I have lost the enthusiasm in joining rallies. I always tell my friends, people who rally on the streets are fighting for different causes. If you see leaflets distributed by protesters, they look like a hodge podge of arguments. If I join, I really do not know my cause, I do not really know what I want to happen after the protest.
I always think of martial law. I wonder what it was like to fight for something. Iba kasi noon eh. Today, we are diverted by iPods, internet, Wii, malls, Starbucks, parties, movies, music, texting, blogging (ehem).
Noon limitado ang pinapalabas sa TV, pinapatugtog sa radyo, iniimprenta sa dyaryo. Ngayon, ilang chanels mayroon ng cable TV? Ilang banda at solo artists ang naririnig galing sa buong mundo? Sama mo na yung mga independent artists na pinakatatago sa playlist para astig ka dahil ikaw lang may kilala sa kanila. Ilang dyaryo ang mabibili? Tabloid, magazine, mga FHM, ganyan. Dami diba?
Diverted ang attention natin eh, kaya hindi tayo focused masyado sa pulitika.
They say when a society has fulfilled its material needs, it begins to focus its attention to issues of human rights, standard of living, environment protection etc. (Post-materialist) Habang materyal na bagay ang pinoproblema ng isang bansa, they fight about ideology. Dapat pantay-pantay, yung iba naman gusto kapitalismo, mga ganong bagay.
We haven't met our material needs. Nasa ideology struggle pa yata tayo eh. Kasi ang tao, ayaw ipaalis ang mga pabrika dahil mawawalan ng trabaho. Hayaan ng magtapon ng dumi sa ilog basta may makain paguwi.
When Ondoy took us by surprise, I realized we have a more serious battle than the martial law kids. Why? Because we are caught in the intersection of materialist and post-materialist problems. Hindi lang ito pagpapaalis ng diktador na nagpapahirap sa buhay ng mga tao, sa panahon natin ngayon, pati diktador pwedeng maging biktima. Yes, freedom is not a material thing pero part of ideology pa rin yun. (Liberal)
The damages brought about by Ondoy were partly due to geographical constants (Marikina, Cainta, and Pasig are valleys), partly caused by negligence of developers (areas were not fit for urban development), partly of corruption (800M from emergency fund spent on GMA's foreign trips) and last, our own irresponsibility as citizens.
Yung bibilhing mga damit sa Greenhills o Divi, ipapasupot pa pwede naman ilagay ng sama-sama sa bag. Yung basura pag walang makita na basurahan, pasimpleng laglag sa sidewalk o kaya paliliparin habang nakasakay sa sasakyan. Yung chewing gum idudura sa kalsada (natatapakan ko tuloy! Any ba yun.)
Hindi man natin kayang ilikas ang lahat ng tao palayo sa valleys, o ipakulong yung mga developers na nagsitayuan ng mga subdivision sa di masyadong safe na lugar, at singilin si Gloria sa mga ginastos nya sa ibang bansa, maging malinis na lang tayo. Even in our little ways we can save lives.
We should start fighting our generation's battle. Protect the environment.
