Why Filipinos hate being called heroes

Ask any Pinoy kid about what the term "hero" means, and he says that heroes are those with superhuman powers. Heroes are supermen, batmen and invisible men, they'll probably say. Diego, the popular cartoon loved by babies (like mine), is not a hero. He's cartoon.

So, what's a hero?

For Filipinos, heroes are those who went out of their comfort zones to fight for the rights of others. Andres Bonifacio was a hero. Instead of continuing his job as a clerk, he went out and organized the Katipunan and went on to lead the only revolution in our history. Aguinaldo was a hero. He was part of the privileged class but when he saw how the Kastilas tortured and killed his fellow Cavitenos, he got his horse and rode towards the revolutionary morning. Rizal was a hero. Instead of having the finest life as a mestizo, he went out and wrote those damning books that caused him his life.

IN our generation, is there really a dearth of heroes?

I think one of the things why Filipinos hate to be called heroes--heroes always die in the end, at least the true ones. Those who just poised as a hero die of old age, while those who genuinely love the country, die at a very young age. As Filipinos say, " ang bayani, atapang a tao, a patay na pagsapit ng beinte singko."

And we all remember what Mariah Carey sang in the 1980's, " and then the hero comes along, with the strength to carry on..." That's another trait why Pinoys hate being called heroes---you need to wait for sometime before you finally become one. Look at Jose Maria Sison. He's been waiting for 40 years already. Or, look at Antonio Trillianes. He's been languishing in his cell since 2004, not wanting to at least plan his escape. He's just there, waiting, waiting for what?

You'll remember how adherents of "I AM NINOY" movement are saying---that everyone has a hero trait in each of us. But, how can that be, when nobody's protesting against widespread injustice and graft. No one is even loudly protesting the wanton disregard for the general welfare of this administration or the callousness exhibited by private companies particularly in gas and food prices.

Heroes, they say, are acts done by ordinary citizens. That taxi driver or maid who reported lost items are heroes. That security guard who died while protecting that bank from robbers, was a hero. That OFW who served as maid for a sick foreigner is a hero, at least when she sends her salary over here, anyway.

How can we even think of being heroes, when we all consciously live in a consciously corrupt and dirty society? How can we be heroes when all of us violate traffic rules or has the urge to urinate or spit whenever we like it? Or, how can we be heroes when we pay our way to the top or grease the palms of passport officials just to get that passport a day early?

While those who stood up for the truth, are now being portrayed as villains. Like this ZTE-NBN deal--the one who refused a bribe has now been charged with graft. And probably, the one who blew the whistle stands to suffer the ignominy of incarceration.

In our age, heroes are jailed, humiliated and cursed. They are a vanishing breed. So, who wants to be called a hero?