We Can End Racism

           We do not choose our parents, nor do we choose the nationality and the race that we are born into. It is not a mistake to born into a particular race. What is a mistake, rather, an abomination, is discriminating against other races. For what cause you may ask? Sheer ignorance, perhaps. Or hatred fueled by nothing but misconceptions. This is racism. It is a problem that is so widespread in our world; in every country that you visit, racism exists.

            I once had a classmate who was bullied because she was Indian. Although my other classmates had no reason to get to make fun of her, or to get mad at her, they just did so without any formidable reason. This is an example of why racism is pointless. Racism can give us nothing but hatred and pain. What good can it do for our society, for the betterment of the state of our nation?

           I remember reading about the segregation of blacks and whites in the United States back when I was young. Even back then I already sympathized for the African Americans who were unjustly treated and discriminated against by the stronger "white" man. Little did I know that this kind of discrimination was happening worldwide, and that it threatens the life of some people.

           I must admit, I, too, let out a few ethnic/racial slurs from time to time, but in a joking manner. But even jokes should be taken into consideration since not all jokes are funny; some are offensive to others and this may be a cause of an issue. Racism is no laughing matter, and everyone should know this.

           We must respect others' cultures and physical characteristics as we, ourselves, would want to be respected. Racism must be stopped. An end to racism means a world with more freedom; people would be comfortable with who they are and who they are with. There will no longer be any segregation or separation of the peoples. We will be as one; a unified population.

An example of jokes on racism.

         

Who Are YOU?

        "What is the Filipino identity?"

      This has been one of the hardest questions I've ever faced. I could not answer this questions since apparently, I do not know myself. Who am I? What is my purpose? What have I done, or said, to make me a Filipino?

       Patriotism means love and devotion for one's country. I certainly love the Philippines and pledge full allegiance to her, does that mean that I am a patriot? or, in a greater sense, a hero? What does it take to really be a citizen for your country? 

         Whenever you ask other people the question "What is the Filipino identity?", will almost always answer these: Manny Pacquiao, lechon, happy people, rice, short, dark colored skin, etc. These do not actually answer the question, but the fact that we can identify ourselves with others in our country because of similarities is, I think, crucial to finding out what the true Filipino identity is.

             

The Inconvenient Truth: Are we doomed?

        I never heard of global warming before watching the movie, The Inconvenient Truth. After watching it, my eyes were opened to so many realities which were none of my concern beforehand. Issues like increasing temperature and increasing sea levels only made me go "so what?" when I was a kid; little did i know, these issues would be faced my generation and generations to come.

        This is the world that I live in now.

Polar bears have no more ice to walk on. Some drown in search of land
rest on.

         My parents tell me stories about them, when they were younger; how they could go to the nearby stream and dive into it. Or play around under the heat of the sun and never get burned. But now, we tell a different story. Rivers and streams, filled with the trash of decades; the extreme heat of the sun beating down the nape of our backs, giving us all types of skin imperfections and sicknesses; the dark smog covering the morning horizon. This is the reality that we now face, and it is a worsening reality that we may have to face in the future if we do not do anything.

         Some people are indifferent, ignorant even, to the issue of global warming and climate change; debates of politicians that tackle the issue of global warming lead to nothing; budgets, which should be for the improvement of the environment, are misused here and there; pollution in the air, land, sea.

         What has happened to our blue planet? What ever happened to loving our mother earth, the giver of life and sustenance? What happens if we never do improve our current situation? Will we let our children, or the children of our children, suffer in the world we enjoyed?

          Something needs to be done now, little things that we think wouldn't matter. Avoiding all types of pollution may help, but it should be on a global scale. We need to act now to save our earth. After all, this little blue planet is the only one that can sustain life, why would we take it for granted?

What is Power?

       What is power? How does one get power? Is it a commodity, locally traded for other means? How can one say that he is more powerful than the other person?

       Power, for me, is a privilege. It is something that should be taken care of, not something to be abused or used in unfair situations against weaker people. Power is earned and gained, and it shouldn't be bought or misused in any manner, since by doing so we abuse what has been given to us. Although there are others who seek power for their own personal, malicious, intent, there are those who use it for the greater good.

       People often have this notion that power belongs to those who can afford it, those who are "high up in the ranks", so to speak; this may be true, but it doesn't mean that those who are less fortunate and are lower in society should have no control over what they do. Everyone is free, and no amount of coercion should ever bring a person down.

Why Are We So Shallow?

          To start off, I would like to agree with the statement of the author of the article that we, the Filipino people, are a shallow race. And why is this so? How come we Filipinos are so contented and so impressed by menial occurrences and things that we forget to notice and understand the deeper meaning of everything?

           Our culture (the way we dress, the way we speak, what we watch, what we eat, etc.) is heavily influenced by the culture of the West. We could almost imitate them were it not for our brown skin and short statures. Why do we have to copy other cultures? Why not use our own? A probable cause for this would be the Spaniard's colonization of the Philippines and the imposition of their own culture on ours. In effect, almost all Filipino culture disappeared and was replaced by Spanish ones, ones we recognize as Filipino cultures.

            The Philippines has so little, that is why the Filipino makes-do with what he has and enjoys every little bit of it, no matter how shallow it is.

            I believe that we are shallow not because we choose to, but because we have no choice.