Demanding Change Without Changing Oneself Won’t Change Anything

First, let’s begin with a story from my 4th grade teacher…

There was this kid who saw how bad and ugly the world was and prayed: “Lord, please change the world so that everyone can be happy!” Unfortunately, nothing happened.

When the kid became a teen, he saw how terrible the state of his country was so he prayed: “Lord, please change the country so that everyone can be happy!” Still, nothing happened.

Then the teen became a man and saw how poor his home city was so he prayed: “Lord, please change the city so that everyone can be happy!” For the third time, nothing happened.

The man eventually had a family but saw how dysfunctional his family was so he prayed: “Lord, please change my family so that everyone can be happy!” You guessed it, nothing happened.

After many years passed, the man became an old man and the time came for him to go. As he lay in his deathbed, Azrael, the angel of death came to him.

“Ah, so you are here,” said the old man. “My time has indeed come. Before we go though, I want to ask you something.”

“You are welcome to ask anything mortal man,” Azrael replied, ever patient.

“Tell me,” the old man began. “Why did God not answer my prayers? When I asked Him to change things, nothing ever happened.”

“You see mortal man, God has always respected ‘free will’ in people.” Azrael explained. “He answered your prayers in the best way he could, you know?”

“How?” the old man asked. “How could God have answered my prayers when He never did anything about them?”

“He did, mortal man,” Azrael insisted. “There was you in all of that. God gave you the opportunity to make your mark on the world, become a symbol of hope for your country, be a model citizen in your city and improve the state of your family. You could have done all that but it was so disappointing to see that you never achieved any of that.”

It was then that the old man realized that if he had only prayed that God gave him the strength to change himself first, perhaps he could’ve achieved everything the angel of death had said. If only he had bothered to act instead of simply waiting for God to do all the work, perhaps he could’ve made a lot of people happy and made a name for himself. These were his thoughts as Azrael led his soul into the light  of the afterlife.

Apparently, there were still a good number of people who utterly failed to understand my previous article. Truth be told, I kind of expected that but still, it’s more than a little disappointing when you try to explain things in the clearest way possible but people still won’t accept what you’re saying because they find reality uncomfortable. Indeed, I’ve come to realize that people hate GRP not because our works are scathing but because they’d rather hold on to their delusions than accept the truth about themselves.

Look, with all due respect, this country is indeed in desperate need of change. Unfortunately, if we ourselves cannot initiate the change then it’s all for nothing. The Philippines will still be the same sad and god-forsaken hellhole it always has been. What’s worse is that with the up and coming elections, people are still going to vote with the same kind of mindset and attitude.

Here are some of my points:

We Are Still Irresponsible

Once again people are pushing for their candidate like there’s no tomorrow. Walls, trees and just about any surface is being covered with political posters and ads. Supporters of the various political candidates champion their chosen leader-to-be, raising him or her above their heads like a pagan idol, believing that they are the key to the salvation of the country.

Unfortunately, a lot of supporters still seem to possess the same mindset they always had even before the 2010 election. They still see their chosen candidate as some sort of messiah who’ll solve all their problems for them. None of them even bother to think to solve their own problems first such as disposing of their garbage properly to prevent floods and other health problems or actually reporting crimes they’ve witnessed so authorities can actually do something about it.

We Still Dislike Thinking

One will notice that a lot of Duterte supporters lash out almost immediately when reading some of the articles directed at their candidate that portray him or those who support him in a negative light. I can’t help but notice that only a precious few read the entire article and made assumptions off of the words and phrases they remember the most.

Indeed, as I’ve mentioned before, they act more like rabid dogs than people. They snarl and snap at anything they perceive as a threat even when it clearly isn’t.

We Still Let Our Emotions Control Us

Tying in with the above, we almost always let our emotions get the better of us. In the end, we allow black propaganda to control us. We never stop to think about what we’re getting ourselves into or what’s being said in the first place.

Unless we can think for ourselves and make decisions based on sound logic, then our emotions are going to lead us and the rest of the country into oblivion.

***

Truth be told, I’m kind of tired having to explain stuff like this because it should be quite obvious to a lot of you now. Unless we can change ourselves for the better and behave like mature and proper citizens of our country, then nothing will really change. It doesn’t matter who’s running the country be it Rodrigo Duterte, Miriam Santiago, Mar Roxas, Jejomar Binay, Grace Poe, Fernando Poe Jr. rising from the grave to run for president, Heneral Luna himself hailing from the afterlife or The Emperor of Mankind, if we can’t change ourselves for the better, then we’ll still be screwed.

Look, I know that it’s hard. Changing oneself for the better always is. However, when you do make that change, you’ll look back and be grateful for the fact that you’ve gotten so far. When people start looking at you in a different way and see you as something to truly admire and emulate, you’ll find yourself asking: “Why didn’t I do this earlier?”