It is a common scenario to see children wearing clothes as good as rugs wuth bodies that lacks proper cleaning, and nutrition following bypassers and begging for something. Such scene is a clear manifestation of the exacerbating gap betweeen classes in our society. Our nation is slowly becoming a breeding ground for squatters, beggars and all other images of poverty.
These children are supposed to be at school studying, socializing, playing,and contributing to the development of our nation eventually. Instead, they are on the streets, maleducated, malnutritioned, deprived of the right to learn and lead a quality life. They waste their potential with pitiful acts of begging for food, for money, for anything to survive.
Don't we find it hard to indulge w/ mouth watering dishes we feast in our everyday meals when somewhere, along the streets are people desperately pleading for anything to feed their crumbling stomach, or worse, scavenging food from garbages? Isn't it unfair to wear elegant designer clothes and expensive streetwear while people of our same skin, our own race, in our own land shivers in the coldness of the night with nothing but torn piece of clothing to wear? Are we not feeling guilty when we spend excessive amounts for our luxurie foran vices, thinking that people leaves no pride in their self to ask for a precious centavo? It is not enough to feel guilt in these realizations unless we do something to at least lessen, if not eradicate, such situations.
Give man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he'll feed for a lifetime. This cliche' is used to give justice to begging. It has truth in it but is sometimes inapplicable in all cases. Yes, teaching a man how to fish will enable him to feed for a lifetime, but, what if this man lives in a dead sea? Or in a bountiful ocean which is being dominated by profit-seeking, mindless fishing giants. Face it. It is the condition in our society today. The sole reason why begging cannot be alleviated is because of the worsening social injustice present in our country.
If we don't want to see our country as a nation of beggars, poor and uneducated people, take steps and promote social justice and equity.
Philippine country must be the home of Filipino family
Nestor Bareza Jr.
2008-03295
POSC1 section x
Home- best described as shelter of one family. It is the foundation and place of building family relationship. It is where we usually grown up in learning things to be socialized. Living in a home is the best education of socialization, however, in Philippines; the learning that takes place is vague. They are supposed to be taught how to discipline themselves but the scenarios we can observe in public shows the national discernment of Filipinos. The problem is the notion of the term home. They must not just consider their house as their home and their mother, father, and siblings as their only family. National concern can be fully gained if we will set in our minds that our home is our country and that every Filipino is our family.
Most Filipinos oftentimes blame the government regarding the national issues: famine, unemployment, rebel acts, price hike, etc. Such issues create tremendous acts of Filipino citizens. Media portrays PNP blocking the way of rallyists who protest against the government. It results to violent acts in the midst of rally. We can also hear the negative reactions to current administration upon the citizens, moreover, to those who are poor. These are how Filipinos show that they are aware on the status of their nation. The question is- are they really concern?
One of the basis to say that a country is developed is its’ orderliness. Orderliness is a reflection of good citizens and it is not written in constitutional law. Orderliness of a country is best attained by concerned citizens. If citizens have national concern, the more they are able to revitalize their country to make it a better place to live in. The problem with Filipinos is that national concern stays within their minds. It should not only be within their minds but must have been in their hearts. If it will just stay in their minds, nothing will happen because they will more likely just say what they have noticed rather than act on what should they do. If they will put their national predicaments in their hearts, the sense of true involvement will exist. It is the way for them to treat their country as their home and every Filipino as their family. Filipinos will then become Juan Luna to paint an art living with others.
We can notice in the photos the ignorance of Filipinos to the rules that they must follow. Signboards are now just displays to Filipinos. They are taking for granted the role of signboards in public areas. We can see a bus that stopped to load passengers even though there is a signboard of no loading and unloading zone posted. Filipinos aboard to jeepneys, buses, or taxis anywhere whether it is area for loading zone or not. We can also see in the photo the signboard of “Do not block sidewalks, Sidewalks are for people”. Every single day of their lives for them, rules are not anymore important. We can see plastics of garbage below the signboard and a pedicab driver beside it waiting for passengers. Garbage is thrown anywhere because they do not care to other places whether it will look pleasant or filthy. This shows the ignorance of people to signboards. Most people do not have discipline these days. If they were, then signboards are not anymore important because they already knew what their proper role to their surroundings is. A disciplined citizen is an advocate of a clean and ordered community.
In these photos, we can observe how Filipinos had retranslated the meaning of street compositions. Pedestrian lane is losing its sense in roads. Most people do the jaywalking. They cross roads anywhere. It is not anymore new and for them it is natural to do jaywalking. We can also notice in this photo a jeep which blocked the pedestrian lane. It supposed not to stop in that lane because it is where people cross. We can see a person crossing the road who is not in pedestrian lane. This is improper. Public vendors sell anywhere. In photos, we can say that public vendors sell to pavement and even to overpass. Overpass is supposed to be clear but there are vendors who sell pirated dvds, etc. Pavement is supposed to be where people walk, and since there are vendors along the pavement, people will tend to walk onto the roads instead of pavement. The sense of pavement, pedestrian lane etc. is now insignificant for these people.
Now you can notice in the picture an old man who begs for money. We can understand the woman who just took him for granted because she is busy enough bringing her child not to get her pocket and give coins to old man. Public discourse includes the angriness to government because of increasing beggars in the public. This would not help in bringing a change to their lives. Most of the time, we cannot deny that we ignore them because of our busy doings in spite of the commiserate we felt about them.
Now try to look this photo. It is an overpass of Malibay. It is clean. According to a reliable source, this old man who begs for money cleans this overpass everyday. He is treating this place as his home. When someone threw even a candy wrapper, he gets angry and will scold that person. Although he is a poor man, he nevertheless finds time to contribute for the cleanliness of this public area. As I have mentioned, what we need is people who are advocates of the community’s cleanliness and orderliness. God bless this old man!
