Frontline
By:Armin S. Santos, Phd.
THE NEED FOR SOCIETAL CHANGE.
Philippine society apparently needs to change. The root cause of corruption is deeply imbedded in its culture. This is attributable to our wrong upbringing.
When we were little children, we were used to throwing thrash around. In the u.s. a little boy who was eating candy in the park was asking his mom where to throw his candy wrapper. The mother points to a thrash bin.
Thats why a public park in the u.s. is a lot different in public plazas in the Philippines. Our public parks are obviously a lot dirtier and littered with thrash due to our wrong orientation and lack of civic consciousness.
This is true with public toilets. The most harranguing and traumatic experience in the country is having to use a public toilet. Its not a pleasant experience to say the least.
Even our public transportation is characterized by bedlam and chaos .
People are so used to jostling each other for lmited seats. We are so used to such disorder that queing for a seat in a bus seems strange if not unheard of.
I guess it would take some time for us to get used to the idea of falling in line.
It is important that we learn concern for the welfare of others. A long time ago, a gentleman of good breeding gives his seat to a lady or old people in a bus or mrt. I did that, being the boy scout that iam. I didn't even heard a "thank you" or a faint smile for my gallantry.
Not that i am expecting it. It was just customary in the bygone days of chivalry that we are thankful for a good deed.
I guess people has become jaded that even a good thing is being viewed with suspicion. But we should not get tired of doing good. We should be consistently in the side of good.
We should be honest, truthful, and just. Hopefully it can be contagious. One act of kindness can spread out like ripples in a still water. We have once in while marvel at a janitor earning minimum wage but making news by returning a substantial sum.
I heard one time a taxi driver returning close to a million pesos in various currencies. When asked, he answered in innocence and naivette, "it does not belong to me."
If only our government officials would think like that taxi driver, we would have a good government bereft of corrupt officials. We can definitely sure that pdaf or pork barrel funds would go to its intended beneficiaries-the people.
The way it is we have a preponderance of dishonest officials in government. Not that our taxi drivers are all honest. Certainly not as we have our share of dishonest taxi drivers whose meters ran faster than their palpitating hearts.
What we are saying is it is not too late to refor our society. We need to institute societal change. Change in society must be confucian. Change must start with the most basic of institutions, the family. The Chinese sage Khong fut zei (confucius) stated over five thousand years agothat "where the family is, society will be."
For its the family where we are nurtured. We are endowed by nature with the basic building blocks.
But our interaction with our family we are socialized or we are oriented. Thus, when are given the wrong orientation, i.e. dishonesty, putting one over another, getting unfair share (panlalamang in Pilipino).
I remember that joke "pag nahuli, wag aamin. Pag umamin, mandamay" (if caught, do not admit. If you adwit involve another)
We are amused by that joke, but it has seriour repercussions to our children. Can you imagine our young people growing up with that kind of convoluted logic? Where has our society come to?
