{ 2008 05 03 }

New 7 Wonders of Nature: Philippine Pride Gone Wrong

If a person is shown this picture,  most people would recognize the dramatic conical contour of the mountain and snow-capped summit and immediately think of Japan. Yes, Mount Fuji is an icon that already represents the island chain of Japan. This place has seen an immense number of tourists from all over the world.

 

The green section of South America in the northwestern segment is the Amazon Rainforest. It’s not exactly a tourist destination, but we are all aware of its immense size and the valuable contribution that it makes to our planet’s oxygen supply. Just like Fuji, most people would know about the Amazon Rainforest.

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Why am I saying these things? The New7wonders Foundation has recently launched a project to list the seven top natural wonders via  a popular vote. From all the nominees, the top 21 will be subjected to SMS votingto finally decide which candidates get the distinction of being in the top 7.

This is not different from their original project – the New 7  Wonders of the World — that was widely controversial due to the entry of questionable winners – most notably Corcovado de Christ in Rio de Janeiro. Though the statue in itself is the largest Christian statue in the world, it is still considerably dwarfed by religious edifices from other faiths and other mysterious and interesting sites like Easter Island. Clearly, Brazil had a GREAT advantage of having a big population. Easter Island on the other hand  is virtually uninhabited (but still managed to finish 8th in the voting).

Rio de Janeiro’s win left a bitter taste in the mouth. Does anyone really see it as equals with the Great Wall of China and the Colloseum? Is it even as remotely inspiring as Chichen Itza in the Yucatan Peninsula? Simply put, Rio de Janeiro’s win was a joke fueled by misplaced nationalism and fanaticism.

Filipinos as a race tend to be a little insecure and due to this, most would try to capitalize on things that would prop up the flagging and sinking national pride that people have. In a desperate attempt to boost tourism (as most quarters would claim), Pinoys have been power voting for sites like Tubbataha Reef, Chocolate Hills, Mayon Volcano and Puerto Prinsesa for the 21 slots in the short list. Knowing the Filipinos penchant for voting like crazy, Tubbataha and Chocolate Hills seem to be headed for the  SMS  runoff.

It sickens me a lot that most people who are voting for Tubbataha have never really been there and only heard about the site through this project. It’s pathetic when they keep on harping on the improvement of tourism without citing that ecotourism makes the preservation of these sites even harder.

If we win, people would think it’s a joke. No one would respect those type of results. Three Pinoy sites in the top 7 trumping more notable ones like Mount Everest, the Amazon Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. This is very similar to the mentality that Pinoys should vote for a Filipino in a singing contest to make sure that he/she wins regardless of performance. It sucks.

Read the comments here and see how crazed these people are.

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Posted by benj on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008, at 6:56 pm, and filed under Uncategorized.

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