Comments From Prof. Randy David

I want to share this!

Change
By Randy David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:06:00 08/22/2009

Filed Under: Government, Social Issues, Inquirer Politics

There’s a popular French saying, “plus ça change, plus c’est pareil.” It means, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” This ironic observation is a testimony to the enduring nature of structures. Events in everyday life may suggest unending flux, but the fluidity can be superficial, masking the unshakable character of an underlying order. This realization however only comes with the passage of time. We can be so caught up in the drama of single events that we don’t notice the basic continuity of things.

There have been many milestones in our nation’s life. We fell under foreign rule at various times. The arrival of each new set of tyrants, wrote the nationalist historian Renato Constantino, was heralded as a moment of liberation. For many Filipinos, 1946—the year we got our formal independence from the Americans—was supposed to be a real watershed, the start of our life as a sovereign nation. But, except for the changes in fortune of the small Filipino elite that took over the reins of government, and the rise of a tiny middle class, the old order was untouched. The landscape of social inequality and mass poverty was largely preserved.

This unchanged terrain has been our most enduring legacy. Over the years following independence, it has bred its own feudal bosses and followers, its own shallow economy and hybrid consciousness. To this day, it is protected against explosive change by a thick undergrowth that keeps it securely fastened to the motherboard of its former colonial master, the United States of America. It is this entire social order that has kept us from becoming a modern, democratic and prosperous society.

Every election year, we look for new faces that can personify our people’s yearning for meaningful change. This fixation with personalities grossly exaggerates the role that individuals play in the reconstruction of society. It devalues the need for policy changes that can create the conditions for long-term shifts in the social order.

One only needs to take a look at the societies that are today being hailed as dynamic and successful in order to understand what social change entails. They share a couple of things in common. 1. Education is compulsory for everyone, rather than a function of wealth, social status, or gender. 2. The rule of law rises above the claims of wealth, power, or status, assuring justice to everyone who comes before the courts. 3. Politics is insulated from wealth, religion, and family, thus ensuring equal access to public positions. 4. Religion is a matter of individual choice. 5. The economy offers everyone open access to markets and occupations. Here, at once, we may see the principal obstacles that have constrained the full development of the Philippines into a modern society.

Access to lifelong learning and knowledge has been blocked for many of our people. This is evident not only in the way in which the State has delegated an increasing portion of the educational function to the private sector, but also in the various ways in which the government taxes the acquisition of knowledge. Every aspiring developing nation has made massive investment in basic and advanced education the spear point of its quest for modernity, except the Philippines.

Justice through the legal system has remained as elusive for the vast majority of our people as the satisfaction of their basic material needs. The corruption of our courts, the police, and the entire justice system is legendary. With no money or political connection, the poor are forced to seek justice elsewhere. The persistence of various insurgencies mirrors the failed character of our legal system.

Politics in our country is so tied up to networks and layers of patronage that our electoral campaigns are among the most expensive in the world. Instead of political parties, the prime movers of our political life are the political clans. The interests of the latter are intertwined with the business groups that control the economy. Our politicians pursue political power not to realize their vision for the nation but to protect and strengthen the position of the economic blocs that fund their political ambitions. This has resulted in the conversion of nearly every agency of the State into a tool of the ruling political-economic faction.

Thank God we are not a theocracy and the freedom to choose our religion is a reality and not just a promise. But something has to be said about the extraordinary influence that the Catholic Church still wields in the conduct of government. While we cannot fault the Church for speaking up on public issues in which it feels moral values are threatened, we expect government to be autonomous in its decision-making. Indeed, the fusion of State and ecclesiastical authority remains a problematic feature of our national order.

Finally, the economy—while it is nominally open in the sense that no one who has the means and qualification is barred from acquiring any property or entering any occupation—remains fundamentally restricted because of the highly unequal distribution of opportunity. The tight control that a few families maintain over the nation’s wealth impedes entrepreneurial growth. The money in the hands of the many is so small it casts them in the role of consumers, never as investors.

Only when we’ve seen radical changes in education, the justice system, the economy, politics and religion, can we truthfully say that things are no longer the same.

* * *

Comments to public.lives@ gmail.com

Choice of Leader

In our choice of a new leader, we must look for integrity of character. With integrity, we can expect justice, truth, fairness, equity, and compassion, attributes manifested by Cory Aquino.

This new leader must set himself as an example in order to inculcate to the people in all walks of life and sectors, integrity. This objective is critical to all government institutions like Comelec, the Ombudsman, the courts, etc. to be manned by people of integrity.

On Justice by J. L. Wells

Plato discusses in his longest dialogue, that a true leader or lawgiver must be a moral exemplar. The Greek argued that if the person or people with the most power in a state are not morally upstanding then those below them would imitate the immoral behavior of those above them. Thus the state would fall into injustice and collapse. Ghandi, like Martin Luther King Jr. and others throughout history, was a moral exemplar to his people.

If a law in particular, are found to include some citizens but not others it cannot rationally be held to be just. It gives more to some then to others and is therefore a special interest which doesn’t have the good of all the state included within it.

What do these views, ancient and modern, mean to those of us alive today. It must mean that we as a people must demand more ethical and moderate behavior not only of our leaders but of ourselves. Because we are attempting an individualistic society we must not let our freedom be unchecked, we must control ourselves in order to live in balance with the six billion other people we share our world with. It is obvious to many Americans that our leaders, on both sides of the aisle, are not citizens but party-men. Our republic has turned into an oligarchy of the corporate elite and the only way we can take it back is for us as a people to become upright enough to demand in a true manner, i.e. not hypocritical, that our leaders be as virtuous as we are and to do what is best for the entirety of our state. This action encapsulates the ideals that Plato expresses in his dialogue.

Online Discourse in the Arab World: Dispelling the Myths | United States Institute of Peace

Online Discourse in the Arab World: Dispelling the Myths | United States Institute of Peace

Posted using ShareThis

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions:

Why is there so much fighting within the Muslim world?
Globalization has squeezed together people of different cultures tighter than ever before increasing tension between geographically adjacent groups. As the level of violent conflict has increased many political groups have misappropriated religious themes to justify the killing of their neighbors. Thus while the fighting may externally appear to be religiously driven the true underlying cause is often economic.

Does the Koran tell Muslims to kills Jews & Christians?
The Koran is very clear is stating that the Muslim religion is continuation of the Jewish and Christian faiths. A Muslim holds Torah and Gospels as revelations given to Jewish and Christians. A Muslim is not a Muslim if he does not believe in Torah, Gospels, Psalms and The Quran. He also believes in spiritual teachings from all the Holy Scriptures.

Unfortunately terrorist and hate groups interpret the scriptures in a very narrow minded way. They often brand Jews and Christians as infidels (i.e. non-believers) even though there is no scriptural basis, to justify killing innocent people. The Quran calls them, "People of The Book" and calls Christians and Jews people with faith just as Muslims. All religions have extremist element and Muslims are not immune to extremism too. But this is not the way the majority of Muslim community thinks or behaves.

SWS: Half of Filipinos families say they're poor

SWS: Half of Filipino families say they're poor

ABS-CBN - Wednesday, August 5

• Send
• IM Story
• Print

SWS: Half of Filipino families say they're poor

MANILA - Half of Filipino families in the country believe they are poor while another 27 percent put themselves on the borderline, a new survey by research firm Social Weather Stations said Tuesday. The June 19-22 survey showed that an estimated 9.3 million Filipino families believe they are poor, compared to the 8.7 million recorded in February 2009. Self-rated poverty rose by 17 points in Mindanao from 45 percent in February to 62 percent in June. It also rose by two points in Balance Luzon from 42 percent to 44 percent. It dropped by seven points in Metro Manila and four points in the Visayas. It rose slightly from 43 percent to 44 percent in urban areas and from 53 percent to 58 percent in rural areas. SWS said the Self-Rated Poverty Threshold, or the monthly budget that poor households need in order not to consider themselves poor in general, remained sluggish for several years despite considerable inflation. "This indicates that poor families have been lowering their living standards, i.e., belt-tightening," it said. As of June 2009, the median poverty threshold for poor households in Metro Manila stayed at P10,000, even though it had already reached as much as P15,000 several times in the past. "The National Capital Region median poverty threshold of P10,000 per month for June 2009 is equivalent to only P6,378 in base year 2000 purchasing power, after deflation by the CPI. The deflated poverty threshold for NCR of below P7,000 per month is a throw-back to living standards of over twenty years ago," SWS said. For those in Mindanao, the median poverty threshold stayed at P5,000, though it had already been at P10,000 before. The median poverty thresholds of poor households rose slightly to P8,000 in the Visayas, while it fell to P6,000 in Balance Luzon. In both areas, however, median poverty thresholds had already reached P10,000 in the past. Self-rated food poverty up The Second Quarter 2009 Social Weather Survey also found that 7.2 million families considered themselves as Food-Poor, 33 percent put themselves on the food-borderline while 28 percent consider themselves as not food-poor. SWS said the one-quarter rise in Self-Rated Food Poverty is also sharpest in Mindanao. It rose by 11 points, from 36 percent in February to 47 percent in June. The median food-poverty thresholds for poor households rose slightly to P5,000 in Metro Manila, while it stayed at 3,000 in Balance Luzon and Mindanao, and at P4,000 in the Visayas. These levels had already been reached several years ago. The Second Quarter of 2009 Social Weather Survey was conducted over June 19-22, 2009 using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults divided into random samples of 300 each in Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao, and 600 in the Balance of Luzon.

3 users recommend

• Send
• IM Story
• 
  

My Farewell Tita Cory

Tita Cory life is always end from this world no one can escape. As mother & President of the Republic, you are the lucky one belongs to the most admired public figure in the history of the Nation. You left us a kind of leadership that no one can compare & surpass the way you lead us. You almost succeed to unify the nation through non-violence politic base on freedom, social justice, truth, love, equality & democracy.a moment ago clear

Truthfulness & Love for All...

Tita Cory disappear forever from public figure, but her memories is live-on for those who internalize freedom & democracy. 100Thousands of followers around Metropolis troops to the streets just paid last respect to her reposed & millions watches over national television believe in her lessons and legacy of non-violence politic. Her secret is love & truthfulness to all of us, as a mother & President of the Republic.a moment ago clear

Moral Ascendancy

I think moral ascendancy & untainted name of public service left by Tita Cory to all of us as Filipinos, anyway she left us, but her good deed touching our inner core of every heart is never fade-away to millions of her followers. Freedom & democracy she taught us will always be guiding principles in running our government. Our politics should be based on the rule of law and sacred Constitution of the Republic.a moment ago clear

Memory from Former President Corazon C. Aquino

The memory of the late President Corazon "Cory" C. Aquino is a unifier leader for Filipinos when she assume Presidency in 1986. Her courage & firm stance to depend freedom and democracy is solitude legacy learned from the former President. Her moral & ethical values of leadership we should copied from Tita Cory. During her term as President, Filipinos around the globe gained respect by International community.a moment ago clear

Cyperspace e-Ummah

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Faith reunited: How cyberspace is dissolving barriers to a Muslim nation

Muslims must give thanks to the internet, because it is cyberspace that has allowed the ummah to finally come of age.

The Muslim nation, ummah, described in the Quran as a fundamental part of the Islamic faith, aims to be a global, borderless community that feels the sufferings and joys of its members no matter where they are. The internet has dissolved the barriers of time, distance, culture and ethnicity and has finally made available with immediacy the spiritual love and social consciousness that underpin the notion of ummah.

No longer are Muslims located in unreachable territories and lands, but rather the e-ummah is at the tips of your fingers. You can access instant news coverage from across the Muslim world and diaspora, often picking up stories that are not carried in mainstream publications.

During the invasion of Iraq, it was the voices of online citizen journalists that let us hear the authentic words of those under siege. The recent elections in Iran and subsequent turmoil were punctuated by the fact that young activists were trying – despite the government’s best efforts – to get their stories out via Facebook and Twitter. In December of last year during the bombing of Gaza, Al Jazeera experimented with combining the stories that their reporters in the Gaza Strip were filing along with their GPS co-ordinates in order to create an online map of the war zone.

For those with spiritual, religious or artistic interests, they can watch videos, lectures and new Islamic music and rap on YouTube, reflecting the growing globalised nature of Islamic content, products and services. Religious scholars, too, are accessible by e-mail, and if you need an Islamic edict on any subject from an imam of any school of thought, it just takes a couple of clicks to gain a fatwa.

The search for love is always looking for new methods to help the lonely, and online matchmaking and matrimonial services have been extraordinarily popular, with thousands of profiles posted by love-hungry Muslims, or worry-laden parents, in the pursuit of a happy marriage. Young people are no longer willing to meet their spouse-to-be on the wedding night, but instead want to find someone who shares their views without having to engage in “western-style” dating. The internet seems perfect – access to countless prospects, within the framework of a formalised marriage search.

As for those who want to know more about the world around them, no longer do they have to wait for the epic travelogues of the likes of Ibn Battuta; instead, you can get to know those who share your interests and faith on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. No longer is your circle of friends bound by your location – a real trial for those brought up in faraway small towns with few or no other Muslims.

You can read blogs with news, opinion and sometimes information that has been previously restricted to you from anywhere in the world – Canada, France, China, Russia, Indonesia, Ghana, South Africa, Mexico – as though you were talking to a fellow Muslim who lives next door.

This is a particularly important step forward for Muslims along with other minorities who feel excluded from the mainstream press in western countries. Breaking into the media is tough anyway, and promoting an alternative view harder still. Joining the e-ummah is at last a way for them to be heard on their own terms.

In majority Muslim countries it has been even more critical, slowly chipping away at tight controls over the media. How will governments cope? It will be interesting to see the impact of increased political knowledge and awareness in countries where an official line is often the only information available.

Governments in general have been slow to talk to their populations in cyberspace, but this is more so in Muslim countries. In an Economist Intelligence Unit survey of e-readiness among 70 countries, the UAE was the highest ranked among Muslim-majority countries, coming in 34th, with Malaysia at 38 and Turkey at 43. This should come as no surprise given the significant focus in the Emirates on the internet, as well as developments in new media laws.

Nonetheless, not enough attention has been paid to the massive social change that the internet and the related groundswell of opinion and energy that the e-ummah is creating. The internet has too often been seen either to be peripheral, or so subversive that it must be stifled and its proponents dealt with heavy-handedly. What leaders need to do is realise that the mobilising cross-boundary power of the internet is unstoppable and use it instead as a force for dialogue and reform.

This democratisation of the news, participation and influence has brought positive benefits to those who have been traditionally excluded from the spheres of religion and politics. In both the corridors of power as well as in mosques, it is women and youth who have been denied access. But within the broad, welcoming e-ummah they have found a place for expression and belonging. There is the opportunity to ask questions, challenge social mores and explore ideas without the fear of being judged.

There are pitfalls to this flat structure – how do cybercitizens recognise true expertise and credibility if they are looking for direction and truth? And those who are ordinarily vulnerable can become even more so. The e-ummah – much as it is distasteful to admit – is also full of charlatans and misanthropes. The anonymity which is the hallmark of the internet offers many the room to explore ideas and learn about themselves, but it is sadly exploited by others to hurl abuse and foul language. The codes of conduct we observe in ordinary life are crushed in a stampede to be as obnoxious and offensive as possible and to stir up racial and religious hatred on the most spurious grounds.

People forget that in fact the e-ummah doesn’t really exist, and that for those who take their religion seriously, it is critical to engage in the physical rituals and human interactions that are the foundations of Islamic activities. Without the internet, it is true that many people would be isolated from any community with whom they feel a sense of spiritual belonging. However, the physical presence required in congregational prayers, at the Haj and in other social activities is for a reason. The internet should not be allowed to make people too lazy to go out and interact with other human beings.

This nascent nation is a community of purpose, brought together by its interests and principles, eschewing the constraints of geographic boundaries in favour of a shared world view called Islam. Traditional scholars in early Islamic history divided the world into Dar al Islam and Dar al Harb, an easy split to make in a world where Muslims were connected by where they lived, even though they exhibited great variation in culture.

Today, scholars, academics and experts on all sides of the political divide busily occupy themselves with the debate over whether these divisions are still relevant and how these notions affect mindsets, politics and even wars. Those distinctions are irrelevant today, for it is in fact Dar al Internet that will be at the vanguard of creating social, spiritual, religious and political change in the Muslim world.

Shelina Zahra Janmohamed is a British commentator on Islam and author of Love in a Headscarf, a new memoir of growing up as a Muslim woman

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

The Mother of Democracy Passes-Away

The good name of the mother of Philippines democracy is passes-away former President Corazon"Cory" C. Aquino. Still fresh in my memory "The EDSA People Power" Residents around Metropolitan areas concerned on freedom and democracy are presents in that historic event. I personally witness the political event when I was a resident of Metropolitan Manila at that time of people upheaval. I was in EDSA during the stand-off to participate in voluntary act risking my life against former strongman President Ferdinand Marcos.

The name of President Corazon C. Aquino has placed in history belongs to the list of non-violence leaders. Present and future student of politic will sure remember her and admire by many who loves freedom and democracy. The darkness of the past regime should not be repeated and attempted by an illutionist group of power players.

Pouring of condolence and sympathy around the globe it signifies of good memory of her past as a good President of the Republic.

Adios Tita Cory,

Abduljaman Damahan