The Philippine Ship of State continues to be buffeted by winds of agonizing uncertainties.
More than seventy two years after the Americans granted us our well-deserved independence in 1946, our countrymen today – one hundred ten million of them all – continue to cry and complain about the inequities in our society.
From the day our country was “effectively” colonized by the Spaniards to this day that we have attained “complete” independence, Filipinos still need to fully realize how they can exercise their constitutional rights under the so-called government of the people, by the people and for the people.
I am inclined to believe that something went wrong with our academic and educational system as the country went through the process of rebuilding and rehabilitation from the ruins and rubbles of the Second World War.
Evidently, the generations of Filipinos that arose and went from that era to the present day have gone through a swirling physical, emotional and even spiritual transformation that has made it difficult to accurately pinpoint the typical Filipino mindset.
To be frank, this deadline beater cannot comprehend why Filipino voters are having a hard time electing the best qualified candidates in a democratic election, resulting in a convoluted political structure that aggravates the gap between the rich and the poor.
The stark truth is that it is quite simple to even things up if only the Filipino electorate can discern the significance and impact of democratic elections in their everyday lives.
First, I believe there is a need to change the educational curriculum, from the elementary up to the college tier. I can see that Filipino pupils, unlike their peers in other developed Western countries, remain to be taught the fundamentals of learning – reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic as beginner’s tools of knowledge as they tiptoe their way through the elementary grades.
In other progressive nations, elementary pupils and secondary students are already taught the ABC’s of financial literacy (how to save and handle money), road and driving rules and courtesy, sex education (to prevent unwanted teen-age pregnancy) and other special pragmatic lessons which adequately prepare them to live on their own when they reach majority age.
Comparatively, one can observe the spoon-feeding of Filipino pupils and students by mostly their over-protective parents and by the curricula that slow down their growth into maturity.
Now, if only this big chunk of the student sector is capably taught these concepts, (which are integral elements of a democracy) study, understand and help them mature into an enlightened voting population under the current democratic structure, this new breed of Filipinos can straighten out our socio-political malpractices and inadequacies.
We are not short on constitutional rights and privileges. Quantitatively, in fact, we have so much more.
The problem is that our own people are ignorant, ill-equipped and do not correctly exercise what are inherently their fundamental rights.
We can do away with the unwanted political dynasties. We can cut off the tentacles of corruption as our President is now intensely leading the way. We can get rid of the illegal drug menace. We can achieve peace and order because there are avenues provided under this democracy.
If we want to – if Pinoys desire it – we can lift ourselves out of the hole we have dug ourselves deep into.
What prevents us? This is the basic question.
We need to create an enlightened Pinoy masa, a grassroots-based citizenry that is united in the pursuit of peace, progress and equality in a democratic set-up.
All efforts that are not geared toward these objectives are but secondary in nature. Therefore, the first order of the day is to focus on motivating the grassroots to awake from their slumber and persevere to secure what they richly deserve.
John Stuart Mill reminds us: “A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight…is a miserable creature, who has no chance of being free.”
This may be a hard pill to swallow but under our present circumstances, the description somehow fits us. (Email your feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com.) GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!
