Listening and giving importance to others is the best defense

Let's face it; life would be boring without those who oppose our views. The challenge to all who rabidly try to prove they make more sense than the other party is to discuss their views rationally without resorting to character assassination.   The question now is: are Filipinos ready for this kind of set-up? There is enough evidence to suggest that most of them are not. 

If you want to get a chance to be heard, you need to give others a chance to have his or her say as well. Whatever your beliefs are, simply putting yourself in the other person's shoes would help you understand that listening and giving importance to others is the best defense. 

A lot of people have this misguided notion that we should be free to do or say whatever we want. But with freedom comes great responsibility.  There is a price to pay when we do things without caring for the consequences of our actions.  We may not realize it instantly but sometime in the future we will find ourselves in the same situation that others were in while we made fun of them or acted indifferently towards them.  Just remember that "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction".

Life is a game and there are certain rules we must follow in order to live in harmony with our surroundings. We all need to abide by a certain guideline or a code wherever we go whether it is written or unwritten – in school, our office and public places.  Sadly, in Philippine society, most Filipinos do not follow anything whether it is written or not. Instead, each Filipino lives by his or her own set of rules and the results speak for itself.

In a mature society, members of the community do not need to be reminded of the rules all the time. They use their common sense, which is not something that most Filipinos have.