The Boy Who Saw It Happen

Written on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 6:36pm. 


CORONADO, Andrew Joseph Q.
10625224
CITIGOV
Sir Louie Montemar

Nine years back, I never really knew what was going on with my country, as far as I am concerned I could care less and not give a damn about all the fuzz with the Impeachment hearings but the thing is it interfered with my television viewing time. Back then I lived alone for the most part of the night until my parents arrive after work, as for my siblings they were away in apartments and condominiums near their respective colleges. I used to watch those monotonous anime shows and soap operas but then during that time I was forced to view the hearings because I was bored and our family did not have cable television back then. So there I was a young 11 year old kid coerced by the circumstances to watch the presidential hearings. Interesting enough, the characters of this seemingly one-sided odyssey remained vivid to me: Chavit Singson; the governor guy who owns a tiger and a gambling buddy of the president, Miriam Defensor-Santiago; an apparent hot-headed and sometimes incoherent lady, who speaks eloquent words that I do not fully comprehend, Joker Arroyo; this little guy who speaks with so much passion even though he has this weird sounding accent, Clarissa Ocampo; this lady who reminds me of my mother which is good with bank notes and signatures and testified to have seen face-to-face the president signing off accounts with a different alias, Manny Villar; who almost did a rap song just so that the case would be passed onto the Senate, Franklin Drilon; who could miss his ever so big double chin and his deep voice and Edgardo Espiritul; this pudgy guy who seems very inconsistent with his words, intentions and actions which may be brought forth by the fear that he is facing amongst all the attention that he is getting. To me they were just all characters, I don’t really know who is bad and or who is good during that time I never really intended on knowing. But then when I realized the gravity of what this event would have to my country in general and to me as a person, I was moved. I saw the people in Edsa and I never really knew what they were fighting for but it occurred to me that if all of them are gathered there for one cause then it must be really one big cause for the country and soon enough when all of the rumble jumble was over there was a new president, for which other people did not really want to be in position, while others just wanted Erap to step down. It was a moving moment for me and I was awakened by the fact that unity is possible, in that current time I was studying HEKASI and for all I know unity was one big problem of our heroes back then, but I saw it with my own eyes that it is indeed possible. 

As I grew up I became politically aware of what was happening in my country and how messed up it is and I always see it as that Volkswagen car parked outside the street where I lived in –broken, rusted and not even safe to come near to. I lost hope for my country but I was young back then. When I got into college I was exposed to the bigger world, and I saw the difference of how people think in this place. It was so radical and it was so ambitious but still they keep on fighting for their rights, they stand up and people actually listen to them; they are heard. Now looking at what I am in the present, I am a citizen in the works – in the process and am continuously progressing. I now see my country at a different lens, lens of that of hope and positivity. I totally understand my past actions now of how I was a selfish citizen, before I do not totally care because I am in a position not to, I do not feel the repercussions of what was happening to my country as compared to the poorer people because I am not totally affected by it. This position is now changed I now believe that whatever position that I have right now is not just totally for my own good but rather it must be shared, I must continuously inspire other people to see the brighter side because there are still people like me that still believe that there is something that can be done. As Andrew Matthews’ would put it one could not force someone to change but rather he must help the other to realize that he wants to change because it is for the better. If all of us who are able to see this could move other people in the same direction then we are headed for a much bigger change for ourselves and for our country but this is not about doing quantum leaps wherein we opt for something to happen almost immediately, it is a process – we do not need another EDSA and or something of that proportion so that our country would be better. If only we start with ourselves then other people would see what we are doing and then soon enough we reach a common goal – we become nationalistic, we become more proud of what we have and we would be the first one to praise our country and not the other way around. We become people of solution and not of problems, so long as we are in the same track as everyone else. If we truly believe in ourselves and the infinite human potential that we all possess, we can all say that we could make a difference, I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! 

Let us not lose hope for our country, let us believe of what we can do as a nation but we could only do it if we start with ourselves. Know what is happening, take action and do the right thing. Sacrifice ourselves for the greater glory of our country, like what those people from the impeachment hearings did, they stood up and sacrificed their own personal safety for all of us. As Randy David would put it: They are human, too; they are not unafraid, and they are torn by divided loyalties. But something great moves them. There are many more like them, Filipinos who decide at one point that life is nothing if it is not lived for an ideal.

They are not special people, they are just people like you and me but they decided to take the high path and serve their country beyond themselves – for an ideal. 

GISING

Written on Thursday, November 26, 2009 at 7:11am. In lieu with the Maguindanao Massacre

Ako ay nasusuklam sa mga nangyayari sa Maguindanao, ngunit hindi ko mapigilan ang aking sarili na magimbal sa mga reaksyon ng mga tao. Ang publiko katiwang nang media ay pawang sabik pang ipangalandakan sa buong mundo ang dami ng namatay, kung sino ang namatay,at kung papaano sila namatay. Ang publiko naman ay sumisgaw ng husistya para sa mga nasawi na ito ngunit, ano nga ba ang makakamit nito? Sa aking pagmamasid at pagmunimuni sa mga nagiging problema ng bansang ito, hindi ko lubos na maintindihan kung bakit pa rin pinagaaksayahan ng ating mumunting bansa at ng publiko ang mga badya o sintomas ng isang malaking kapansanan ng bansa at pagkatapos na ito ay malutas, babalik na naman tayo sa ating mga bahay at uupo na para bang walang nangyayaring masama sa ating bansa hanggang may lumabas na naman na isang kagimbal-gimbal na pangyayari. Gising Pinoy! Wag nang puro sisi ang pairalin, wag tayong maging mapaghusga sa mga taga-Maguindanao at sa mga Muslim dahil gumagawa lamang tayo ng sarili nating ikatatakot. Wag tayo ang maging una sa pag-pintas sa ating bansa. Tayo ay magtulong tulong upang malutasan ang salot ng ating bayan, hindi ito isang tao, hindi rin ito isang grupo ng mga tao, hindi ito ang sistema, ito ay ang tao: Tayo mismo, ang may problema. Tayo ay nagmistulan ng bulag sa "big picture" ng ating bansa, bingi at pipi sa mga isyu na tayo ay dapat tumayo at magsalita, at tulog ang ating diwa na siyang dapat nagsasabi sa atin na mahalin ang ating bansa. GISING PINOY! whew.

Kung matalino ka at may pakialam ka magrereact ka.

Paralysis by Over Analysis

Written on Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 1:47pm posted in Facebook. This was written during a dark phase of my life: alcohol and repressed emotions. 


Man, fuckin life has been rough.

Im sitting here in school trying to work on things that all can be left undone and what it is a fuckin Saturday. I want to procrastinate. I want to sit down and tell myself that truly I am relaxed but my fuckin head has been messin with me for the past few days.

The alcohol seems to have made things lighter for me, for that last week was all alcohol, monday to thursday. i lost my voice the other day so it was a friday night in, but still there was alcohol. Drinking alone makes you think about the stuff that you dont really need to think about. Stupid random thoughts, voices of people dear to you that reverberate to tell you what you should do. The alcohol just made things even worse, now all the repressed thoughts are ganging up on me.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies. I believe for the most part of it people are defined by what other people tell them. May it be implied or explicitly told. People would say youre crasy like that and you reinforce yourself to become what they expect of you. People believe what they see, everything is judged by appearances and for the most part of it people truly believe them. You people are missing out on the greatness of what lies beneath each person. On a side note, i just remembered relating to Todd the crazy guy showed in our Clinpsy class, and Ms, told me that I could have a tendency, to become bipolar or some sort. Now im feeling extremely down times and really manic behavior. Maybe I was that before she even told me that but now I am aware of it and its scaaary (yonzon style)

I am a Dementor. I suck life out of people. I depend on people's company. I would want to work alone all the time but for everything else I would want someone with me. I just want to talk to people, i 3-second rule everyone. Thats what i have been longing for the longest time, someone that would not just tolerate my small quirks but rather accept and even like them too, as Ted Mosbey would put it. I want my Bonnie, I am lost in the world in 2009 Bonnie and Clyde, but God Damn it where you at Bonnie? HAHA.

Fundamental Attribution Error, Ive been sarging for quite a while now I think, funny thing is every time I ask inputs about situation to a girl and just put everything "hypothethical", they would think that it is them that they are talking about but it works, and its funny. Also, its funny how people always think that they are being judged by other people that they are being looked at and judged, I experimented on this last week and apparently no one ever noticed something that i did for three straight days.

Unassuming Son of A Bitch. I feel like a fuckin little boy, ive been telling my sisters from other mothers what ive been doin with my life and my various adventures and misadventures wit women. For whatever they may be, these moments that i go through seem to bring me back and look in retrospect when they were relatively fresh. Im feeling weird but its good but I do not want to assume anything. I want to be detached and rational, I have been reading about this Game book, and have noticed that these PUAs have certain dysfunctions in their own life which make them good. For whatever they may be, it seems like these guys have Gestalts that they could not finish and which in turn makes them deflect their problems into sarging. I think i feel the same way as them.

Chaos and Confusion. I think that for the most part of it, living in taft and being exposed to the culture of taft, there is as if a post traumatic stress disorder every time Thursday comes because Friday would be a free day and so that all the stressors are gone. Weird Enough, when these stressors are not there, i feel bored, i get bored with boredom. I think that the fast paced life that i have been living is too god damn crazy, I mean like, I find excitement and a certain degree of satisfaction, to drink and do them what have yous, when I know tomorrow I have a quiz, a recitation and a reporting. HAHA.

I said so much shit god damn it. But i have some other shit to do. Whatever I said above i would want to handle.

This note is not a plea for help, i do not even fuckin care if you read it or not, i just need a release.

In all of this madness, i look into several people and or characters to find serenity and peace. Brucie Kibbutz, Style, Mystery, Ted Mosbey, Barney Stinson, Matisyahu and all them other foos who see life in a different light.

Don't cry
Don't raise your eye
It's only teenage wasteland

Sally, take my hand
We'll travel south cross land
Put out the fire
And don't look past my shoulder.

The exodus is here
The happy ones are near
Let's get together
Before we get much older.

Teenage wasteland
It's only teenage wasteland.
Teenage wasteland
Oh, yeah
Its only teenage wasteland
They're all wasted!

I tagged you guys because i know you could give inputs about all the bs that i have been saying.

Old Posts

I've been seeing my older posts in various mediums and for different purposes. I wanted to repost and collate them all here. It brings a nostalgic feeling for me and shows a snapshot of my thoughts for a certain period of time.

The Right to Have More and More and More Children!

I was read this article that I saw in facebook and it made me want to write something. Here's the link:
http://filipinofreethinkers.org/2010/12/09/the-hr-bill-mutants-and-the-man-called-ona/

This article kind of low-balled the Church but its funny nonetheless. On more pressing things, I believe that it is unfair for us (people who support the RH bill) to command or sway other people of what they should do with their families, if they want to fuck because of boredom and have 10 more children then they are more than willing to do so. All we are doing is giving them choices and showing the consequences of what they are doing in the grand scheme of things.

With whatever action that we do we want sustainability. We want to be able to support or do something that could be done and used by the future generations. This is why we dont want more population because more people is equal to more people who will have more children and the cycle will continue on. And soon enough the economy will collapse. Please do not be deluded that we have the resources to support this but at this rate we will break down in the very near future.

In the same way, I believe that Sustainability is what the Church wants. If they give in and give away some of their power to the RH Bill argument, then a big chunk of their influence would go away. Also this would give them a perception, that the Church could be swayed into the other side via the use of rational reasoning. I believe that they want to maintain this vague, ambiguous, and yet ever so powerful kind of reasoning and influence. The one that could just randomly excommunicate people irrationally, vaguely in an ambiguous manner. This is a Sustainability of Power.

Are we ready for Globalization?

Sure, we have a lot of pros and cons for Globalization, there would be a long list if we try to put it all down, but the question really is: Are we ready for it?

Globalization promotes competitiveness. It creates a tight market where all the competitors are trying to entice the customers to buy the different companies' respective products. I believe that enticing customers, for the most part is all about Pricing. But have you ever wondered how they make the products go so low?

There are a lot of trade-offs involved. As I was doing my interview for the Video Project, my boss (Alex Tolentino, see video) said something about declining product quality. As we are now facing it, prices are going lower and lower, and so does quality. To be able to make such low priced products companies are cutting costs and short-changing processes. If you would think about it, it is a double edge sword. As foreign importers offer low priced products, they produce it via cheap labor, in the end does people doing the labor in their home country receive less so their standard of living goes lower as well. In our country, the one being importing foreign products, as we get more enticed with lower prices, our own products (if we ever have one) are not being sold as much. In this light, our products are priced higher to catch up with previous losses, but then it would not be able to sell because of the cheaper foreign products. The point being is that, with stiffer competition, our locally produced products are not being consumed, thus lowering the standard of life of our own workers.

In this train of thought, only the people or countries who have the better technology and does not have enough market in their place of origin to dump their products at, would be the ones richer. Those who do not have the same capacity would try to react on what is going on, until finally they would not be able to keep up. As we continue with this we might become a totally importing country and become overly dependent on other countries.

I do not want to become conservative with this issue but are we not better off producing our own and consuming our own. Yes, the competition is good for the consumers - only for the short run - but in the end we suffer. I believe that it is when we are producing our own products for ourselves and also we have the capacity to offer products to other countries that we should become totally open for the rules of globalization. As for now, we should keep our thoughts straight, and start doing something for our own until we are globally capable of competition.

Ang Batang Parating Api

Just a while back, I was hanging around with my friends until a beggar kid came. She was asking money from the people around. I personally know this kid and how her life is. She goes out everyday to ask money from people so that she would have enough money to bring home so that she and her lola could eat a little bit of something. Today, I got irked by her persistence to ask for money. She was up to a point that she was already harassing my friend. At the end, she failed and she said something like: 

"Napakadamot mo, Barya nga lang e!"

My only irk with kids like these is that for the most part they grow up to become good for nothing dependent people. They wait for others to help them and thats the only thing that they do. As they grow up, the pity that they used to get from people would fade away and that they could not get money anymore. That is when they turn into Juvenile Delinquents and future schemers & criminals. As much as I do not want to generalize, the path seems clear until a proper intervention is done but as they always say: Bad Habits die hard. 

This is a clear manifestation of the inequality with the distribution of wealth in the country. As this inequality becomes clearer, it instills a mindset with the poor people; that they would be helped by the government and the richer people. When one thinks about this, it is not the case. They are supposed to help themselves, other people could only do so much for them. Their mindset have spread all over their socio economic status, and for the most part everyone is just waiting to be helped and to depend on someone. 

Hey, for what's its worth my great granparents were also poor, my grandparents were not that well off but it is all about the mindset that they had. They wanted to get out of the hell hole so they worked their asses off just so that they could provide a better future for their children and grandchildren. 

Just my two cents.