SOME kind of recuperation has to be done after the elections. Not everyone can be winners. In fact, only a few would win. The majority would lose. We have to learn how to find joy in losing and to gather strength from defeats. I believe these are more meritorious feats than simply winning and succeeding.
We have to quickly learn precious lessons. Among them is that in politics, we should be careful not to absolutize our positions, stretching them into the extremes, such that the world becomes completely black and white, kicking out all shades and nuances that give room to changes, chances and possibilities.
I would say this mindset would lead us to disastrous consequences, among them, bitterness, depression, a welling sense of revenge, self-righteousness, and the like, all manifestations of pride whose ways escape accountability.
It’s actually an unreasonable attitude given the nature and character of politics. In a democratic system, our views, regardless of how correct, how most fair and balanced they are, etc., would just be one among many. They have to contend with all sorts of factors that mostly are beyond our control. It’s always possible that they won’t be carried out.
But the story doesn’t end there. Much less, our life. There are still other infinite ways where what is truly good for all can come to us. It may take a lot of time and effort, we may have to go through many bumpy roads, but God never abandons us, his divine providence is always at work.
In short, we should never allow exclusively political means to confine our way of contributing to the common good. While they are indispensable, they are not the only means. There are many other more basic ways that, in fact, politics cannot enter. We have to learn to work under adverse or hostile conditions.
We need to be reminded often and strongly of this undeniable truth, so that we avoid getting stuck at a certain point. Those with Christian faith will find joy in St. Paul’s doctrine that for those who love God, everything will always work out for the good.
The spiritual, ascetical and supernatural means can not and should never be relinquished for whatever reason. Prayer, sacrifices, sacraments, interior struggles should not be put aside.
God allows losses and defeats to happen to draw very important lessons for us—to purify us, to strengthen us, to correct us, to point us to what is truly good for us, etc. With Christ’s death, we are taught that these losses and defeats can be most precious to us. They heal our blindness and deafness.
Yes, we can argue endlessly about our views, but at the end of the day we should see to it that we respect one another and the positions we make. As our local jargon would have it, “walang personalan” should be the attitude to assume.
Therefore, a certain kind of detachment from our views should always be maintained, no matter how strongly we feel about them. Let’s always be sport, never allowing charity to flee from us.
Let’s try to avoid heated arguments, fueled by pointed words and inflammatory logic. Whenever traces of rancor or even hatred come in, we should promptly reject them.
No matter how opposed we are in our views, let’s never demonize persons and parties, painting them as wholly incapable of doing anything good and us as wholly incapable of doing anything evil.
That would be a grave distortion of reality, a simplistic way of looking at things and an open invitation for graver consequences. Our debates and discussions should always be marked by courtesy and charity and earnest search for truth and justice.
Of course, all this is easier said than done. I am of the belief that to attain the proper attitude, no less than the grace of God is needed. That’s why we always need to pray, to humbly beg for the necessary virtues of humility and simplicity, because left to ourselves, we can never be charitable.
We should try to be agents of peace and joy always, quick to recognize possibilities for positive actions despite inhospitable environment rather than getting stumped by negative factors.
Of course, we can also pray that the victors will always be magnanimous in their treatment of their opponents. There should be an outpouring of mercy so reconciliation, peace, unity and cooperation can be achieved for the good of all.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The error of training professionals not persons
THE prestigious Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences has just concluded its latest plenary session with some very interesting findings and observations. As you may already know, it’s the Vatican body that gathers experts in the different fields of social science to monitor social developments worldwide as they impact on religion.
This is an angle that should never be neglected, because in their ultimate dimensions all our human affairs, our business and politics, etc., have their beginning and end in God. We should not get stuck with the purely technical and professional aspects, though they, of course, are also indispensable.
We need to remind ourselves often of this point and to develop a growing literacy and competence in living this crucial aspect of our life. We need to help one another here, not getting stumped and in fact going beyond the unavoidable differences and conflicts we will have in our temporal affairs.
These differences and conflicts can actually be a source of good for all of us, since they can give us a more complete picture of our human affairs, given our different situations and positions in life. They force us to expand our vision in life.
They should not be considered in their purely negative or destructive character, since they can occasion greater dialogue, deeper concern and understanding among ourselves. They certainly can enrich our appreciation of persons and things in general.
To a certain extent, we have to welcome and even foster this variety of views and opinions to be able to capture a more complete understanding of things. We in fact should be wary when these differences are missing, because it can mean we are falling into a cliquish or elitist mentality, narrow-minded and often divisive.
We have to understand that the ideal of human unity, peace and harmony among ourselves should never be taken to mean uniformity. As the motto of the American seal would have it, “E pluribus unum,” we need to dynamically craft a unity out of many and even conflicting elements. It’s actually a very exciting affair.
Back to the findings of the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences, I was struck by one of the observations mentioned by its official rapporteur. After a sweeping analysis of world social situation, he thought that maybe the incumbent educational system we have is missing out on one crucial aspect of learning. He said we seem to be training professionals but fail to train persons.
I think the distinction, more of a nuance than of substance, is worth looking into.
There certainly is no problem with training people to be professionals, endowed with as much information and techniques as possible. That’s always welcome. The problem arises when such training undermines our personhood.
Simply said, we may be good in knowledge and in technologies, but we flunk as persons since we fail to love one another properly, let alone, to love God. We can possess a lot of money, power and fame, but justice, solidarity and charity seem to be slipping away. This is when we can be good professionally, but bad as persons.
The crises we are seeing now in sharp relief, as played out in the world stage like in the US and Europe, particularly Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain, expose this serious if not potentially fatal flaw of a people who are professionally rich but personally poor.
This, of course, is not a very pleasant thing to say, but problems are usually not pleasant, and we always have the penchant to deny their existence, at least in the beginning. We sometimes need painful and explosive disasters to wake us up to reality.
I believe that the problems besetting these countries and the world in general today are in such dimensions and proportions that can’t be helped by the usual palliatives that may have worked before and for a span of time. They are pointing to a more serious cause that requires a more radical and comprehensive solution.
In the end it is always us who cause the problems and can also come up with the solution. We need to look more into what is wrong with us than with the world around us. What is wrong with the economy, the political systems, etc., is a mere reflection of what is wrong with us.
The solution is to understand that we are not mere political or economic animals, but persons, created in the image and likeness of God, the inalienable truth we should not play around with.
This is an angle that should never be neglected, because in their ultimate dimensions all our human affairs, our business and politics, etc., have their beginning and end in God. We should not get stuck with the purely technical and professional aspects, though they, of course, are also indispensable.
We need to remind ourselves often of this point and to develop a growing literacy and competence in living this crucial aspect of our life. We need to help one another here, not getting stumped and in fact going beyond the unavoidable differences and conflicts we will have in our temporal affairs.
These differences and conflicts can actually be a source of good for all of us, since they can give us a more complete picture of our human affairs, given our different situations and positions in life. They force us to expand our vision in life.
They should not be considered in their purely negative or destructive character, since they can occasion greater dialogue, deeper concern and understanding among ourselves. They certainly can enrich our appreciation of persons and things in general.
To a certain extent, we have to welcome and even foster this variety of views and opinions to be able to capture a more complete understanding of things. We in fact should be wary when these differences are missing, because it can mean we are falling into a cliquish or elitist mentality, narrow-minded and often divisive.
We have to understand that the ideal of human unity, peace and harmony among ourselves should never be taken to mean uniformity. As the motto of the American seal would have it, “E pluribus unum,” we need to dynamically craft a unity out of many and even conflicting elements. It’s actually a very exciting affair.
Back to the findings of the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences, I was struck by one of the observations mentioned by its official rapporteur. After a sweeping analysis of world social situation, he thought that maybe the incumbent educational system we have is missing out on one crucial aspect of learning. He said we seem to be training professionals but fail to train persons.
I think the distinction, more of a nuance than of substance, is worth looking into.
There certainly is no problem with training people to be professionals, endowed with as much information and techniques as possible. That’s always welcome. The problem arises when such training undermines our personhood.
Simply said, we may be good in knowledge and in technologies, but we flunk as persons since we fail to love one another properly, let alone, to love God. We can possess a lot of money, power and fame, but justice, solidarity and charity seem to be slipping away. This is when we can be good professionally, but bad as persons.
The crises we are seeing now in sharp relief, as played out in the world stage like in the US and Europe, particularly Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain, expose this serious if not potentially fatal flaw of a people who are professionally rich but personally poor.
This, of course, is not a very pleasant thing to say, but problems are usually not pleasant, and we always have the penchant to deny their existence, at least in the beginning. We sometimes need painful and explosive disasters to wake us up to reality.
I believe that the problems besetting these countries and the world in general today are in such dimensions and proportions that can’t be helped by the usual palliatives that may have worked before and for a span of time. They are pointing to a more serious cause that requires a more radical and comprehensive solution.
In the end it is always us who cause the problems and can also come up with the solution. We need to look more into what is wrong with us than with the world around us. What is wrong with the economy, the political systems, etc., is a mere reflection of what is wrong with us.
The solution is to understand that we are not mere political or economic animals, but persons, created in the image and likeness of God, the inalienable truth we should not play around with.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Let's reconnect with our humanity
WE may not notice it. But with all the non-stop stimulation of our senses and instincts, we are slowly depleting our humanity and are turning into slaves and automatons of practically exclusive external stimuli.
Many people are now finding it hard if not impossible to say no to TV, the Internet and other gadgets, to unrestrained sports, and even to alcohol, drugs and sex.
A news report, for example, claimed that for the next World Cup for soccer in South Africa, already 1 billion condoms and 40000 prostitutes are in place in anticipation of a surge of sex during that season.
In a previous generation, these people may be called "animals," but that would not be kind nor appropriate now, given the present state of affairs. They are victims more than anything else.
Fact is many of us are losing our capacity to self-propel, let alone, to focus on what is our objective end and goal. We move only when we are moved from outside, usually from some material, sensible if not sensual stimuli.
And we don't care anymore where they lead us other than their immediate sensorial effects.
These are clear symptoms of addiction. In other words, without perhaps realizing it, we are entrapped in a predicament, confined and restricted to a much lower quality of life, to a degraded and wounded dignity, and we seem to be most happy with it.
It's time to recover our humanity by developing the basic virtues of temperance, moderation, modesty and chastity. These virtues put the fundamental order and harmony in our life, since they attend to the proper relation between our body and our soul, and between them and God.
Temperance means we have to be careful with our eating and drinking habits. We have to avoid gluttony at all costs. Gluttony happens when we eat up to dullness and drink up to intoxication.
A blog writer gives this piece of advice: "Don't eat in front of the TV or on the go. Sit down for a proper meal. Savor each mouthful, and think about the flavors you are experiencing. Put your fork down in-between bites. When the flavors become less vibrant, and your stomach starts to feel full, stop eating."
In other words, not to eat like a pig. As to drinking, the famous American general of the civil war Robert Lee had this to say: "I like whiskey, I always did, and that's why I never drink it."
He disciplined himself in that way so as to have a clear mind. He also said that abstaining from stimulants while young would prepare one to take the proper dose of these boosters when he would need them at an older age. Otherwise, there's no other way but to fall into excess.
Moderation is meant to restrain our insatiable appetite for stimulation. It can be developed by rediscovering the hidden layers of ordinary experiences and avoiding getting hooked to what is novel and extraordinary.
For this, we may need to minimize our multi-tasking practices, to prolong our attention span instead of constantly flitting from one thing to another, to take a fast from stimulation and to delay our gratification.
In short, to practice little mortifications everyday and to savor what we have at hand at the moment or at least to be present in what we are doing, instead of dividing and multiplying our attention unreasonably.
Modesty means not so much as reserve or simplicity as to display one's true worth in speech, attire and behavior. In its positive sense, it can mean appropriate attire or personal style or dignified clothing. It is not so much a matter of rules and regulations as enhancing one's endowment.
We have to rescue this virtue from its current negative frame-up.
Chastity is putting reason and faith and charity into our sexuality. This is what needed urgently nowadays when the environment is getting so highly sexualized that people today use the word "sexy" for anything that is nice and good.
Fact is there is now so much casual sex around, encouraged by the current craze on reproductive health and sex education. The notorious hook-up practices rampant in Western countries are invading ours.
Chastity is actually a very positive and constructive virtue, and not just a set of restrictions, since it can not be other than an affirmation of love, as one saint had described it.
These, to me, are some basic virtues we need to reconnect us to our humanity. We have been slipping away from it for quite sometime now.
Many people are now finding it hard if not impossible to say no to TV, the Internet and other gadgets, to unrestrained sports, and even to alcohol, drugs and sex.
A news report, for example, claimed that for the next World Cup for soccer in South Africa, already 1 billion condoms and 40000 prostitutes are in place in anticipation of a surge of sex during that season.
In a previous generation, these people may be called "animals," but that would not be kind nor appropriate now, given the present state of affairs. They are victims more than anything else.
Fact is many of us are losing our capacity to self-propel, let alone, to focus on what is our objective end and goal. We move only when we are moved from outside, usually from some material, sensible if not sensual stimuli.
And we don't care anymore where they lead us other than their immediate sensorial effects.
These are clear symptoms of addiction. In other words, without perhaps realizing it, we are entrapped in a predicament, confined and restricted to a much lower quality of life, to a degraded and wounded dignity, and we seem to be most happy with it.
It's time to recover our humanity by developing the basic virtues of temperance, moderation, modesty and chastity. These virtues put the fundamental order and harmony in our life, since they attend to the proper relation between our body and our soul, and between them and God.
Temperance means we have to be careful with our eating and drinking habits. We have to avoid gluttony at all costs. Gluttony happens when we eat up to dullness and drink up to intoxication.
A blog writer gives this piece of advice: "Don't eat in front of the TV or on the go. Sit down for a proper meal. Savor each mouthful, and think about the flavors you are experiencing. Put your fork down in-between bites. When the flavors become less vibrant, and your stomach starts to feel full, stop eating."
In other words, not to eat like a pig. As to drinking, the famous American general of the civil war Robert Lee had this to say: "I like whiskey, I always did, and that's why I never drink it."
He disciplined himself in that way so as to have a clear mind. He also said that abstaining from stimulants while young would prepare one to take the proper dose of these boosters when he would need them at an older age. Otherwise, there's no other way but to fall into excess.
Moderation is meant to restrain our insatiable appetite for stimulation. It can be developed by rediscovering the hidden layers of ordinary experiences and avoiding getting hooked to what is novel and extraordinary.
For this, we may need to minimize our multi-tasking practices, to prolong our attention span instead of constantly flitting from one thing to another, to take a fast from stimulation and to delay our gratification.
In short, to practice little mortifications everyday and to savor what we have at hand at the moment or at least to be present in what we are doing, instead of dividing and multiplying our attention unreasonably.
Modesty means not so much as reserve or simplicity as to display one's true worth in speech, attire and behavior. In its positive sense, it can mean appropriate attire or personal style or dignified clothing. It is not so much a matter of rules and regulations as enhancing one's endowment.
We have to rescue this virtue from its current negative frame-up.
Chastity is putting reason and faith and charity into our sexuality. This is what needed urgently nowadays when the environment is getting so highly sexualized that people today use the word "sexy" for anything that is nice and good.
Fact is there is now so much casual sex around, encouraged by the current craze on reproductive health and sex education. The notorious hook-up practices rampant in Western countries are invading ours.
Chastity is actually a very positive and constructive virtue, and not just a set of restrictions, since it can not be other than an affirmation of love, as one saint had described it.
These, to me, are some basic virtues we need to reconnect us to our humanity. We have been slipping away from it for quite sometime now.
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