Quotes for the day:
1. Politics of pauperization: Politicians nowadays are pursuing policies that tend to pauperize the populace in order to guarantee for themselves an audience for their populist rhetoric.
2. There is no greater insult to the poor than to remind them of their poverty.
3. There are those who inspire people to become better and bring the best out of ourselves while there are those who kept reminding us about the worst that we are.
4. The present is the new past and the future is the new present.
I was passing by the old neighborhood where I grew up in Manila sometime last week and I was taken aback by the marked scene of deterioration. Gone are the neighborhood pananderia that I used to buy pandesal as well as the botika where I bought my medicines before. Disappeared as well were my old neighbors, Mr. Lim, who runs the neighborhood hardware store and Mang Roger, who owns the barber shop where I used to cut my hair when I was child. In its place are old dilapidated buildings and torn down houses and the stench of decay that is very much evident in the air. What happened to my old neighborhood? What led to its creeping destitution? Well, it is plainly obvious for everyone to see that it is our government who is to blame for our lot. While in other countries, skyscrapers being built every day, in our country, they are left to rot. Why the stark difference? Well, that’s bound to happen if we elect people who are more interested in getting elected than in getting things done. All you hear nowadays from politicians were how much they sympathized with the poor; how their heart bled for them; how they would endeavor, if elected to protect them; and best of all, how they would hand the poor “dole outs” as if they are beggars asking for it, which they are not. Gone were statements of hope, of encouragement, of visions of a better nation, of a future filled with opportunity and success. I’m no fan of Marcos but we do have to admit that despite his corruption and cronyism, the guy does have a vision. For since when after 1963 do we again hear the slogan, “This Nation Can Be Great Again” (in spite of what he promised, Marcos failed miserably in his “mission”). We, Filipinos are not really a hopeless lot. For given an opportunity, we Filipinos, like the rest of the world could rise from our station. Just look at the Filipino emigrants who made it around the world. They’re quite aplenty. Speaking of emigrants, it is quite funny that our emigrants could succeed in a country that is not theirs own yet they couldn’t succeed here in their native soil! Well, this is simply because there is no opportunity in this country! Such tragedy! Politicians, instead of enacting policies that provides opportunity and allows equal access to such opportunity for Filipinos are more focused in pursuing policies that provides charity. Charity, however can only sustain that far. Beyond that, life is pretty much the same, hopeless. For those who didn’t want to be trapped in this quagmire, emigration seemed to be a logical choice. As such, the exodus to a foreign land in search for a better life continues. With the flight of those who are capable of leaving and the persistent lack of opportunity plaguing those who are left, it is no wonder that urban decay is becoming even uglier. And that is what happened to my old neighborhood.
1. Politics of pauperization: Politicians nowadays are pursuing policies that tend to pauperize the populace in order to guarantee for themselves an audience for their populist rhetoric.
2. There is no greater insult to the poor than to remind them of their poverty.
3. There are those who inspire people to become better and bring the best out of ourselves while there are those who kept reminding us about the worst that we are.
4. The present is the new past and the future is the new present.
I was passing by the old neighborhood where I grew up in Manila sometime last week and I was taken aback by the marked scene of deterioration. Gone are the neighborhood pananderia that I used to buy pandesal as well as the botika where I bought my medicines before. Disappeared as well were my old neighbors, Mr. Lim, who runs the neighborhood hardware store and Mang Roger, who owns the barber shop where I used to cut my hair when I was child. In its place are old dilapidated buildings and torn down houses and the stench of decay that is very much evident in the air. What happened to my old neighborhood? What led to its creeping destitution? Well, it is plainly obvious for everyone to see that it is our government who is to blame for our lot. While in other countries, skyscrapers being built every day, in our country, they are left to rot. Why the stark difference? Well, that’s bound to happen if we elect people who are more interested in getting elected than in getting things done. All you hear nowadays from politicians were how much they sympathized with the poor; how their heart bled for them; how they would endeavor, if elected to protect them; and best of all, how they would hand the poor “dole outs” as if they are beggars asking for it, which they are not. Gone were statements of hope, of encouragement, of visions of a better nation, of a future filled with opportunity and success. I’m no fan of Marcos but we do have to admit that despite his corruption and cronyism, the guy does have a vision. For since when after 1963 do we again hear the slogan, “This Nation Can Be Great Again” (in spite of what he promised, Marcos failed miserably in his “mission”). We, Filipinos are not really a hopeless lot. For given an opportunity, we Filipinos, like the rest of the world could rise from our station. Just look at the Filipino emigrants who made it around the world. They’re quite aplenty. Speaking of emigrants, it is quite funny that our emigrants could succeed in a country that is not theirs own yet they couldn’t succeed here in their native soil! Well, this is simply because there is no opportunity in this country! Such tragedy! Politicians, instead of enacting policies that provides opportunity and allows equal access to such opportunity for Filipinos are more focused in pursuing policies that provides charity. Charity, however can only sustain that far. Beyond that, life is pretty much the same, hopeless. For those who didn’t want to be trapped in this quagmire, emigration seemed to be a logical choice. As such, the exodus to a foreign land in search for a better life continues. With the flight of those who are capable of leaving and the persistent lack of opportunity plaguing those who are left, it is no wonder that urban decay is becoming even uglier. And that is what happened to my old neighborhood.
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