Three centuries of foreign imperialism in the Philippines made nationalism a significant struggle among

Filipinos. Freedom is such a very important element of a nation/state that the embattled Filipinos has a
long history of fighting for it and eventually claiming it. Nationalism fired the heart of every Filipino to
demand liberty, sovereignty and identity separate from Spain, America or Japan. It sustained us to resist
foreign rule and demand the rights that is rightfully us. Filipinos of decades ago have valiantly fought for
independence and have won. Nowadays, how do we practice nationalism? Listed below are ten ways to
express nationalism.

1. Respect the Philippine flag and value the Filipino identity.

2. Be a productive citizen.
3. Be aware of the issues in our country.
4. Stand proud for every Filipino achievement.
5. Patronize and support our own products.
6. Preserve the Filipino culture.
7. Respect everyone and value our traditions.
8. Speak out our own language.
9. Remember and commemorate our heroes’ sacrifices for our country.
10. Love our family, our neighbors and our compatriot.

Respect the Philippine flag and value the Filipino identity. Why should we, Filipinos, respect the
Philippine flag? Anyone who has entered elementary would know that one of the basic lesson taught in
Araling Panlipunan is to respect the (Filipino) flag The flag is part of our identity as Filipinos. The flag
represents our history; the Filipino valor and of the Philippine independence. To disrespect the flag is to
dishonor the legacy of our fallen heroes who fought the colonizer. Freedom is highly valued among
Filipinos because history has told us of how colonialism delimits us, abuse us and cripple us as people
and as a nation. Our heroes fought that we can built our identity separate from our colonizers, that we
can be liberated from the constraints of imperialism. Further, it is mandated by law to accord reverence
and respect at all times to our flag as declared under RA 8491or the Flag and Heraldic code of the
Philippines. Anyone who disrespects can be penalized accordingly.

Be a productive citizen. “Anung ambag mo?”Have you heard this phrase from wokes, influencers and
dissenters in social media especially this time with the crisis the country and the world is experiencing. A
lot of opinions may have been twisted and politically leaden but it is a question we should all ask
ourselves. What can we do better to our fellow Filipino, to our community and to our country? Every
individual should work to be an asset to one’s community. Service is not bound by age, gender, status,
religion or ethnicity. Every individual should work for a more peaceful, prosperous and sustainable
community. It is after all our nation.

Be aware of social issues in our country. It is a disservice to one’s country to live day by day passively.
No matter your status, you will be affected by what’s happening in the country or even in your
community; it is a domino effect. Look at the Covid 19 pandemic, a health crisis which turns out to be
bigger than it is, encompassing other areas such as the social welfare, politics and economy. Every single
individual is affected with how restrictions are imposed, the loss of employment, the new modalities of
learning, inflation, etc. it is with this context, that we should realize that we need to be involved with the
social issues in our community or in our country because no matter your class or status it will definitely
affect you. The widespread use of online news outlet can help us be more informed. The only crucial
thing is we should know where to look for legit and factual information. It is frustrating that some social
media sites frequented by majority of the people are frequented by fake news purveyor and a lot of
citizens don’t know any better. We just hope that everyone should work to be better citizen and help
other people understand issues in the country by providing rightful information.

Stand proud for every Filipino achievement. On this criterion, we cannot not acknowledge that every
Filipino claim and are proud of every achievement of Filipinos inside and outside the country. In my
opinion, of the many ways to express nationalism this is the criteria where Filipinos are most
participative. In social media you can find Filipinos flocking sites which feature every Filipino
achievement – the Filipino singing prowess, the beautiful landmarks and attractions, culture, the boxing
sensation, beauty pageant titlists among others.

Patronize and support our own product. Colonialism may have made us overvalue imported products.
It is every Filipinos opinion that imported is better but the sad thing is some of imported products that
we patronize are outsourced in the Philippines. Sometimes we fail to give credit to Filipino industries. By
failing to support our own industries we fail to support local talent and local industries/economies –
especially the small and medium enterprises. Filipino products are created by Filipinos for the Filipinos.
Patronizing our own products, including services and talents, we help our fellow Filipino grow
economically and in extension helping our community and country grow.

Preserve the Filipino culture. Philippine culture is magnificent. It is diverse and wondrously rich. It’s 7,
641 islands is home to diverse ethnic groups each on its own culturally rich. A nation’s identity lies in its
culture – the traditions, heritage, norms, values and language. In recent years, there are lots of threats
to our culture – globalization, the infiltration of foreign culture (i.e. Korean pop culture), disasters and
human neglect.

Respect everyone and value our traditions. Perhaps, one of the most appreciated Filipino value is the
respect we adhere to our kin and elderlies. We even extend courtesy to other people not related to us
by blood or by descent by calling them ate, kuya, and manong. However, due to the archipelagic land
structure of the country, people are divided not just by boarders of the sea and mountains but by ethnic
differences. Respecting the people (particularly the ethnic minorities) of the Philippines extend not just
acknowledging their existence but also to accord them of equal opportunity and access to resources and
services. Ethnic differences imply cultural differences. No culture is better than the other. Let us not
delimit their capacity because of their identity as a minority. Each one is in its own beautiful and rich and
every individual should look at a different culture not with a critical eye but an appreciative one. By
accepting and appreciating differences of every individual, we learn to accept and appreciate differences
of every individual. If we could that, the world will be a better place for all of us.

Speak our own language. Language is the core of a culture. It is the most essential element of a culture.
Language enables a culture to persist through time. Cultural norms, traditions, history can be passed
from generation to generation due to language. The language spoken is our identity -i.e. a Bisaya, waray,
tagalog. It is with this rationale that Mother tongue is taught in elementary so that our own language
will not be left behind. As much as we give importance to studying English, we must teach every learner
to fluently speak his/her own language. Speaking our language is preserving our language, thus,
sustaining our culture.
Remember and commemorate our heroes’ sacrifices for our country. The Philippines belong to the
Filipinos and every Filipino must fight against imperialism and injustice from other countries and from
our fellow Filipinos. For three centuries we have been controlled by imperialist countries, valiant men
and women fought for our freedom as a nation and as a country. It is only due that we give them the
highest accord that we are now experiencing the freedom that they have fought for a long time.

Love our family, our neighbors and our compatriot. God says to love our neighbors. Loving our
neighbors is extending our respect, our appreciation and our acceptance to our fellow men. The world
would be a peaceful place if we can learn to love each other despite differences.