Are we digging our own grave?

Is our caste system irreversible?

With due respect to our economic managers and legislators, and economists, how do we open our eyes and cease perpetuating an oligarchic nation?

In other words, everything that we do, including what media is playing up, is geared to fortify our caste system. There is another name for it, mainstream economy. This economy is for us in the Philippine elite, and that’s why we’re proud of the dollar billionaires we created – and prouder still that our economy is enviable.

In the meantime, over 10 million OFWs are our sacrificial lambs toiling to bring us our much-needed remittances. And together with those manning call-centers 24/7, they form the two pillars of our economy.

More evidence? We borrow tons of money for the 4Ps and still have the region’s worst poverty rate and GINI coefficient index.

Can our educational system come to the rescue – or is it near a “rescue” itself?

Let’s not be defensive; even in the West, they face challenges.

This universe is not at a standstill for humankind to be sitting on its laurels. It is its character: dynamism and interdependence — and yet it is why and how living things thrive.

Sadly, we Filipinos chose to go against its nature that we nourish and perpetuate our caste system.

And as the blog has argued, it reveals our instincts: We are parochial and insular. We value hierarchy and paternalism and rely on political patronage and oligarchy that ours is a culture of impunity.

The consequence? We are oblivious to the world. The world has left us way behind that Juan de la Cruz is yet to pay a steeper price.

The blog all along has wondered why and how we never grasped that our neighbors left us behind.

“Beg for Western money and technology.” That was their mantra.

Aren’t we learned and can build a nation from the ground?

“John Woolman, an eighteenth-century American Quaker, had a successful retail business but gave it up because he felt it kept him from clearly seeing something that disturbed him: slavery. He came to see how money stood in the way of a clear perception of injustice: people who had a lot of property and land needed slaves to maintain them (or so these folks reasoned). He saw the same problem with his reasoning. Whenever he looked at injustice in the world, he always saw it through his eye, his situation and benefit.” [Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, Center for Action and Contemplation, 24th Sep 2021]

Let’s move quickly up to the 21st century: “The Illinois representative thought the GOP was an abundance of democracy-loving internationalists. Now he sees the party as a corrupt shell of itself.

“Political courage is a fascinating phenomenon, particularly at moments when it is largely absent. That is why I'm so interested in the imperiled career of Representative Adam Kinzinger, the Illinois Republican. He has described Donald Trump’s demagogy for what it is—a danger to the republic. And he has the spine to excoriate members of his party for succumbing to Trump’s imbecilic authoritarianism.

“Dissent can often lead to social and political death (and sometimes, physical ‘death’), and, as we’ve learned in the months following the insurrection of 6th Jan, most Republicans would sooner cast people like Kinzinger into the wilderness than risk ostracism.

‘I don’t have a tribe,’ Kinzinger told me when we spoke earlier this month. ‘The good thing is, I don’t care. The only reason this hurts me is that it reminds me of how frigging crazy the Republican Party has become, and it’s not my tribe anymore.’

“I asked Kinzinger if he thought he had been naive about the people who now lead the party. ‘You know, you always think that everyone has a red line. No matter how much politics a person can play, there’s a red line that people can’t cross. I was naive. Some people only care about access to power. I’m still coming to terms with this.’

“Kinzinger, along with another apostate, Liz Cheney, serves on the House committee investigating the events of 6th Jan. His decision to join this Democratic-led committee caused some of his Republican colleagues to worry (or publicly worry) that he had become a spy in their midst.

“The story of the Republican Party’s descent into ‘Trumpist’ authoritarianism is one The Atlantic must tell. And our writers have been telling it well, with moral urgency and a commitment to the notion that reality is describable and provable, for more than five years. That is a delicate assignment for The Atlantic. We came to life with the promise that we would be of ‘no party or clique,’ and we try to make good on that promise. It is difficult, though, when one of the country’s two major parties is violating the norms of democratic behavior. We will continue to hold the Democratic Party accountable as well when accountability is needed, and we will continue to publish writers—conservatives, Republicans, ex-Republicans—who are thinking in interesting ways about the future of their party and country.” [“Adam Kinzinger: Republicans Are ‘Frigging Crazy,’” Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic, 23rd Sep 2021]

Do we wonder what The Atlantic is all about? Emerson Collective owns it. 

Enter: Laurene Powell Jobs. “In one soul, in your soul, there are resources for the world.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson]

“With those startling words, Ralph Waldo Emerson enlarged our conception of the value of human life. I read his simple declaration about the reach of human capability as a statement of fact: there is within each of us the potential to improve the world around us. But Emerson’s line is not only a description; it is also an imperative: while all of us possess this transformative potential, too many of us don’t get the chance to fulfill it — which means that we all have work to do.

“At Emerson Collective, this is what drives us every day. If we’ve helped someone transcend the limits of circumstance and chart a new course for themselves and their families, we know we’re fulfilling our mission. Like our namesake, we believe deeply in self-reliance; but we recognize that the road to self-reliance sometimes requires help from others. We trust that hard work and determination can make anything possible, but opportunities for hard work and grit must be found and even created.

“For people trapped in the quagmire of poverty and disenfranchisement, a strong will to overcome the odds is rarely sufficient to beat them. For the 22 percent of children born into poor neighborhoods in the U.S., hard work will not likely be enough to overcome the obstacles they will face, including those that remain invisible to outsiders. For students in challenging environments—where schools are chronically short of funds, advanced classes in high school are non-existent, often low expectations, and mentors are few—'force of will’ alone cannot ensure a college education and a bright future. And for families forced into the shadows by a dysfunctional immigration system, perseverance cannot secure legal status and equal rights.

“Qualities of character, in other words, must be supplemented and supported by policies and inspirations. These lives, these communities, are gardens of promise, but they need water to flourish.

"Many years ago, I visited a nearby high school where students were working to defy the odds and do something challenging: to become the first in their families to earn a college degree. They had the same dreams and talents as students from neighboring communities but faced far more daunting obstacles. As the first to apply to college, attend and graduate, and embark on a professional career, they met uncharted territory at every stage.

“It takes a unique brand of boldness to envision—and pursue—a future so different from the world that surrounds you. These students possessed courage and drive but lacked the gateways to achieve their dreams—this struck me as a great injustice. It inspired me to launch a program called College Track—which has, to date, guided and supported thousands of students on their quest to earn college degrees, most of whom are the first in their family to reach this pivotal milestone.

“Today in the United States, with few exceptions, where a person is born determines how far they can go in life. Among developed countries, the U.S. ranks second to last in economic and social mobility. That is shameful. It wasn’t always this way—and it doesn’t have to stay this way. That is not how we want our country to work.

“This imperative underpins both the moral and practical mission of our work at Emerson Collective: we are idealists with our feet on the ground. Students can’t become self-reliant adults unless we give them an excellent education and a pathway cleared of obstacles. Immigrants can’t contribute to our communities and live open and accessible, and productive lives unless they are free from fear of detention and deportation. Complex systemic failures require flexible approaches, new models, and improved public policy. Every day with new ideas, accurate numbers, and innovative practices, we at Emerson Collective do our part to advance these solutions. We do so in partnership with creative thinkers, entrepreneurs, and organizations – with the broad community of concern and solidarity that we seek to foster.

“Our basic belief, as Emerson taught, is that we are doubly obligated: we must rely on ourselves, and we must rely on each other. By helping individuals to achieve their dreams, we unleash the full force of the world’s most powerful resource: human potential.”

Here’s a reaction from a journalist: “It’s a diverse set of concerns and reflects her belief that issues like poverty, education, personal health, and environmental justice are all interconnected.

‘When you pull one thread, you get the whole tapestry,’ she said. ‘When you’re working in the social sector, you actually cannot make any lasting forward movement if confined to one thing.’

“Ms. Powell Jobs, 56, is acting with a sense of urgency these days. She believes that President Trump’s statements and policies have unleashed dark forces that are tearing apart the very fabric of society.

‘It’s not right for individuals to accumulate a massive amount of wealth that’s equivalent to millions and millions of other people combined,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing fair about that.’

“And yet Ms. Powell Jobs is hardly apologetic. ‘I inherited my wealth from my husband, who didn’t care about the accumulation of wealth,’ she said. ‘I am doing this in honor of his work, and I’ve dedicated my life to doing the very best I can to distribute it effectively, in ways that sustainably lift individuals and communities.

‘I’m not interested in legacy wealth buildings, and my children know that,’ she added. ‘Steve wasn’t interested in that. If I live long enough, it ends with me.’ [“Laurene Powell Jobs Is Putting Her Own Dent in the Universe,” David Gelles, Corner Office, The New York Times, 27th Feb 2020]

Let’s get back to the Philippines.

The blog all along has wondered why and how we never grasped that our neighbors left us behind.

Here’s a quote from an earlier posting: “It may take ten years [for the economy] to reach pre-COVID-19 trajectory,” per NEDA chief Karl Chua.

“We must, therefore, leapfrog and toss linear and incremental thinking.

Can we stop and digest that?

“The challenge we face is not a cakewalk.”

We are GDP-starved despite (1) the collective wealth of our dollar billionaires; (2) the even much more significant treasure of $60 billion from OFW remittances and the BPO industry; (3) the “sweet spot” we call our consumer market because of our young consumers; (4) the tons of money we borrow for the 4Ps; (5) our eight top companies; (6) the MSMEs that count for almost 99% of registered enterprises; (7) and the massive Build, Build, Build program. 

The blog all along has wondered why and how we never grasped that our neighbors left us behind.

“Beg for Western money and technology.” That was their mantra.

Are we digging our own grave? Is our caste system irreversible?

Can we, in the Philippine elite, cease the hubris? 

We cannot build this nation from the ground up. 

Country after country in the region demonstrated that. “You don't have to love your former colonizer. We are poor nations; we need their money and technology.” That was Mahathir speaking to Juan de la Cruz.

After the economy has contracted because of the pandemic, isn’t it insanity to be touting the 6%-7% GDP growth rate? Whatever happened to Grade 5 arithmetic?

And so we want to keep to our debt ratios and keep our credit standing while the economy is on a free fall? The rating agencies will still penalize us because we have a structural problem.

Translation: See above; we are GDP-starved, dependent on, and in the hands of the lower caste made up of OFWs and young people staffing call centers.

Where is the economic genius in this economic structure? These are desperate Filipinos that the Philippine economy cannot feed. What is their asset? They speak English, not because we are tops in education.

We lag in education, and we lag in economic output. That is not an “economic genius.” That is a caste system.

And both of them — English and education — were imposed on us. But then again, so was the Japanese Constitution. And Japan turned into an economic power. Or think of how Europe can’t live among themselves, and Churchill had to cajole Roosevelt to save them and the world.

And most recently, Vietnam. The Americans dropped more bombs on them than all the wars combined. And today, save for Singapore, they have the most FDIs in the region. They didn’t do the 4Ps to arrest poverty but followed the footsteps of their neighbors — and our neighbors too.

One more time with feeling. What is this universe about — dynamism and interdependence?

Now that we’re amid a pandemic, what to do?

That is why we must walk and chew gum simultaneously. Don’t let the economy contract even more – and very quickly, turn our paradigm on its head. 

Translation: This time, we need economic pragmatism, not economic genius — or bluster.

For example, our tax legislation — despite our penchant for alphabet soup, as in CREATE and SIPP, won’t suffice to leapfrog our deficits in FDIs and technology – and the economic output of our neighbors.

The operative word is leapfrog, not logical yet linear and incremental thinking.

That’s why the blog submits that we better redefine what we want in our leadership. The Duterte bias was errant from the beginning; we picked a Davao for the benchmark, and that smacks of parochialism.

Benchmarks must be world-class models, and we don’t have to look very far — because our neighbors awed the world.

Why does the blog speak to Apple all the time?

Are we digging our own grave?

Gising bayan!