In this third world country which I call home, a taste of the good life is always a good night’s sleep away. Maybe that’s why for some, they simply wake up no more. But then again for others, as soon as they wake up, they pack their bags up, they leave the country which gave birth to them and they bring the hope that the better life could finally be found in that land where almost everything comes in Extra Large.
I have nothing against them; fellow Filipinos who leave home searching for that so called “greener pastures” in America. Some of whom are my very own aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. They leave home because they want a better life for themselves. They leave home because they want a better life for everyone else who’s left behind. They are considered our modern day heroes; they bring pride to a nation constantly bombarded by the woes of poverty, inflation, corruption, and yes, even American Idol.
But tell me, which one is really better? The nation whose Congress who once tried to allocate $19 million to examine the amount of methane gas from cow flatulence and whose Senate who once tried to propose spending $1 million to study brown tree snakes which do not even survive in North America – but could not care less about Health Care reforms?
Or the Nation whose Congress and Senate who once tried extremely hard (and probably still trying) to allocate and spend as much amount as possible trying to examine which restaurant is more costly than the other, in some parts of the world God knows where – but could not even share a single peso to the people back home who are barely even eating at least 2 square meals a day? (Well if that’s the case, then I vote Antarctica!)
You see, there’s not much of a difference wherever we go. It’s about learning to be smart, learning to be brave and learning to have faith in the direst of circumstances. Whether you’re an American or Filipino or someone from Antarctica (if any), there’s always that chance of a better life for every one of us. I always get amazed by the so many success stories about people – most especially those whose being blind, or deaf, or lame, was never considered a reason for giving up.
But seriously, can’t you think of anything better than spending millions studying cow flatulence? Oh well, I guess I’d rather just go to sleep. We’ll never know, I might finally chance upon that same expensive restaurant where our beloved Legislators once had a taste of that dear ole good life.