#PopeFrancis's challenge to Filipinos to care for the #poor: Doable?

By -


In his recent visit, the Pope asked us to be "ready to go beyond your homes and to care for your brothers and sisters who are most in need."

This is difficult for me. I have become numbed by the onslaught of the countless poor and dispossessed. I have stepped over so many children sleeping in the street, that I no longer feel anything. I sometimes wish that the poor would just go away and go back to the provinces.

The clamor and filth created by these colonies of squatters makes me want to run away to a gated community. The Filipino "Family First" value is understandable. However, that siege mentality has consequences.
Public spaces are neglected, covered with spit, trash, dog shit, and broken glass.

Why does loving your family mean turning your back on everyone and everything else?

--------------------
This is a GRP Featured Comment. Join the discussion!
http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2015/01/values-and-virtues-in-the-philippines-and-why-they-dont-help-much/comment-page-1/#comment-1066482

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular this week

How the 1986 'people power revolution' was engineered by the United States

By -
Image
The Marcos Administration, during the 1972-81 martial law period tripled the country's road network, doubled the electrification of the country's homes, increased irrigated cropland eight-fold, and achieved rice and corn self-sufficiency. Minimum daily wage rates tripled, although inflation, driven by international oil price hikes and exploding U.S. interest rates, more than wiped out these wage increases. The oil price hike got Marcos thinking about Nuclear power. But the opponents of Marcos were soon being wined and dined in Washington, by both the right wing (Shultz and Wolfowitz) and the left wing (Rep. Stephen Solarz, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and Princeton's Richard Falk) of the "Project Democracy" apparatus, which performed the subversive tasks assigned by the synarchist banking institutions. Salvador Laurel, the son of the quisling President of the Philippines under the Japanese occupation, headed the opposition after Aquino's assassination, and in Februar...
Read more

Lol! Conrado de Quiros laments the very people who voted Noynoy president in 2010 #juanvote

By -
Image
Little did it occur to Conrado "Noynoy is Aragorn" de Quiros that the very people who voted for Noynoy Aquino in 2010 now voted a bunch of "rogues" into office in the recently-concluded 2013 mid-term elections... One, Imelda Marcos, who won 88 percent of the votes in her husband’s turf in Ilocos Norte—she herself is from Leyte—retaining her seat in the House. She and her husband are well-known plunderers and oppressors. Two, Joseph Estrada, who won as mayor of Manila against Alfredo Lim. Erap was variously impeached, overthrown by People Power, tried and convicted of corruption, but later pardoned by his successor who lived in constant fear of an uprising. Of course Erap was pitted against an opponent who had earned the nickname “Dirty Harry” for ignoring such niceties as due process and human rights. Poor Manila, Nick Joaquin’s noble city. Three, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who also won 88 percent of the votes in her district in Pampanga. Obviously, it didn’t ...
Read more

Voting the wrong people deeply-ingrained in the #Philippines' electorate

By -
Image
The things said about how people vote gets to be confusing because although most of them are correct some are not really exactly what they appear to be. Let me just focus on the other angle of the issue which is seldom talked about nor given more exposure so that we can widen the coverage of the discussion. When talking about electorate we have to differentiate the classification of voters. We have the masa and the middle class and higher class of the voting public. I'm not saying it's just the masa that is guilty for they will not be able to vote for those questionable candidates without the help of those who are more educated and influential than them. The criminals and the crooks get voted not because they are worthy but because they already established and enjoy advantage in terms of influence, bailwicks, followers and of course capital. For example, Erap, ousted as president for graft and corruption; elected as mayor of Manila. The same with Gloria Arroyo, tarnished ...
Read more

Only rich Filipinos have a problem with the Martial Law years

By -
Image
I'm part of the Millenial generation. I grew up actually hating the entire Marcos family precisely because of what was taught in elementary and high school. I looked up to Ninoy as a hero/martyr. Until I heard many first hand experiences from people who were actually alive during the Martial Law era – my college professors, my friends' parents, literally all of my co-workers so far who are in their 40s – 60s, farmers, taxi drivers, etc. They would all rather go back to the time of Marcos Sr's administration. The only people I hear crying like a bitch about Marcos Sr's "atrocities" are the rich, the powerful, and the elite because apparently things during the Marcos era didn't go their way. Unlike now where they can just pay their way to get whatever they want and no one ever tells them "no." I rarely ever see anyone from the middle class and below complain about Martial Law. So the problem isn't really our education system and how schoo...
Read more