Proceedings of the first Independence congress : held in the city of Manila, Philippine islands, February 22-26, 1930 / Published under the direction of Dean maximo M. Kalaw, executive secretary, University of the Philippines.

290 INDEPENDENCE CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS

The last to read a paper was Miss Ramona Tirona,
Associate Professor in the University of the Philippines.
She read the following paper:
THE ROLE OF THE FILIPINO WOMEN IN THE CUL-
TIVATION AND DIFFUSION OF RIGHT ATTITUDES
TOWARD INDEPENDENCE
By RAMONA TIRONA
There is always a conservative group in any community and
it is generally believed that women form a part of that element. Whatever might be the meaning of conservatism in its
broadest sense, I shall only refer to it here, for the purpose
of our discussion, as a tendency to adhere to a practice one
has been used to believe or to accept and, consequently, the
hesitation to deviate from it because of the fear of losing something by the change.
A certain degree of conservatism is, undoubtedly, necessary
in the life of any social group in order to check impulsive and
radical changes that are destructive. On the other hand, when
too much conservatism prevails, great advances and achievements cannot be effected because timidity and fear are not only
antagonistic to the assertion of personality but are also conducive to stagnation and decay.
Now let us briefly analyze a certain phenomenon that affects
the expression of our national aspiration. I suppose that we
all agree that independence is cherished by all of us. There
is no mentally sound Filipino who has not thought likewise.
But in spite of the general valuation of freedom, there has been
entertained a fear'on the part of many of our people about the
fate of the country in case independence is granted. What
will become of our trade, of our agricultural and industrial
interests, of our private and governmental institutions, of the
maintenance of our government, of our safety from external
attack? All these questions have been asked and have become
an object of apprehensive concern.