Society Today: At the Brink of Diseases
“A nation as a society forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society”. It was once said by the 3rd US President, Thomas Jefferson.
Problems in our society, it is a very broad topic to talk about. Tackled within the Congress, discussed within classrooms, reported on daily news, and hashed out to each other by locals in every street corner. These problems are like diseases spreading rapidly, growing larger and larger yet often neglected by many. Yes, we always talk about it, but what do we actually do to solve these problems?
People always whine about how the government fails to suppress the disease when most individuals do not do anything to help at all. We formed a government to aid and lead this nation and not to be some push-over or do-it-all servant. How hard is it to properly dispose our smallest waste to garbage bins, from candy wrappers to plastic bags? How hard is it to segregate biodegradable from non-biodegradable waste? Yet we complain so much about how wastes have grown amass. We filled our nation with self-made troubles, it is only decent we do something about it ourselves.
Take the forestry for example. It has its own means of cleansing itself. Carcasses rot and leaves fall scattered on the ground… yet nature cleans its own waste through decomposition and components become part of the soil to nurture the trees from whence it came from. Other members of the forestry use these wastes as food or parts of their shelter. Nothing is logically wasted and no trash is left to become a problem.
Society problems range from those within our family to our barangays, barangays to cities, cities to regions, regions to our whole nation. From the moment we go out of our homes to either go to school or work, problems are there waiting to entertain us. This morning as I left the house, walking by our street, there is this huge canal hole wide open waiting to devour someone who isn’t so much aware. A couple of steps further is a pile of garbage dumped over one side of the street with the utterly disgusting stench, flies buzzing over… enjoying their grand party of rotting wastes. By the time I get to go home in the evening, I know there would be broken streetlights waiting. These problems, which may be simpler than the larger ones, still do get into our nerves… unless we are so ignorant and don’t care at all. After watching all these wonderful sights, what do we actually do? Discuss it? Complain unto each other? Or do we report it to the Barangay Office? If we are somewhat uncertain of our local government, why not try the non-government organizations or the concerned media programs perhaps?
Indeed, living in this country is a continuous struggle. Struggle for justice, struggle for safety and security, and struggle for a good life. This reminds me of what American author and lecturer, Frederick Douglass said, “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” Seems legitimate, but it is no reason for us to give up hope on our struggle to suppress the nation’s problems. A lot say that with the kind of society we have, there is so little chance for our nation to get up its feet. Well I say, even with that small chance, that is still called a chance. After all, it all ends only when we give up hope.
