Shall we dance?

But what dance? Consider the conversations we are engaged in courtesy of media, i.e., here are recent articles and news items: (1) Corruption, illegal drugs unabated? Something must be wrong somewhere – Lacson; (2) Complete picture re infra spending will show poverty decline; (3) How to help our farmers; (4) A call for a professionalized bureaucracy; (5) Revision of Build, Build, Build plan makes it more realistic and achievable; (6) Why not forestry?; (7) Foundation for Economic Freedom and economic policy reform; (8) The future of People Power; (9) Keeping our people home; (10) How do we compare?

Where do we begin given the slew of challenges? For example, corruption and illegal drugs were to go away sooner than later, and why we elected Du30.

Where is the disconnect? Edsa is a microcosm. We are looking for quick fixes. We expect a president, for example, whose term is six years to deliver on such promises as solving Edsa and, more dramatically, eradicate corruption and illegal drugs.

What happened to cause and effect? We can take all the aspirin we want, but what ails us is beyond aspirin therapy. Recall Marcos promised a New Society.

Let’s imagine the Universe as an ecosystem that was preceded by the Big Bang and is over 13 billion years old, while the Earth is over 4.5 billion.

If we want to be critical of the West because of their supposed desire for instant gratification, are we any better? Consider: We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism, rely on political patronage and oligarchy, that at the end of the day, ours is a culture of impunity. See above re corruption and illegal drugs.

Creation is not static, as scientists will tell us. We have what they call a runaway universe, given that the galaxies are moving farther and farther away. Moreover, we don’t know billions of them. In other words, to be parochial and insular go against the very nature of our reality. If we can’t internalize that, our downward spiral can only get worse – as in the extinction postulated by Darwin.

The writer is in Eastern Europe as he writes. No different from China or Vietnam, these people lived through the communist rule. Yet, they didn’t just look for quick fixes. [See above for aspirin therapy.]

Even in the private sector, such quick fixes aren’t the rule. The blog often references the writer’s presence in Eastern Europe as a development worker: To assist a once micro-enterprise and be able to compete against Western global behemoths as their country prepared for accession into the EU.

Here’s a glimpse of the milestones they went through over the last 16 years: (1) They were an 8-year old losing proposition; (2) Three years later and ever since have become a profitable enterprise; (3) After another five years, they were among the fastest growing and best companies in the EU; (4) Today, their eyes are on the Forbes list.

What’s the magic, if there is one? Assembling and pulling together the elements of an ecosystem, not indulging in quick fixes.

Sadly, “Pinoy abilidad” rules us. We need quick fixes otherwise we perish, which is what we’ve been saying for decades. What happened to reality? If it took seven days for the story of creation, it takes a timeline to assemble and pull together the elements of an ecosystem – as in the story of China’s rapid economic development or Vietnam becoming the regional – if not yet the world’s – manufacturing center for the electronics industry.

“The country has lagged far behind other countries in economic accomplishments when, at the beginning, in the early postwar period, it was poised to become one of the earlier successes. Protectionist policies that lasted almost forever encouraged a different kind of experience. 

“Nationalist protection was the mantra of economic policy-vetting. The political Constitution was mostly interpreted in very restrictive terms when related to the idea of opening the economy to foreign investments or foreign competition.

“Those who wrote publicly about economic policies often understood little about economics. Persons writing and speaking freely on economic issues were common. Often these writers were writing aggressively on economic issues because they were putting forward issues for special interests." ["Foundation for Economic Freedom and economic policy reform,” Gerardo P. Sicat, CROSSROADS TOWARD PHILIPPINE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PROGRESS, The Philippine Star, 30th Oct 2019]

Question: How do we free ourselves from special interests?

The bottom line: We are not equipped to deal with our challenges because we are not grounded, i.e., we are disconnected from reality. For example, China and Vietnam, to name just two of our neighbors, were plagued with poverty too.

In other words, our poverty comes from – and is the effect of – our state of denial and subservience to vested interests, aka political patronage and oligarchy. 

Gising bayan!

“Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? Moreover, that they will be such is not to be doubted, for he who submits to tyranny loves it.” [We are ruled by Rizal’s ‘tyrants of tomorrow,’ Editorial, The Manila Times, 29th Dec 2015]

“Now I know why Paul dared to speak of ‘the curse of the law’ (Galatians 3:13). Law reigns and discernment is unnecessary, which means there is little growth or change in such people. When you do not grow, you remain an infant.” [Faith and Science, Open to Change, Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, 23rd Oct 2017]

“As a major component for the education and reorientation of our people, mainstream media – their reporters, writers, photographers, columnists, and editors – have an obligation to this country . . .” [Era of documented irrelevance: Mainstream media, critics and protesters, Homobono A. Adaza, The Manila Times, 25th Nov 2015]

“National prosperity is created, not inherited. It does not grow out of a country's natural endowments, its labor pool, its interest rates, or its currency’s value, as classical economics insists. [A] nation’s competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade.” [The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review, March–April 1990]

“You have to have a dream, whether big or small. Then plan, focus, work hard, and be very determined to achieve your goals.” [Henry Sy Sr., Chairman Emeritus and Founder, SM Group (1924 - 2019)]

“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” [William Pollard, 1911-1989, physicist-priest, Manhattan Project]

“Development [is informed by a people’s] worldview, cognitive capacity, values, moral development, self-identity, spirituality, and leadership . . .” [Frederic Laloux, Reinventing organizations, Nelson Parker, 2014]