Worlds Apart: July 2007

Look what I've done
This picture I've painted
It looks like my heart
Or what still remains

Convinced of the weight
Your interpretations
Are not what I see
I wish they could be

- Jars of Clay, Portrait of an Apology

Ever tried to do something that you believed is good, but it ends up exploding in your face? That happened to me quite a number of times. No matter how good my intentions might be, the way I execute it leave a lot to be desired.

Most of the time, I find myself asking where I went wrong. After all, did I not want something good to happen out of it? Why did it fall apart? Other times (most especially the most recent one), I know exactly where I went wrong, and I think this is worse between the two.

I made a mistake very recently. I thought I was doing something good - until now, I know that what I wanted to achieve is really all right, even if it involves a bit of self-sacrifice. A part of me knew that I might just end up hurting someone with what I planned to do, but I guess I ignored that little voice, because I had my eyes focused on my goal. It's a mindset that assassins would be proud of: forgetting one's emotions just to achieve an objective. When I saw how much damage I've caused, though, I was crushed, not just because I was already hurting because of doing something that's against my nature, but because I know I've hurt someone that's really important to me. I know that in the long run, what I'm trying to do is going to be good. It's to fulfill a vow I've made a number of times already. It doesn't lessen the fact that I hurt someone though, and that I'm hurting as well. This will sound melodramatic, but a hundred apologies are not be enough, because it will never erase the pain I've caused. I would probably have the same mindset when I enter this kind of situation again, but I hope and pray that I'll be more sensitive and gentler, instead of acting as though I were flailing or smashing someone with a huge mallet.

May you learn from this lesson, Melanie.

Maybe man did evolve from monkeys.

I can imagine a lot of people raising their eyebrows because of that statement. After all, why would a Christian go and make such a ridiculous charge, even if the Bible explicitly stated that there is absolute truth in the creation story? Before you sharpen your pitchforks and take out your torches, allow me to explain this first, and then you can decide whether I should be burned at the stake or not.

Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs defines the levels of “nourishment” (for lack of a better term) that humans need to function well in society. Since it is an ordered structure, there definitely is an arrangement on how this goes. The most civilized of people are rich in all aspects, so much so that they can forego a part of what should be theirs for the sake of others in order to create a functioning society. When you remove all the upper “scales” of the ladder, and all you have left is the one on nourishment (food, shelter, etc.), a person is still able to move about. Take that away, though, and you make him/her hungry and/or needy in the process - s/he will then degenerate to the intellectual level of an animal.

On the other hand, St. Thomas Aquinas also had a ladder in his philosophy, which defines the order of the beings that exist. On the lowest rung are the inanimate objects, like rocks, which can’t really do anything. They’re just there. Second up on his scale are plants. While these are already living, they’re not really mobile in the sense that they can’t walk or run around, but they have the capacity to process food in their systems. Third are the animals (excluding humans). They most definitely exist, they can eat, and they’re very active in their movements. Lastly (since we’re not going to be focusing on transcendence here), we have the humans. What makes us so special that we’re placed on the highest rung? Simple. Because, based on theory, we have intelligence, which the other creatures lack.

Now, let’s put both theories together. Based on St. Thomas Aquinas’ theory, men are the highest of all creations because they can think. However, Maslow kind of provides a condition for that – humans are only the highest if they’re full. If their bellies become empty, then they take a mental step down the jolly stairs of Aquinas because they’ll be “animalistic” in their hunger – at least, until they become fed again, which brings them back into the polite world (whatever that means, anyway). Is that what it’s trying to say? Bringing the theory of evolution into the picture to further complicate things, are we really more alike with the primates that Darwin has repeatedly insisted we originated from? Are we really chimps who are just a little less hairy? Some would probably accuse me of false reasoning, because I’m taking these out of context. I think not, because, bluntly speaking, that is actually how society is functioning these days.

Just look around you. If Maslow were still alive, he’d be delighted at how many samples/specimen he can have for his studies. His theory states, or implies, that society would function well only insofar as the members donate a part of their “needs” so as to make the wheel churn smoothly. He’d have a field day if he’d just see what kind of people we are now: none who are willing to sacrifice even just a smallest bit of “have” for the sake of others. Heck, he can even have the (stereotypical?) government officials as his sample, and he’ll win a Nobel Prize for such an outstanding discovery, because they are the most well-known of the people who’d be willing to sacrifice the sake of the many for the sake of the few (meaning, him/herself, and maybe his/her immediate family – if they’re lucky).

We are such a selfish people. Deny it all you want, but that’s the truth. Dangle a piece of apple in a metropolitan sidewalk, and people would probably rush over to grab it, elbowing those who are in front of them just so they can have a bite. We are so concerned about what’s going to happen to me, myself, and I that we don’t care if we bulldoze over anyone along the way. What’s important is that I have the edge above the competition. My house should look more splendid than my neighbors’. My clothes should have the extra oomph compared to the other girls. If we don’t have these, we resort to backstabbing, talking negatively about that person to others, spreading rumors around about him/her – it doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, it’s just great that we’ve vindicated ourselves. Isn’t that a negative trait we Filipinos are infamous for : crab mentality?

Filipinos. I honestly love our country and its people. Really, I do. I’m amazed at our intelligence and our resilience, and how we’ve been blessed with such a beautiful state – but that doesn’t really matter. What matters is the reaction that I’m getting from you. Chances are, you scoff, and it doesn’t matter what race you belong to, and I would understand where that is coming from. After all, the Philippines is looked down really lowly by people, and even more hurtful, her own children. Corruption is prevalent, crime is rampant, and the people we put on pedestals are not those who are doing active work in helping bring about world peace, but the celebrities who’ve endorsed just about anything and everything (from chicken to epoxy, they probably have their faces emblazoned on just about every product known to man). I do understand, but it doesn’t mean that I agree.

I was talking with someone a few days ago, and he said something to the effect that he doesn’t want to be identified with Filipinos. In the Internet forums/games that he frequents, he doesn’t say that he’s one, and if someone asks, he’ll say something else. He hates the government for being so messed up. He hates the Philippine traffic. He hates the media, from the press to the movies to the TV shows. And in case you weren’t able to read between the lines, he’s a Filipino. The sad thing is, a huge portion of our people thinks like that already. They are ashamed to be associated with the country. I remember, whenever a law is passed regarding a specific group of people, a defense that a person can use would either to put himself with his people and say that the law is oppressive to them, or put himself squarely against them, saying that he is in no way like them. Putting it shortly, he’s disassociating himself from the rest, effectively expressing that he’s above them to be put in the same category as they are. Wow. Really nice people, I say. What is maddening and frustrating at the same time is that most people who’ve left the country (probably permanently) or those who are here but insult the Philippines for all they’re worth are actually the ones who can make a change in society, precisely because they have the means to do it (hegemony, in Marxist terms). Yet instead of instigating that change to make at least one condition better, they spread their poison for all their worth into complaining about this or that, cursing on and on about their hang-ups for the rest of the world to hear, etc. Instead of expending their energies into something worthwhile, such as helping those who are needy, they just rant their lungs off. If only they’d stop talking for even just a few hours and help a family who suffered from a bad storm repair their home, then it would make things even just a little bit better. If only they’d stop buying all those designer clothes, fancy gadgets and rubber slippers (worth more than P1,000) just so they’d look cool and trendy, then they could give the money to an NGO (Non-Government Office) so that they could give it to those who are in need, or better yet, they hand it to an impoverished family, the money of which could feed them for a number of days. If they could stop taking a cab or driving their cars and instead walk that short distance, they’d not only get the chance to exercise, but lessen the pollution that’s killing nature.

I honestly wish that the people’s eyes would be opened to this sad reality. While they enjoy their luxuries in life, a family of six is struggling to have something to eat each day. Our beautiful culture is losing its touch on the people because we think that the traditional stuff are “baduy” and “jologs,” and we’d prefer international films and sitcoms, very much. We’d prefer keeping for ourselves the few coins just because… Instead of handing it over to that little beggar boy by your car window who hasn’t had anything to eat since the night before.

I do realize that it’s not the fault of those who were born privileged for having that money. It only becomes a problem when it comes to how they’re going to be using it. Giving occasionally to charity isn’t enough, because a lot of times, they do it not for the sake of giving but for the publicity they’ll be receiving. Remember this: God has said that we are all part of the same body. Like ours, there are specific organs that work with each other not only to ensure that they themselves are working fine, but that everything’s ok, including the other parts. That means that we shouldn’t only ensure that we are fine, but that everyone else is doing alright too. By being alright, it’s not sufficient to say, “They’re alive, aren’t they?” and leave it at that. You’ll have to look after their well-being too. It’s time we realize that everything in our lives are there because we are to act as stewards: to take care of these for the real Owner, who’ll be coming soon. This not only includes money, people in our lives, and whatever possessions, but also anything and everything that surrounds us, including our country. Maybe if everyone cooperated, then that would make enormous positive changes, not only in terms of society, but on the living conditions and health (in all aspects) of people. Maybe then, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs could actually be fulfilled by each person.

And maybe, we become less like the primates of Charles Darwin, always looking for self-gratification and nothing else, and more like the people that God originally intended us to be: like Him (Gen 1:27).

1 Corinthians 12:20 “There are many parts, but one body.”