Four Steps....Five Steps... Which is Forward... Backward?

How far have we gone? We are familiar with the old adage "The only thing constant is change." Definitely, change or development is inevitable, but is there a way we can save the good ones?

Community to Individualism. What a beautiful scenario to behold communities helping one another. There is always a place to be alone, but are people becoming so individualistic that they do not even care who their neighbors are anymore? Worse is that it is dangerous to be too trustful if you are in Manila or in a city. I was once in one of the villages I would go and visit from time to time. I was carrying some stuff while hiking when a bunch of mostly young people about to pass by me asked, "Can we carry some of your load?" (This has been a practice since way back when I was younger). I think it was not easy for me to say yes until my mind told me that I am in the village. I felt so light. I picked up my stuff in the house where they left it since they were going in another direction. I did not know who they were, but nothing was missing from my belongings.

Simplicity to Materialism. I have wished that everyone were rich, but I think it does not resolve the problem of poverty. Probably there would be more trouble:-). I have wished that my village had maintained their simple lifestyle where people had more time to talk to each other rather than spending hours watching movies (and I watch a lot, too, and my wife doesn't like it so I'm trying to discipline myself:-)), and neglecting the time they used to spend with others in the church. Worse, the level of morality decreased and people were no longer innocent about sin. One of the missionaries commented that she wished the people in the mountain had not gone down and been influenced by the technology and morality of the outside world.

Patriotism(on a smaller scale) to Lethargy. I would like to speak according to my own observation in my own tribe. There are a number of people in my tribe who seem to have gone far enough up the ladder of success that they tend to forget where they are originally from. When they mix with the low landers, whether they are aware of it or not, they begin to talk to their growing children either English or a language other than their mother tongue. I am not saying that learning other languages is wrong or I would not be maintaining a blog site. I think I still have to learn my language a lot more than I know now.

I was watching two "katutubo" (tribal people) as they call themselves being interviewed on the television when my wife came near and saw and was quite surprised to see these two guys in their 40's "in their underwear." It was in Tagalog, so I explained that it was their way of conveying their strong belief that they are who they are as "katutubo." They want to be respected for their identity and not become what they are not.

The night before that, I watched the documentary presented on CNN by Christiana Amanpour about the Jews. This Jew went overseas after a tragedy, thinking that he would be at peace and have, as he described it, "normal life." However, as reported, he still feels incomplete after years of being away from Israel where his ancestors are from.

Cultural Sensitivity to Apathy. The richness of Filipino culture in general is waning. Gone are the days of Maria Clara where fashion now becomes an excuse to use a piece of cloth that almost expose the soul of the one using it. Gone are the days where the elderly are respected so much that the younger ones would offer their seat. Gone are the days where women or ladies are offered a seat by gentlemen; now some women would decline an offer from a man because she sees it rather as a gender bias issue than a complement. Is this how the mindset of people are corrupted now too?

Thanks be to God there are still some, though. We were riding in the MRT when from among the many guys, a man in his 20's offered a seat to a pregnant lady. I was quite far:). Before I got off the MRT, I came closer, tap the guy's shoulder and sad, "You did a good job!" He smiled.

Truth vs Euphemism. How is sin different from inappropriate relationship as Clinton confessed years ago. C S Lewis, a well known writer, philosopher and apologetics shares a situation he witnessed in one of his books. A young boy rebuked his teacher who keeps saying that the behavior of the other boy was inappropriate. With disgust, the young boy then strongly said, "Can't you say it is wrong!" C S Lewis said, from where he was, he almost cheered and clapped for the young boy.

What about faith vs positive thinking....God in place of "taas", heaven.... prayer in place of keeping the fingers crossed (what about the ones without arms:)).... bribery as gift like the one that came out of the news recently...... Aren't are these different words aside from their spelling?:) I know you can name more... more....

How much have we progressed technologically, but left our cultural heritage to deteriorate.... rich outwardly but spiritually and morally empty? Can we move backward yet lean forward? Should we say it okay in the name of development?