[The following is the full text of one of my earlier debates on RH Bill posted in the Harapan Page in Face Book. I tried to find the link but it seems like the page no longer exists. Fortunately, I managed to save the text. Enjoy!!]
"Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's and unto
God the things which be God's." (Luke 20:25)
Then God
will be rendered nothing :)
11:36 PM ng
Huwebes · Gustuhin
A
growing population is a king’s glory; a dwindling nation is his doom. [Proverbs14:28]
11:36 PM ng Huwebes · Gustuhin
Yes it
would be a king's doom, but luckily we have grown past the age of kings, where
politics was nil, and might was right.
Kahapon sa
ganap na 12:07 AM · Gustuhin
Kings, presidents, etc. these are just titles of rulers.
Noon, hari. Ngayon, presidente. The point is, a growing population gives glory.
While a dwindling nation causes doom.
Kahapon sa ganap na 12:21 AM · Gustuhin
Not when
resources are too scarce to support the population. The key to a successful
kingdom is balance, as I have said before, humans are programmable.
Kahapon sa
ganap na 12:38 AM · Gustuhin
I don't buy the idea that the resources are scarce. We
have enough for the need of everyone. The problem is in distribution of
resources and the greed of those in power. Gandhi said it best: "There is
enough for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed." If a person gets
far more than he needs, he is in effect robbing his neighbors. The solution is
to remove greed thru values formation and fix the unjust distribution of
resources thru implementation of just economic policies. Even if you managed to
reduce our current population of 90million by half, there is no guarantee that
there will be no poverty. As long as greedy people are in power and unfair
economic policies are in effect, there will always be poor people in our
country.
Tut tut,
you are thinking within your lifetime. Do you seriously think that the
Philippines would have enough resources to last for, say, 300 years. The fact
is, that 90 million of yours isn't a static number, without family planning,
condoms and such it'd be a burden that increases in weight and rate expansion
with each generation.If you don't trust the government then at least trust the
scientists who come up with these statistics.
Kahapon sa
ganap na 1:26 AM · Gustuhin
I'll
visualize it for you, if for example you where carrying a basin that can carry
a finite volume of sand, and if for example I one day decided that I'd drop a
grain of sand into the basin, the look of grief on your face brought so much
pleasure to me that I then decided that for every grain of sand in the basin
I'd drop two once a year for an infinite amount of years. But, if so ever that
you let go of the basin or if the basin fills and the sand spills on to the
floor, I'll kill you then and there.
Now substitute you for the Philippines, the sand for the human population, the
basin for the volume of inhabitable land, and your all set.
Kahapon sa
ganap na 1:38 AM · Gustuhin
Teaching people not to become greedy and implementing
just economic policies are sustainable solutions to our growing problems. When
I say sustainable, they are not just applicable for today. They can be done for
years to come. Actually, they will be "must" in the future. So you
are clearly mistaken accusing me of thinking only about this lifetime. Just
like what I said earlier, even if you managed to cut down our population of
90million by half, there is no guarantee that there will be no poverty. As long
as you turn a blind eye to ongoing unfair economic policies and we keep
electing corrupt leaders, there will always be poor people in the philippines.
Also, 90million filipinos are not a burden if and only if, instead of minding
their own betterment alone, they start sharing and caring with one another.
That's the values formation that I'm talking about that this country badly
needs if it wants to move forward. What can condoms, pills, and IUD do to poor
people? Can it cure hunger? Man can live without sex but not without food. The
problem is economic. So the solution should be economic as well. But there is
no economic development without values transformation first. That's why I
proposed the two solutions earlier.
Kahapon sa ganap na 1:59 AM · Gustuhin · 1 tao
Let me elucidate my point further. if we managed to
transform the values of the people and we implement just economic policies
[policies provide opportunities for all while striking critical balance between
socio economic development and environmental protection], Philippines will
still have resources to support its population for the next 300 years and
further. There seems to be scarcity issues right now because of rampant greed
of many people in power and ongoing unjust economic policies that enrich the
few at a greater environmental cost. Remove this two and you have no problem.
Condoms, pills, and IUD are not the solutions.
Kahapon sa ganap na 2:13 AM · Gustuhin
The problem with your example is that population is
vulnerable to other external factors like diseases, calamities, and culture as
compared to the grains of sand that are assumed to continue flowing to the
basin eternally undisturbed. Since population is vulnerable to other factors,
there can be periods of time wherein in population will not grow as one expects
it to be. You are assuming that the growth rate will be constant forever. That
is wrong. Growth rate varies from year to year, decade to decade, etc. Your
example is flawed.
Kahapon sa ganap na 2:28 AM · Gustuhin
Man cannot
live without sex, it's as natural and instinctive as taking a dump. And as I
have said in a post before, corruption is an essential part in a democracy,
that is it's Achilles' heel as well as it's greatest asset. I might have said
in an earlier post that humans are programmable but they're not that
programmable. Teaching humans to not be greedy and to override their
programming to 'vote for whoever their family and friends are voting' and 'vote
for who ever looks the best in their infomercials' would take too much effort
and would span a generation or two(so you may be right when you said that your
not just thinking withing your lifetime). Besides, greed is an essential part
of success. I mean Bill Gates is greedy, and so are most of th most influential
people of this time. And lastly,please define "economic" we might
have differing definitions.
Kahapon sa
ganap na 2:43 AM · Gustuhin
And so, to
summarize my incredibly long post: yours is just a pipe dream. Just economic
policies would be difficult to implement because we have differing definitions
of what is just, all human's do, unless it's a borrowed ideal of course. I'll
end this with a quote that I'll hope you'll understand the meaning of. Who will
watch the watchmen?(I know it doesn't refer directly to what we're talking
about but just apply it in a different manner, k?)
Kahapon sa
ganap na 2:49 AM · Gustuhin
Of course not. Man can live without sex, don’t you know
that? If you can't live without sex, well, not all men are like you. Comparing
sex with taking a dump is downright pathetic. Man will die if he fails to
defecate for 1 month, but I assure you that taking out sex from your lifestyle
for a month will not kill you. Also, I don't buy the idea that corruption is part
of democracy. Corruption is illegal in a democratic country. If you doubt this,
I dare you to embezzle public funds in the open, let’s see if the government
will give you honors instead. If for you, corruption is a norm, then you have a
problem: you are part of the existing problem. So why blame the unborn for the
problems of which you are a part of?
Also, what is wrong in teaching people not to become greedy? At least it is
better than teaching people to tolerate and participate in corrupt practices and
similar acts. If it takes a lifetime teaching people not to become greedy and
on how to elect right leaders, so what? The benefits of these are enormous and
unprecedented so all trouble of doing it will surely be worth it. Doing this is
the least that we can do in making this world a better place to live in for the
next generation.
Actually, it is you who is the one thinking only within your lifetime. You are
asking for instant solutions to deeply-seated and complex problems that even
your IUDs, condoms and pills can’t even give. You ignored the fact that the
problems we have right now didn’t occur overnight. They are products of years
and generations of indifference and selfishness. We are just reaping what we
sown. Understandably, the process of satisfaction or reparation requires the
same amount of time. You have not proven that values transformation and
implementing just economic policies are not solutions to our problems. The
bible however, is very clear:
“ANG MATUWID NA PAMUMUHAY NG MGA
MAMAMAYAN AY MAGPAPADAKILA NG KANILANG BAYAN NGUNIT ANG PAMUMUHAY NA
MAKASALANAN, SA BAYAN AY MAGDUDULOT NG KAHIHIYAN”. [Kawikaan 14:34]
It’s righteousness that will propel our country to progress. Not greediness
which is a sin.
Regarding your statement that greed is an essential part of success, FYI, not
all successful people are greedy. Your fallacious statement is an insult to
every successful people. Working for gain is not greediness, particularly if
you do it to contribute not only for your own welfare but also to the society
as a whole. The “success” you are referring is individualistic in nature, not
holistic in the context of a community or nation. So your assumption is flawed.
Actually, that is one of the many reasons why this country of ours is poor. We have
handful of rich men who are so greedy to share their bounty to the poor &
since greed knows no boundaries, these greedy men continue to enrich themselves
by abusing the national patrimony while leaving the rest of the Filipinos poor
and suffering from negative externalities of their businesses.
The point is, greedy people will not make a prosperous nation because they will
be busy biting and consuming each other. The bible warns that such degree of
greed results to annihilation:
Nguni't kung kayo-kayo rin ang
nangagkakagatan at nangagsasakmalan, magsipagingat kayo na baka kayo'y
mangaglipulan sa isa't isa. [Gal5:15]
You have asked me to define the term “economic” and yet fail to show your card?
I will not succumb to your requirement because I think it is just a desperate
effort to divert the issue. Prove to me first that values transformation and
implementing just economic policies are not solutions to our problems right now
but condom, IUD, and pills.
Kahapon sa ganap na 9:40 PM · Gustuhin
Values transformation and implementing just economic
policies are not pipe dreams. To say so will mean that man is inherently
corrupt, greedy, irredeemable, and hopeless. If man is irredeemable and
hopeless, why all the trouble to pass RH Bill? Why offer RH Bill as a solution?
It will be useless anyway since man is already doomed from the start. It will
not make any difference.
As to your opinion, we don’t have to spend all our time debating on what is the
right and proper meaning of the term JUST in order to implement just economic
policies. So long as the policy provides opportunity to those who are willing
to work, providing incentives commensurate to the amount and quality of effort
done, without jeopardizing the integrity of local environment to continually
sustain the needs of the society and without undermining the inherent rights of
the people, it is just. Other countries were able to implement just economic
policies, why can’t we?
Kahapon sa ganap na 10:00 PM · Gustuhin
DOOM it...
let it DOOM itself..
Kahapon sa
ganap na 11:11 PM · Gustuhin
10 oras na ang nakalipas · Gustuhin
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