The "Cancer" of Society

           Greetings of peace to everyone!

         There is again a growing fervor today among concerned citizens and groups to be involved in critical issues in the government and also in their various communities. The revitalized trend is to be active change agents (not just passive observers) who envision the need to implement positive change that would eventually lead to socio-economic development. As they say, "nothing is new under the sun", this was the same clamor for change when I entered the field of community development many years ago. Many brilliant and noble minds worked together to plan and implement numerous programs and formulated applicable strategies like the Integrated Approach and Sustainable Development but the same old problem is still there. Even in my retirement, I am still puzzled by these questions: Why does graft and corruption still flourish in our midst despite the tremendous effort and significant amount of funding poured into such development projects/programs in the past? What motivates people to nonchalantly engage themselves in corrupt activities coplete with arrogant grin on their faces? Do these people still value integrity and dignity or do they have a chilling motto of - "nakakain ba 'yan o uso pa ba 'yan"("can it be eaten or is it still practiced today")? I do not want to discourage those who are novices in community development in one way or another but it is really a difficult task to be catalysts of change of change when the culture of graft and corruption is involved. Especially when we are part of the system and our professions or businesses as well as our families and friends are also on the line.

       

There are so many questions and intricate aspects regarding this issue and it is very difficult to dissect the factors leading to its root cause; but I thought that it is just fitting for me to get out of my comfort zone and try to share to you what is in my mind. In the first place, why do people become corrupt in their transactions or dealings? In my opinion, the following are the possible reasons:

1.     Financial problem. The poverty situation in our country drives other people to corrupt practices that are against their will. This is most likely to happen in times of emergency and survival circumstances;

2.     Fear of poverty. Some people due to their trauma of poverty or deprivation in their family or community during childhood have developed unhealthy fears that they become too materialistic to the point of being corrupt just to meet their demand for a good quality of life;

3.     Social pressure. Other people would do everything to the best of their abilities just to “keep up with the Joneses or the Ayalas in the Philippines”(maintain their position in society) even if this results to unscrupulous activities;

4.     Vanity and sloth. Nowadays, people are so used to instant and quick fixes that they are willing to pay for it to the extent of corrupting other people. Others are more cunning to use the latest technology including the art of deception to get dirty money and pamper themselves with comfort and luxury, and also to be famous  to satisfy their egotistical desire;

5.    Greed. Among the possible reasons that I have mentioned, this is for me the most contributing since the persons involved here already have power, influence, high position, right connections and machinery, state of the art technology and financial / material wealth and yet they want more so they muddle the truth to justify their wrong-doings. What is gruesome is that this has a “domino or trickle-down effect” which affects all down to the ordinary people in the community.

I have presented the reasons and probably you will ask what will we do next? How do we prevent, stop or “cure” graft and corruption in the government and communities if this is possible at all? Before I answer such daunting question, allow me to share with you some lessons I learned from the pocketbook written by Joshua Loth Liebman given to me by my uncle a long time ago. The title is Peace of Mind. In his article, Mr. Liebman wrote about a time in his life when he is still a student dreaming of a prosperous and successful life. Being young and ambitious at that time, he was encouraged to make an inventory of the things that would make him successful and the most striking are: fame, power, fortune and of course the material amenities of life. He made time to review, carefully evaluate the list and being contented with what he prepared, he went to his rabbi (a Jewish religious teacher) and proudly presented to him the fruit of his endeavor. He is very excited and anticipating that the list would gain approval, but his excitement turned to sheer frustration when he saw his teacher crossed out all the items in the list. All he can do is to stare at his teacher and ask why he instantly ruined his aspiration in life. He watched again as his teacher wrote below the crossed out items the words that will touch and forever change his life ^_ PEACE OF MIND. The realization of the wisdom of those words flashed in his mind as he experienced a paradigm shift. He realized that all the things he thought as important priorities in life are useless without the necessary “ingredient” that would bring lasting happiness and fulfillment in his life.

The meaning of the words is clear but what must we do and how can we achieve peace of mind?

Life is a process we have to undergo and many lessons should be studied, experienced and learned until we reach a certain level of maturity. Among these lessons in life are:

1.     Self-Awareness. We should always be aware of what we do to ourselves and to others. We should know the good or bad effect(s) of our actions to ourselves, to other people in our family or community, and also to our environment and act accordingly. We should also be aware of our strengths and weaknesses;

2.     Self-Acceptance. It is true that we should accept ourselves for what we are and also accept others for what they are. We should stop comparing ourselves to others for we will only become bitter. If we have learned to acknowledge the good in us, we should also acknowledge our bad traits and limitations as well. Most importantly, we should acknowledge that we have a huge potential to overcome our weaknesses and convert them to strengths;

3.     Proper love of self. Someone said that before you squander any love to others, you must learn to properly love yourself first. It may sound selfish but there is wisdom in those words for how can we properly love other people if we have not learned to love ourselves properly. We should not spoil or be harsh to ourselves for what we do to ourselves we are prone to do to others too and we should always give proper care for our body and mind by seeking and following the advice of experts or professionals. Proper love of self means that we should uphold the principles of humility, honesty, empathy and tolerance and we should also strive hard to reach our full potential to achieve Total Human Development (mind, body and spirit).

When total awareness, acceptance and proper love of the self have been achieved, then we are at peace with ourselves, our neighbor and our environment. Respect for each other will prevail and all that we do will be for the common good of all.

However, this does not mean that it is wrong to do our best to become rich and famous and enjoy the comforts of life as long as we are fully aware that we are not sacrificing our integrity and dignity, including our health, and we are also aware and caring for the dignity and right to live of other people in our community regardless of their social status. This is the only way to diminishing if not eradicating graft and corruption that thrive among us. But if we continue to ignore such solution, then we will be in a constant, callous and meaningless “rat race”!

I hope it is clear now that change of character of an individual comes from within the self and the importance of self-development to community development can not be disregarded. That no amount of will power can change ourselves if we do not stop, reflect in silence and look for solutions in the right place with the right tools. I know that creating awareness and change in our community is a tall order, can not be seen immediately and need qualitative assessment more than quantitative, but there is always hope that someday, in God’s time, we will awake to do our transactions and dealings with all truthfulness.

I remain.