Danger can happen to anyone. It is caused by either our environment, naturally and even by our own actions. We can put our lives into danger if we do not follow safety precautions like wearing helmet when we ride a motorcycle, wearing life vests when we’re doing water sports and even by smoking and drinking alcohol.
Focusing on the danger and health risks smoking can bring our bodies; it is evident these days that even the younger generations engage in smoking at their very young age. Nowadays, it is normal to see younger teens smoking even if they know the risks and sickness smoking can soon give them. Without parental guidance, the youth engage themselves in vices that can bring harm to their bodies as they grow older. We have heard about the 2-year-old Indonesian boy who was already addicted to smoking and his parents allowed him to be addicted to it and not help the boy be out of that dangerous vice. At his very young age, he smokes up to sticks of cigarette a day and if his parents refuse to give him cigarette he would throw tantrums and scream for it. At his very young age, he should be drinking milk and learning how to walk and talk but because of the lack of parental care and guidance, he became addicted to smoking. And what’s bothering the most is that his parents are fine with him smoking. In a video that I saw in Youtube.com, the elders beside him where just watching him and laughing as he smokes a lot of cigarettes and this is really alarming. This boy was all over the news because it alarmed almost everyone in the world that this kind of problem is very serious and already dangerous even to younger children. At his age of innocence, he might think that smoking is good for him but really it isn’t. Danger can in many different forms and the danger brought about by smoking can really be harmful to our health.
It is hard to identify what is dangerous and what is not if what we’re doing revolves through the same thing every single day. Technologies can be considered dangerous too. As a matter of fact, staying in front of the computer for long period of hours can be dangerous to one’s health. It is also dangerous to be dependent on technologies because it can also cause us harm. The advancement in technologies allows humans to create certain materials that can be dangerous to the world like guns, weapons and certain tools for destruction. In this day and age, many less fortunate people engage themselves to something unpleasant like robbery and being a member of a gang just to get instant money. This is also something dangerous since it can cause harm to an innocent individual. Danger can be anywhere and it is our own responsibility to take extra careful and be aware of our surroundings.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Power and Violence should never be combined
What comes to your mind when you hear the word POWER? Do you think of money? Political positions? Lands? Companies? Violence? Power as defined by Kenneth Waltz and Robert Dahl is the ability of A to make B do what A wants when B insist in doing something else. Indeed this is a fit definition of power. But what if B refuses and insists on doing something else? Would A result to violence in order for him to be followed?
Nowadays, people who attain power lose it once they result to violence. Like what Hannah Arendt argues, violence and power are two different things. One can attain power but if violence occurs, power can be erased. Take for example the case of the former president Ferdinand Marcos, he is a very smart and ambitious president but as the years go by, he used his power over the people and declared Martial Law. Even though he made a lot of projects to develop our country, his dictatorship towards the people provoked them to be against Marcos. Violence occurred during the Marcos regime because of the punishments people get from the authority. There are so many cases wherein some individuals disappeared or died without any explanation during his reign of presidency. The ruthless punishments from Marcos led the people to fight for freedom and democracy and put down Marcos. The EDSA Revolution was a mark that even the most powerful person in the country which is the President, can be ousted by the common people. This can be related to the terms “power-over” which is the power based on threat or the use of force and “power-with” which is a power that grows out of an ensemble of a person who empower one another when they decide to act.
Another significant event in the Philippine history is the Maguindanao Massacre. The family of the Ampatuan’s is a political clan who is one of the richest and most powerful families in Maguindanao. They used this power to retain their position as a public official and when they found out that they have a competition in a particular government position he did things to stop his opponent, Mangudadatu. But since Mangudadatu still wanted to run against one of the Ampatuan’s, he tried to kill the family of Mangudadatu along with the 32 media people who were with the Mangudadatus to witness an event. After few investigations, witnesses speak about the truth that the Ampatuans are behind this massacre. This event in the Philippine history proves that no matter how powerful a person or a clan is in a particular place, once he/she abuses her power and uses it in a way that another person can be hurt or manipulated, the power and the respect people have for them would soon be gone. Right now, almost all the Filipinos are against the Ampatuans because of the ruthless killings they’ve done to innocent people.
Nowadays, people who attain power lose it once they result to violence. Like what Hannah Arendt argues, violence and power are two different things. One can attain power but if violence occurs, power can be erased. Take for example the case of the former president Ferdinand Marcos, he is a very smart and ambitious president but as the years go by, he used his power over the people and declared Martial Law. Even though he made a lot of projects to develop our country, his dictatorship towards the people provoked them to be against Marcos. Violence occurred during the Marcos regime because of the punishments people get from the authority. There are so many cases wherein some individuals disappeared or died without any explanation during his reign of presidency. The ruthless punishments from Marcos led the people to fight for freedom and democracy and put down Marcos. The EDSA Revolution was a mark that even the most powerful person in the country which is the President, can be ousted by the common people. This can be related to the terms “power-over” which is the power based on threat or the use of force and “power-with” which is a power that grows out of an ensemble of a person who empower one another when they decide to act.
Another significant event in the Philippine history is the Maguindanao Massacre. The family of the Ampatuan’s is a political clan who is one of the richest and most powerful families in Maguindanao. They used this power to retain their position as a public official and when they found out that they have a competition in a particular government position he did things to stop his opponent, Mangudadatu. But since Mangudadatu still wanted to run against one of the Ampatuan’s, he tried to kill the family of Mangudadatu along with the 32 media people who were with the Mangudadatus to witness an event. After few investigations, witnesses speak about the truth that the Ampatuans are behind this massacre. This event in the Philippine history proves that no matter how powerful a person or a clan is in a particular place, once he/she abuses her power and uses it in a way that another person can be hurt or manipulated, the power and the respect people have for them would soon be gone. Right now, almost all the Filipinos are against the Ampatuans because of the ruthless killings they’ve done to innocent people.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The Idea of Microfinance
"Poverty is not created by the poor. It is created by the structures of society and the policies pursued by society. Change the structure as we are doing in Bangladesh, and you will see that the poor change their own lives. Grameen's experience demonstrates that, given the support of financial capital, however small, the poor are fully capable of improving their lives." - Banker to the Poor
- Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank, Founder
Microfinance is a provision that brings financial services to low income clients especially to the poor women who does not have access in banking and other related services to help them fight poverty. This objective that Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank had started was a great success in helping those people in need. Microfinance gives loan to poor women because many studies have shown that access to financial services has improved the status of women within the family and the community. Also, it makes women more assertive, confident and visible in the eyes of the community.
In Bangladesh, Microfinance became a success in helping the poor women and their families. Some of the results of Microfinance include the following:
•It helped the poor meet their basic needs for survival and protect them against risks;
•The use of financial services by low-income households results to an improvements in household economic welfare and enterprise stability;
•Microfinance helps to empower women, hence promoting gender-equity and improving household well-being
These are only some of the benefits I’ve found due to Microfinance. Microfinance won’t necessarily stop poverty in our world, but it will help reduce the number of poor and unemployed people. Banks don’t really give small loans to the people like Microfinance because there would be lesser interest and lesser income for the banks as opposed to the big loans the banks give wherein they’ll earn bigger as well. But if we consider these kinds of services rather than always think of the money we will receive, we might help not only the poor families themselves but also help our country in eliminating the number of the poor citizens in our country. I really am favor of the Microfinance that Bangladesh had started because it not only helps the poor on their daily needs, but also empowered women as it favors women to improve their status in their household.
- Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank, Founder
Microfinance is a provision that brings financial services to low income clients especially to the poor women who does not have access in banking and other related services to help them fight poverty. This objective that Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank had started was a great success in helping those people in need. Microfinance gives loan to poor women because many studies have shown that access to financial services has improved the status of women within the family and the community. Also, it makes women more assertive, confident and visible in the eyes of the community.
In Bangladesh, Microfinance became a success in helping the poor women and their families. Some of the results of Microfinance include the following:
•It helped the poor meet their basic needs for survival and protect them against risks;
•The use of financial services by low-income households results to an improvements in household economic welfare and enterprise stability;
•Microfinance helps to empower women, hence promoting gender-equity and improving household well-being
These are only some of the benefits I’ve found due to Microfinance. Microfinance won’t necessarily stop poverty in our world, but it will help reduce the number of poor and unemployed people. Banks don’t really give small loans to the people like Microfinance because there would be lesser interest and lesser income for the banks as opposed to the big loans the banks give wherein they’ll earn bigger as well. But if we consider these kinds of services rather than always think of the money we will receive, we might help not only the poor families themselves but also help our country in eliminating the number of the poor citizens in our country. I really am favor of the Microfinance that Bangladesh had started because it not only helps the poor on their daily needs, but also empowered women as it favors women to improve their status in their household.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
How Media and Technologies transfer information
It’s amazing how fast we can communicate with our loved ones here and abroad nowadays. The improvement in our technologies helps us get the latest news in just one click. From the inventions of telephones to beepers and to cell phones, from snail mail to emails to chats online, from the usual pictures we send our loved ones to see how big we’ve already grown to the webcams and now to Skype for an easier communication, there’s definitely no one who can stop the development of the technologies in our world. We consider media as the most influential source of information for our day to day living. In addition, we rely so much on media not only for information but also for entertainment through television, radio, newspaper, internet, magazines and many more. It’s an easy access for all ages, young or old, because these different forms of media are present right in front of us. Television, for one, is the fastest way to transfer information locally and internationally. As we switch on our televisions at home, we can watch news or a show that easily affects us which sends us a particular message. Another form of media is through the internet. With just one click, we get to discover information about what’s happening in the different parts of the world and even personal information about our friends or celebrities through social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Youtube and many more. Cell phones also transfer information easily because with just one text, we can let others know where we are, what we’re doing and what we’re planning to do next. Information throughout the world is so easy to transfer these days as compared to the early years where in they had to wait for days just to receive a letter from a loved one. In the past, people would travel far just to send their message personally and talk to each other face to face. But today, people would prefer to do things through a call or through webcams to lessen the hassle of traveling. The easier the communication can be for us, the more it consumers it will receive. Media helps shape our minds and opinions about certain things as it connects to each and every one of us individually. There may be a big difference in the manner we deliver information these days but one thing still remains, the effect of the different forms of media on us. We wouldn’t be able to find out anything in the world we’re living in right now if it weren’t for the help and influence of media.
Explanations for Poverty
There are different factors to consider why a certain country, like the Philippines, is a poor country. One possible reason is due to the very high rate of corruption that is why the country is not improving. Another factor to consider is the Filipino people themselves. Poverty may be caused by a person’s lack of achievement or goal in life. Even if he/she would want a better life but if they themselves won’t have the initiative to work hard and change their bad lifestyle, they won’t achieve complete success in their own lives.
One example for this cause of poverty would be the poor lifestyle of those people in the squatter’s area who spend most of their time and money in drinking beers and gambling rather than spending their money by buying food for their family and books for the education of their children. They choose to spend their money on unnecessary things and vices which obviously causes them to stay in the poor lifestyle they are already in for several years. I’ve witnessed this happen last March 2010 when some of the houses in the squatter’s area in West Crame got burned and we went there to give them donations and food. I’ve seen so many victims drinking alcohol and gambling instead of fixing their houses and saving their possessions. Also, they became so dependent on the donations they’re receiving that they didn’t want to leave the refuge area because everything they are receiving is for free. Rather than start working double time for their family, they choose to slack off and lay back and just depend on the donations given to them. But what will happen to them if the people become tired of helping them? When will they start working and achieving something for themselves? The answer is for these poor people to take the initiative to change their lives to make it a better one.
Another explanation for poverty that I have seen from these poor people is the unequal economic and social structures. The poor lacks the right to resources. I’ve heard so many people and victims in West Crame who complains about the land/property where their houses used to stand. Most of them insist that the property should already be given to them since they’ve lived there almost their entire life. But that’s not the case. Settling in a private property for a year, a decade and even a century won’t result to ownership of the land. The real title holder of the land has the rights towards the property. My point here is that the poor people, no matter how hard they work and fight for a property or a piece of land would have a very hard time winning since they lack the money to buy it. Also, due to their limited money, they are also limited in resources because they can’t afford them. Thus, what usually happens is that they follow the demands of the rich people by paying rental fees just to have a home and in order to survive life.
There are a whole lot more reasons for poverty that I can consider but the lack of achievement and unequal economic and social structures are enough explanations for why poverty still exists here in our country. The unchanging attitude of the Filipinos towards life and how they should handle it gives us a higher number of poverty rate as the years goes by.
One example for this cause of poverty would be the poor lifestyle of those people in the squatter’s area who spend most of their time and money in drinking beers and gambling rather than spending their money by buying food for their family and books for the education of their children. They choose to spend their money on unnecessary things and vices which obviously causes them to stay in the poor lifestyle they are already in for several years. I’ve witnessed this happen last March 2010 when some of the houses in the squatter’s area in West Crame got burned and we went there to give them donations and food. I’ve seen so many victims drinking alcohol and gambling instead of fixing their houses and saving their possessions. Also, they became so dependent on the donations they’re receiving that they didn’t want to leave the refuge area because everything they are receiving is for free. Rather than start working double time for their family, they choose to slack off and lay back and just depend on the donations given to them. But what will happen to them if the people become tired of helping them? When will they start working and achieving something for themselves? The answer is for these poor people to take the initiative to change their lives to make it a better one.
Another explanation for poverty that I have seen from these poor people is the unequal economic and social structures. The poor lacks the right to resources. I’ve heard so many people and victims in West Crame who complains about the land/property where their houses used to stand. Most of them insist that the property should already be given to them since they’ve lived there almost their entire life. But that’s not the case. Settling in a private property for a year, a decade and even a century won’t result to ownership of the land. The real title holder of the land has the rights towards the property. My point here is that the poor people, no matter how hard they work and fight for a property or a piece of land would have a very hard time winning since they lack the money to buy it. Also, due to their limited money, they are also limited in resources because they can’t afford them. Thus, what usually happens is that they follow the demands of the rich people by paying rental fees just to have a home and in order to survive life.
There are a whole lot more reasons for poverty that I can consider but the lack of achievement and unequal economic and social structures are enough explanations for why poverty still exists here in our country. The unchanging attitude of the Filipinos towards life and how they should handle it gives us a higher number of poverty rate as the years goes by.
Explanations for Poverty
There are different factors to consider why a certain country, like the Philippines, is a poor country. One possible reason is due to the very high rate of corruption that is why the country is not improving. Another factor to consider is the Filipino people themselves. Poverty may be caused by a person’s lack of achievement or goal in life. Even if he/she would want a better life but if they themselves won’t have the initiative to work hard and change their bad lifestyle, they won’t achieve complete success in their own lives.
One example for this cause of poverty would be the poor lifestyle of those people in the squatter’s area who spend most of their time and money in drinking beers and gambling rather than spending their money by buying food for their family and books for the education of their children. They choose to spend their money on unnecessary things and vices which obviously causes them to stay in the poor lifestyle they are already in for several years. I’ve witnessed this happen last March 2010 when some of the houses in the squatter’s area in West Crame got burned and we went there to give them donations and food. I’ve seen so many victims drinking alcohol and gambling instead of fixing their houses and saving their possessions. Also, they became so dependent on the donations they’re receiving that they didn’t want to leave the refuge area because everything they are receiving is for free. Rather than start working double time for their family, they choose to slack off and lay back and just depend on the donations given to them. But what will happen to them if the people become tired of helping them? When will they start working and achieving something for themselves? The answer is for these poor people to take the initiative to change their lives to make it a better one.
Another explanation for poverty that I have seen from these poor people is the unequal economic and social structures. The poor lacks the right to resources. I’ve heard so many people and victims in West Crame who complains about the land/property where their houses used to stand. Most of them insist that the property should already be given to them since they’ve lived there almost their entire life. But that’s not the case. Settling in a private property for a year, a decade and even a century won’t result to ownership of the land. The real title holder of the land has the rights towards the property. My point here is that the poor people, no matter how hard they work and fight for a property or a piece of land would have a very hard time winning since they lack the money to buy it. Also, due to their limited money, they are also limited in resources because they can’t afford them. Thus, what usually happens is that they follow the demands of the rich people by paying rental fees just to have a home and in order to survive life.
There are a whole lot more reasons for poverty that I can consider but the lack of achievement and unequal economic and social structures are enough explanations for why poverty still exists here in our country. The unchanging attitude of the Filipinos towards life and how they should handle it gives us a higher number of poverty rate as the years goes by.
One example for this cause of poverty would be the poor lifestyle of those people in the squatter’s area who spend most of their time and money in drinking beers and gambling rather than spending their money by buying food for their family and books for the education of their children. They choose to spend their money on unnecessary things and vices which obviously causes them to stay in the poor lifestyle they are already in for several years. I’ve witnessed this happen last March 2010 when some of the houses in the squatter’s area in West Crame got burned and we went there to give them donations and food. I’ve seen so many victims drinking alcohol and gambling instead of fixing their houses and saving their possessions. Also, they became so dependent on the donations they’re receiving that they didn’t want to leave the refuge area because everything they are receiving is for free. Rather than start working double time for their family, they choose to slack off and lay back and just depend on the donations given to them. But what will happen to them if the people become tired of helping them? When will they start working and achieving something for themselves? The answer is for these poor people to take the initiative to change their lives to make it a better one.
Another explanation for poverty that I have seen from these poor people is the unequal economic and social structures. The poor lacks the right to resources. I’ve heard so many people and victims in West Crame who complains about the land/property where their houses used to stand. Most of them insist that the property should already be given to them since they’ve lived there almost their entire life. But that’s not the case. Settling in a private property for a year, a decade and even a century won’t result to ownership of the land. The real title holder of the land has the rights towards the property. My point here is that the poor people, no matter how hard they work and fight for a property or a piece of land would have a very hard time winning since they lack the money to buy it. Also, due to their limited money, they are also limited in resources because they can’t afford them. Thus, what usually happens is that they follow the demands of the rich people by paying rental fees just to have a home and in order to survive life.
There are a whole lot more reasons for poverty that I can consider but the lack of achievement and unequal economic and social structures are enough explanations for why poverty still exists here in our country. The unchanging attitude of the Filipinos towards life and how they should handle it gives us a higher number of poverty rate as the years goes by.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Lifeboat Ethics
Metaphorically, each rich nation can be seen as a lifeboat full of comparatively rich people. In the ocean, swim the poor of the world, who would like to get in. First, we must recognize the limited capacity of any lifeboat.
-Garret Hardin
Everything in this world has its own limits. What Hardin is trying to say is that “the boat” has a limited capacity and not everyone can be offered help. Those unfortunate people who can’t get in the boat are the poor ones who aren’t given much priority. In our world today, there’s really no such thing as equality between the rich and the poor. The rich receives the best and the poor gets what’s left.
In Hardin’s case against the poor, he discusses that it is hard to save and help all the poor. The rich countries easily develop because there are less number of poor people to help while the developing countries are having a hard time keeping up with the fast pace of the developing world because of the huge number of poor people they have to consider helping in order to improve the nation and its people.
In relation to Garret Hardin’s Lifeboat Ethics, I remember the movie 2012, a movie wherein it shows that the world is near its end and the earth undergoes a lot of destructions coming from natural calamities like tsunamis and many more. Everyone wants to survive the tragedy and runs for their lives but they have nowhere else to go since the water in the oceans are increasing rapidly towards the people and soon the whole world will be filled with water and no human would survive having no land to stay in to. To make the long story short, the rich and influential people like the President, Prime Ministers and other powerful people were undoubtedly safe because they knew beforehand that this time would come and they have prepared for this by buying shares worth billions of money just so that they and their families would be safe from the destruction brought about by the end of the world. But for the common people, they couldn’t afford such amount of money. The ship has only a limited capacity but can still accommodate a huge number of people but still the rich people inside the ship won’t allow these people to enter because they couldn’t pay the same amount they’ve paid and are also afraid that they would run out of food supplies. Because of the limited space of the ship, the people are fighting for a chance to be in a ship to survive. But reality tells us that only the rich and the powerful can afford it. But the story ended with the few survivors, rich or poor, together after the tragedy.
The Lifeboat Ethics of Hardin and the movie 2012 both describes to us that in the real world, whether we like it or not, the rich would have the privileges and the poor would have no choice but to try their best to survive. While the lower class people fights for survival, the upper class people enjoys the luxury of life. The Lifeboat Ethics is similar those rich nations who are hesitant in helping the Third World countries.
-Garret Hardin
Everything in this world has its own limits. What Hardin is trying to say is that “the boat” has a limited capacity and not everyone can be offered help. Those unfortunate people who can’t get in the boat are the poor ones who aren’t given much priority. In our world today, there’s really no such thing as equality between the rich and the poor. The rich receives the best and the poor gets what’s left.
In Hardin’s case against the poor, he discusses that it is hard to save and help all the poor. The rich countries easily develop because there are less number of poor people to help while the developing countries are having a hard time keeping up with the fast pace of the developing world because of the huge number of poor people they have to consider helping in order to improve the nation and its people.
In relation to Garret Hardin’s Lifeboat Ethics, I remember the movie 2012, a movie wherein it shows that the world is near its end and the earth undergoes a lot of destructions coming from natural calamities like tsunamis and many more. Everyone wants to survive the tragedy and runs for their lives but they have nowhere else to go since the water in the oceans are increasing rapidly towards the people and soon the whole world will be filled with water and no human would survive having no land to stay in to. To make the long story short, the rich and influential people like the President, Prime Ministers and other powerful people were undoubtedly safe because they knew beforehand that this time would come and they have prepared for this by buying shares worth billions of money just so that they and their families would be safe from the destruction brought about by the end of the world. But for the common people, they couldn’t afford such amount of money. The ship has only a limited capacity but can still accommodate a huge number of people but still the rich people inside the ship won’t allow these people to enter because they couldn’t pay the same amount they’ve paid and are also afraid that they would run out of food supplies. Because of the limited space of the ship, the people are fighting for a chance to be in a ship to survive. But reality tells us that only the rich and the powerful can afford it. But the story ended with the few survivors, rich or poor, together after the tragedy.
The Lifeboat Ethics of Hardin and the movie 2012 both describes to us that in the real world, whether we like it or not, the rich would have the privileges and the poor would have no choice but to try their best to survive. While the lower class people fights for survival, the upper class people enjoys the luxury of life. The Lifeboat Ethics is similar those rich nations who are hesitant in helping the Third World countries.
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