As high school students, Filipinos have become familiarized with Ibong Adarna, Francisco Balagtas ' Florante at Laura, and José Rizal 's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. These texts effectively reflect Philippine culture and the state of the country during which the texts were written. Sadly, this is as far as high school students currently go. Very few schools venture into less popular Philippine novels and plays to further develop the Filipinos ' nationalism. Nationalism, which is defined as “devotion to one 's nation” or “a policy of national independence” by The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, is now often regarded as its extreme or radical form: ultranationalism ("nationalism"). Though this may the case in other countries such as the United States of America, Russia, or France, this should not be feared in the Philippines since this is hardly the case in our country. Moreover, nationalism should be aspired and pursued by Filipinos. Now that the country wishes to become more involved with international affairs, it is now more crucial to develop the Filipinos ' sense of nationalism. Before the Philippines attempts to internationalize or globalize itself as it did by joining in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community 2015 and forcing itself into the global community, the country must first strengthen its people 's national identity in order to be prepared for internationalization, because to be globally