On the Concept of National Community

Although the major theme of the novel is the evils of colonialism, unlike many Diasporic writers, the United States is not Hagedorn’s only villain. The characters and the Philippine nation are guilty of victimizing themselves. While they may dream of escaping from a country where they can only passively watch to see what will happen, few actually do escape. Hagedorn explains that like Rio, she left the Philippines and “settled in the country of my oppressor” because the U.S. is a “country that allows you to reinvent yourself,” whereas in the Philippines, people can become trapped by politics, culture and money. Hagedorn has the same love/hate conflict that many Filipinos in Diaspora feel towards their country. In the introduction to her collection of poetry Danger and Beauty, Hagedorn explains that her work is a “love letter to my motherland: a fact and a fiction

Ronald Takaki’s chapter in his sweeping 1989 text, Strangers from a Different Shore, “Dollar a Day, Dime a Dance: The Forgotten Filipinos”, outlines the experiences of primarily male Filipino immigrants to the U.S in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The author did a good job showing what the Filipino went through. Like many immigrants before them, they came seeking work and a better livelihood. They faced backbreaking work, low wages, and at time, extreme racism. However, in many ways the Filipino immigrant experiences were extremely different from other ethnic groups, the Chinese and Japanese immigrants.

By showing an example of courage to counter the bravery against the America and their domination which shows that they have no fear and they did not lost their hope in life. Rather, they manage to endure, no matter what comes to their front in the matter of their oppression they still try to fight not just being silent. As the authors pointed out that the league insist about imperialist ideas that “Much as we abhor the war of "criminal aggression" in the Philippines, greatly as we regret that the blood of the Filipinos is on American hands, we more deeply resent the betrayal of American institutions at home.” There is no doubt that the America portrayed a great state but their doing of evil things of killing people is not tolerable to any human history. Also, it hard to find out if the enemy is the own homeland and support the America’s domination as they not only the breaking the trust of the country as they reason for the death of the other

In this Chapter I feel that Anzaldua is trying to get the reader to understand the differences and atruggles amongst cultures. The clash of cultures results in mental and emotional confusion. Living inbetween more than one culture, you often get opposing messages from these cultures. Sometimes when living within the Chicana culture common white beleifs conflict with the beleifs of the Mexican culture. They both hold beleifs of the indifinous peopel and their culture. It creates a problem that the dominant cultures views and beleifs are defiant to the others. This is very wrong because it creats the problem of one being superior to the other. This especially relates to the Mexican culture and white culture. This creates the assimilation problem when one culture is not accepted or considered below another.

From multiple authors it has been said that the tension between individualism and community is central to an understanding of modernity. I personally agree with this statement for the fact of; modernity seems to only come about when the community begins to separate themselves into their own individuals. It’s easy to say that the individual is central to all progress that was made in not only the Americas but in other countries as well. Authors like Gordon Woods, Eric Hobsbawm, Howard Zinn, and Mary Beth Norton have all discussed how the modern world came to be about after the American Revolution took place; however each has their own personal ideas on the importance of the community, the individual, and what equality means at this time.

Filipino migration to the United States has been influenced by political and social relationships between the two countries. Annexation, war, and labor demand are among the most influential impacts that led to mass immigration in the US. Those who were trying to escape violence and poverty took the chance to live as low-wage workers or enlisted under in the military. However, just like other minority groups, the Filipino immigrant experienced was not immune to the racial and social obstacles in their pursuit of the American Dream. As a Filipino American I believe that to truly understand myself, its essential to learn the history of those who came before me.

In this argument, I believe the failures of the initial Philippine colonial project not only retrogressed the islanders back into their primitive informal aristocracy but actually help unify and modernize a regime that was the complete reversal of American intentions. The result of the type of Filipino government after reconstruction were significantly constrained by Anti-Imperialists tensions from the metropole and continued to reshape itself by many additional constraints from the Filipino legislation. Only about fifty years later of political administration would enable the development of an autonomic government.

Our country is rich in culture; the occupation of the Spanish, the American, and the Japanese gave the Philippines its diverse and unique culture. This exceptional culture we have in our country has produced numerous brilliant individuals, who up to this day are still well recognized. So it is safe to say that part of the reason why they became who they were is because of their culture; because of our culture. (Ong, 2011)

Another is that Filipinos have a culture of apathy and tend to use religion incorrectly and passively. People depend on religion and settle for what’s okay. In addition, the initial reaction of Filipinos to change is resistance, and this is why the country does not necessarily progress, or at least, progress at a continuous rate. Then, countries like Spain and Portugal only rode the “economic tiger” after “they realized that the only way to survive was change” (3.Y). Plus, according to another critic, the Philippines already had the experience of being under the parliamentary system during the time of Marcos which only resulted in a People Power Revolution. So why should the country bother going back to that? (4.Y)

The concept of nationalism is in essence an odd organization that has had significant impacts in world history through shaping the political and social aspects of the society. As an important aspect in the development of the society, the concept of nationalism has basically been analyzed based on its impact on the emergence of nation-states across the globe. In most cases, these analyses have been conducted to determine the influence of nationalism on imperial breakdown i.e. the dissolution of empires. While the actual extent of the impact of nationalism on the imperial breakdown is uncertain, this concept has played a major role in the dissolution of empires. Generally, the transition to nationalism has contributed to significant effects in world history through shaping the political and social aspects of the society.

The definition provided in The American College Dictionary from 1964 says “a group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule.” I never really viewed community in this manner. Many of us think of the word “community” as a group of people who live near each other. We forget that a community is actually just a group of people with common interests or characteristics who often happen to live near each other. Communities can be bound by race, religion, economic standings, political standings, and most commonly, location. Frequently, communities fall into more than one of these categories.

A community is established when more than two people share the same values and through time this personal connection evolves into a fellowship governed by rituals, traditions, and a particular form of communication that when taken together makes a group of individuals whether living in a specific geographical area or connected by ideals so distinct that their distinguishing marks allow them to stand out from among the crowd. They do not just believe in something like an organization but they need each other to survive and thrive. A good example is the Old Order Amish Mennonite community wherein the community serves as source of identity, strength and provides the reason why they should sustain the community’s way of life.

Community is very important and has many factors like kinship, unity, and identity. Community helps society because it creates solutions, provides security and reveals dedication. It discovers truthfulness. Communities are part of everyday life and have positive affects on its members.

Unity of elite and masses resulted to the Philippine independence in 1896 as well as freedom from authoritarian rule in 1986 EDSA revolution. The abovementioned national identity can be attributed to the unity of the elites and the masses since they only have one goal and that is freedom. According to Fartz Fanon (1961), national consciousness should embrace the innermost hopes of the whole people. Hence, it is only compared to any case of an empty shell. An idea of what it might have been. It is considered as traditional weakness which is present in most under-developed country. It cannot only be attributed to the result of the colonization period but also to the intellectual laziness of the nation. Ignorance and lack of information can be a good example. History teaches us to appreciate the past and learned from them. However, it was ignored and the process of enlightenment was not revealed.

“Rizal had a burning desire to know exactly the conditions of the Philippines when the Spaniards came ashore to the islands. His theory was the country was economically self-sufficient and prosperous.  Rizal entertained the idea that it had a lively and vigorous community enriched with the collective and sensitive art and culture of the native population. He