Sunny side up

After immersing myself totally in the world of lifestyle and fashion and not having to think about anything else besides shoes, bags, and silhouettes I’ve realized what a shock it is to make a come back to opinion. Opinion strikes me as something that’s rather too serious, too intellectual, and therefore a far cry from who and what I am. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not a joke either. I’m just your everyday average writer who loves to give her two cents worth on even the most mundane of topics. So if you are up to anything that’s too serious and intellectual, you might want to skip this column and live your Sunday in peace.

This is a great change, personally speaking, and it is very timely, I must say because January 2011 doesn’t just mark a change in year but it marks a totally new decade not just for each of us but for our country. It’s a new chance (as if we haven’t been given countless chances to start anew every year), a new lease on life.

The results of the Social Weather Station (SWS) survey conducted last November 27-30 didn’t surprise me one bit. Over 93% of Filipinos believe that our prospects will be brighter in the new decade. The results of the survey per area are even more astounding. Ninety-six percent from Manila, 94% from the rest of Luzon, 97% from Visayas, and 89% from Mindanao out of the total 1,200 respondents have high hopes that 2011 will be the end of the Philippines as we know it—that is, the kind of Philippines that is deeply entrenched in poverty, red tape, and corruption.

The results have been consistent with optimism being at an all-time high in every level of the social strata. Blame it on what we call the Cory Magic that has rubbed off on our President whose ascendancy to Malacañang has been both unexpected and rather timely. Blame it on the fact that Filipinos have already want out in the social muck we’re all in. Blame it on the desire for change; and hope that this desire will inspire us to act. Fast.

Change is a simple word that’s really one tall order because if you’ve been living amidst the grim realities of life and if and when you find yourself amidst the broken shards of your idealism, you find that the kind of change you are aspiring for is too difficult to achieve. Difficult but not impossible.

The results of the SWS survey show us one important thing in our aspiration to turn things around for our country—that we are on the right road and that we are off to a good start.

Aspiration is never enough to change the course of the Philippines and of our lives, for that matter. It must be coupled with a heightened sense of optimism—a firm belief that the changes we want to see around us can be done. Perhaps not immediately and not as easily as we would have it, but that it is possible.

Optimism denotes confidence. Optimism in itself has the power to change attitudes and mindsets and it has the ability make people achieve more than what they are inherently capable of achieving.

The classic example has always been Singapore, the former Dutch fishing village which experienced a dramatic transformation. Many people believed it was solely because of Lee Kwan Yew’s efforts that made Singapore from zero to hero. But the truth of the matter is that no government and no one leader could have accomplished such a change on its own. It took a people to do that.

During Singapore’s tipping point, the media had started to reshape the minds of the Singaporeans highlighting the achievements and the efforts not just of the government, but among fellow countrymen who had started to bring honor to their humble home. The renewed sense of confidence and belief in themselves eventually spurred a drive to achieve and a belief that it is not solely the government’s role to turn things around. It is a team effort.

At the start of the new millennium, 87% of Filipinos were hoping for better chances of making it big in their home country. It dipped to 81% in 2004, rose to 85% in 2005, lingered at 92% from 2006 to 2009, before plummeting to 89% last year at the height of the controversies our government has been entangled in.

At 93%, we are showing a renewed sense of hope and belief that changing our country’s fate is more than possible. That possibility is not just in P.Noy’s hands, mind you. It’s a burden and yet an honorable task we all have to share if we really want to stay on the sunny side of the street in the years to come.

And I’m serious about that.

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