatens not only the preservation of the Philippine culture, but the economy as well. The economy gets affected when Filipinos start to patronize foreign imported services and products over those which were locally made and offered. This is believed to be injected by the Americans during their occupation. Another cultural problem that the Philippine society is facing, is crab mentality. The term was coined in comparison with the way crabs behave since these creatures always try to pull and drag down one of their own whenever one of them gets on the top. We may try to deny it but a lot of us, Filipinos behave this way without actually being aware of it. Jealousy and envy is obviously what drives someone to have this sort of mindset. Some people hate the fact that someone is successful and they’re not, instead of serving as an inspiration to do better, what they’re going to do is try to destroy the other person’s image, as if compensation to what they feel. In addition, Filipinos have this distinction between the “ethnic majority” and the “ethnic minority”, which is a result of the Philippines’ colonial past. The Filipinos who were assimilated by Spain became the “ethnic majority”. While those who continued the practices of their ancestors were labeled as “minorities” and “indigenous peoples”. And it’s saddening that a lot of Filipinos perceive minorities as uneducated, barbaric and ancient.