Poverty: The Glass is Half-Full, Not Half-Empty

For as long as our racial memories allow--- our people have been fighting poverty. I'm annoyed. I'm peeved. I'm sick to death with all the negative, hopelessness permeating in the air. I get it that it is so damn hard to see past misery, it breaks your heart seeing a kid kill herself because she has lost hope. People have been asking and not for the first time nor the last, why hasn't there been a tickle down effect? The rich are partying and the poor are still poor. And as Jon (who I totally agree with in his post) has put it correctly: the blame game continues.

We blame government and in this case, some people blame Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Now don't get me wrong, we can blame her for a lot of things--- but poverty and hopelessness wasn't invented by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. If she wasn't in power, we'd be blaming who was. It was Erap when he was President and we kicked him out for all those illegal gambling activities in that farce we created, remember? It was Ramos when he reigned. It was Cory when she was in charge and it was Marcoss when he ruled. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe they're innocent because they and, generations of our leaders have some blame, some blood on their hands--- but they're not entirely to blame, not even half the reason.

People have been wearing Black and White, as if in life there are absolute truths and no shades of grey or some other color of T-Shirt for generations picketing on some issue, continuously blaming who's in charge. They carry slogans and have them printed out, splashed across T-Shirts, newspaper ads, the Internet or whatever canvas they could find. The problem with slogans and t-shirts, they all fade in the wash.

Let's put credit where credit is due and blame where blame is due.

Many lives have been transformed by the wealth being generated by Filipinos working abroad. It is the refuge of a population where we find so few jobs in country that greater opportunities exist elsewhere. We're not the only country in the freaking planet to find greener pastures elsewhere. There is no disputing that the lifeblood of this country has been Filipinos living abroad.

Many have looked at the state of the country's economy for years, and we've been drowning in explanation and analysis that hasn't really changed much has it? Our people are still wondering, why the common public consensus is the hopelessness we breathe in day in and day out.

Have we paused and stopped and thought that instead of wearing black and white and yelling and blaming others--- for things we can not change that perhaps, we ought to focus on the things that we can? Yes, standing up against a government that often abuse its power is well and good. Those things are important but that's not all we need to accomplish and more importantly, can accomplish.

Those of us that do have a bit more, isn't it our responsibility to grow that wealth? Isn't it our responsibility to put that work to good use, by building businesses, creating jobs and thus employing people? Didn't we learn in Religion class or in theology class or in Church that teaching someone to fish is much better than fishing for them?

Poverty is everywhere. It lives in the land of the free. It is living in first world countries and it thrives in countries that are developing. To fight poverty you don't even have to be an entrepreneur, you don't need slogans and T-Shirts or to go blame government why there isn't any tickle down effect. There are no instant answers and the road to nation building is a tough one and we can't help everyone right now but that doesn't mean everything is hopeless. Many employ drivers, or maids--- that spreads wealth. Some even go far as to help educate their house-help, or the children of their house-help to give those people a change at a better life down the road. Ordinary Filipinos day in and day out help their relatives get on their foot--- some provide for the education or give jobs to their relatives. We're not entirely powerless to fight poverty or to help in the struggle against it. It is the Christian thing to do, work, grow the wealth, share the wealth: the glass is half-full, not half-empty.

(Updated) what do you want to change?

We know the story. a man named Armando "Jun" Ducat, held the lives of 26 children and their teachers yesterday. He was a man who wanted to express his grievance. He wanted education for the kids who were enrolled in his daycare. he wanted housing where these kids and their families lived. What makes a man hold children's lives on the line like that?

Mr. Ducat said:

He said what he wanted for the children was education “because if they were educated they would have discipline and would not become drug addicts.”

granted, education makes a better person, but no amount of education can account for good parenting and good values. a guy can have a doctorate and still be a lousy human being.

so where does the blame game begin? government? church? society? parents?

a lot of smart people become drug addicts. a lot of celebrities become drug addicts. i'm not an expert in that field. so i can't tell you what makes people take drugs and be addicted to them. all i know is, smart people can become addicts.

the real important part is, good parenting. whether that parenting comes from your biological parents or some relative or some other person. we've got to get our values from somewhere right?

who teaches our right and wrong? where do we get it?

what is important to us?

are these not the questions that make us human, that form the foundation of human civilization?

perhaps truly, on the most fundamental level, our values as a race, as a nation is really, really flawed.

Mr. Ducat said:
“I am appealing to you to give me a chance to speak. You are witnesses to the political dynasties, the rampant stealing in government. Because of this, our dream of progress for the country will not be realized,”

why do we persist on the notion that the success or failure of every man, woman and child in this country is directly tied to government?

yes there is graft! yes there is corruption! but we let it happen! Thats part of human nature and ergo, part of anything man creates. its an imperfect system.

"political dynasties", isn't the cause of what is wrong in this country. it isn't even a symptom.

Granted a lot of these families have been running this country since it began. many of our business leaders, our political pedigree, the celebrities, basically all who run this country are the same sounding, same spelling last names. they are the aristocrats. While Leadership, or in our case, a fundamental lack thereof is a huge factor as to why this country isn't going anywhere, our Aristocracy, can't entirely be blamed.

i submit that good people are elected to office and they can stay there for as long as we, the people deem it. people vote these politicians into office. if these people were doing something great, wouldn't you want them to keep on going? if they weren't, isn't it time for others to run for public office and get the old guard out?

if the old mayor's wife ran for office to replace her husband who had just complete his term and reached the cap of his term limit--- why would people vote for her? knowing full well, she is his wife? so, is it a vote of confidence for the stewardship of that family?

perhaps the real reason is, people have so few choices to pick from.

so the question shouldn't be why we must ban political dynasties, it should be: why aren't we encouraging more people to participate in our political exercises?

Mr. Ducat asked: “Aren’t we ashamed of ourselves? We are a country who believes in God and yet we are ungodly in our actions,”

holding children hostage, wouldn't that offend God?

anyway, yes, we. meaning you and me. we have contributed to this nation's problems, particularly graft at least one point or another in our life.

to Mr. Ducat and to all the misguided adventurers out there and to every Filipino, you want to change the Philippines? Do you want to raise the standard of expectation? do you want this country to rise and awaken? why aren't you doing more positive things with your time, instead of raising ruckus like taking kids hostage? initiating a military take over or yelling at the top of your lungs how many kinds of evil Gloria and her ilk are?

in every barber's and coffee shop in this country, in every newspaper, from journalist, and quite recently bloggers have reported what is wrong with our country. Those kids didn't need to be subjected to such trauma, all at the expense of what we already know to be a fact: that Gloria and her government and a lot of politicians represent what is terribly wrong with our country. things will not change tomorrow or in thirty days or in in four years. certainly justice must be done but through proper avenues. we have to work with those facts, so why don't we get over it and move on, so we can change things, positively?

one small measure is perhaps vote during the coming election (and succeeding elections) and make such vote, values oriented and, truthful election.

you want to get this country going? it starts with stopping the blame game and it starts when we all decide it to stop and start working.

we can start a revolution, right here right now. we need not raise arms.

for those of you reading this who are deeply religious, a values-oriented revolution can be a chance for you to practice what you learn from church. if you don't put stock in religion, thats ok, such is not a perquisite to doing good and being a better human being and better citizen. we can in our own private lives, in the simplest of deeds accelerate and create a profound impact on how this country is.

Those kids and millions more out there, yeah they need great education! but let us not delude ourselves with saving millions. You want quality education? Those kids, I believe should be taught how to think for themselves creatively, more than the ability to memorize facts and figures off a book. where to begin?

i dare you this: put one kid to through school. those of us who can afford to, send a kid to school. there is no need for foundations or politicians or press releases, or bonding together or churches. send a kid to school, any kid other than your own, be it your house helper's or your driver's. send one. make an impact in that one person's life, positively.

we can't force people to work. we can't force them values of earning a living instead of spending each day drinking, but we can encourage them to work and find respect for themselves and put food on the table.

You want to put a stop to those families living in slums? start by giving them jobs, and food to fill their empty stomachs but not through hand me downs. let them savor the value of putting food on the table, by working and learning to respect themselves.

if the government has a program to give housing to people, don't just give it to them. ensure they have jobs, and ensure that these people, even if it is a "token" payment, must pay for their new housing. why? it doesn't help if just give it to them. they have to respect themselves. they have to value their property so they'll take care of it and make it grow.

(Update-Added 30 March) on that note about government intervention, the New York City government is planning an experiment to curve the "vexingly high poverty rates" in their city. it would be interesting how this experiment would come out and perhaps we could get ideas of our own based on what they learn and apply it in the Philippine setting. Here's a snippet of the New York Times Article by Diane Cardwell which could be found here in detail:

Seeking new solutions to New York’s vexingly high poverty rates, the city is moving ahead with a bold antipoverty experiment that will pay poor families up to $5,000 a year to meet targets like exemplary school attendance, going for medical checkups or holding down a full-time job, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said today.

Under the program, which is based on a similar effort in Mexico but is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, families would receive payments every two months for meeting any of 20 or so criteria per individual. The payments would range from perhaps $25 for an elementary school student’s attendance to $300 for greatly improved performance on a standardized test, officials said.

Conceived as an experiment, the program, first announced last fall and set to begin in September, is to serve 2,500 randomly selected families whose progress will be tracked against another 2,500 randomly selected families who will not receive the assistance.

The city has already raised $42 million of the $50 million needed to cover the costs from private sources, including Mr. Bloomberg. If the experiment is successful, officials plan to make it a government-financed program.

Likening the payments, called conditional cash transfers, to tax incentives that steer people of greater means toward property ownership, Mr. Bloomberg said he hoped the payments would set people on a road out of poverty permanently.

(update ends here)

truth be told, you don't even have to go far. if you can't afford to send another person's kid through school, all you need to do, isn't even just being a good Filipino. all you need to do, is be a good parent and teach your kid, great values. who knows what good that kid can do?

we don't need to go far in solving this country's many problems. we just need to have the right values and the right outlook. we don't even have to be in government. we don't even have to be in power. we just have to stop the blame-game. we just have to recognize the wisdom that we can't change what we have no power over, but we can act using our own hands, through what we can do. we can do a lot of good, right here, right now. want to change this country? it really does start with us: contribute positively.

speak up: vote?

isn't it better to make everyone a multimillionaire?
I remembered making this because of the headlines the past few days about how poverty and hunger still top as concerns of our time. I made this September 2006. The lady isn't mine, so i can't claim ownership... and I forget where i found it, just that I did. Using Google.

the person who made that and the person writing this are two different creatures, living in two different universes. i was full of hope and optimistic that the future can still hold promise for this country. the other guy isn't sure he can believe in people anymore and you've undoubtedly read some of my previous posts. My apathy, disappointment, and disillusionment mirrors countless others out there.

Values Oriented Truthful Elections. indeed.

its very easy isn't it? to write, to put those words in a slogan, to paint it in a t-shirt, or cry about it at the top of one's voice in a political rally.

mindless rhetoric? is it the same empty rhetoric that politicians of all shape, party affiliation stand on? Fighting poverty. indeed.

then again, the problem with not speaking up during an election is that no one ever listens to silence. on the flip-side, the problem with fighting poverty, and values oriented truthful elections is this: they tend to fade after washing the t-shirt. the paint wears off quite easy after people have won an election.

the crazy thing is that we already know how to fight and win against poverty: make everyone a multimillionaire.