Today is Canada Day. Every 1st of July, Canada celebrates this day which is the anniversary of the formation of the union of a number of provinces here. People enjoy it with so much zest and a feeling of love for the country. Being a Canadian, I join in the festivities together with my kin and kith. However, being a Filipino by birth (and by heart), I can't help but be highly cognizant of how the celebration of June 12, the Philippines' Independence Day has more substance than Canada Day. This is in view of the fact that the June 12 celebration is all about a hard-fought independence earned through blood, sweat and tears. In counterpoint, the July 1 celebration is merely a commemoration of a day when it was declared that this and this and that province is now officially one country. There were no brave "Katipuneros" fighting the Spanish colonizers in the 18th Century, brandishing their swords, shouting their revolutionary cries. There was just a "declaration" by some officials, a stamp and a couple of signatures.
I want to make it clear that it is not my intention to minimize the greatness of this adopted country of mine. I am just being factual. I do recognize though that it seems like Canadians really show such intense love for their country, as opposed to a somewhat ingrained "colonial mentality" in the Philippines. One cannot judge a country by its history, and I for one am one person who definitely cannot lecture about nationalism as I am living overseas. Who am I to judge right?
I'm just typing out my thoughts...sharing it with anyone who has parallel concepts....So there...
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