by Jerico Halaguena
23 August 2012
Discussed text: Gabriel Marcel, "The Mystery of Being"
There are two sides or two stands on the RH Bil: Pro or Anti. These are two truths that our fellow country men see. For some of us, we may not have seen these truths or we may have even avoid looking. Why? Maybe because these truths are not really truths for us. The RH Bill is said to be pro-poor, pro-women and even pro-poor women. It is also pro-education. On the other hand, it is also said to be anti-life with the use of contraceptives. For me, it is hard to call these as truths when the bill hasn't taken action. They are not yet facts. These are, I believe, possible truths. In class, I learned that we should not confuse "what I like the thing to be" and "what it is". I think that is really what is going on right now. We do not know what it is exactly or how it will play in our country exactly. Is it a real solution or do we just think it's a solution. For some, we would like it to be a solution. Truth is given meaning or value if it is connected to the subject who is in the community of researchers. Have the pro and the anti given their sides true value? For this issue I believe that the pros and the antis are the researchers, the subjects, who have looked at the RH bill and have seen some truths but, in my opinion, may not be in a community with one another. I have seen both sides argue. What I have not seen, is a pro and an anti looking for a compromise or proposing an alternative, together. The RH bill is there because of other truths in this country that all of us have seen: Poverty, abuse and death. Some of us do not want to see this truth but they should, they must. One must be open to the light, the truth. And maybe, we should take action to make this truth no more. If the bill is passed, let's all hope that a new truth would shine. A truth that is and also what we would like it to be. Peace. Happiness.
Yup. I definitely agree. This bill is more divisive than I expected it to be. Just recently, a former teacher of mine in the conservative high school where I came from was "asked" to leave by an ex-teacher of that high school as well because of his apparent pro-RH stance. And what made it worse was that the ex-teacher condemned him publicly and asked him to leave through a facebook post on that teacher's wall. It then led my batchmate to create a facebook note "When Educator Turns Dictator", obviously referring to that teacher. Then, another former teacher of mine posted a facebook status indirectly condemning my pro-RH teacher with pretty strong language.So, as you said, I hope that people certainly become more tolerant of other people's beliefs and prevent themselves from becoming too judgmental.I'm pretty sure they have the best interests of the country in mind and it's just that they see the solutions differently. Hopefully, the non-passage or passage of this bill will help unify and not divide the country.
ReplyDeleteThomas Matthew Manalac
PH101A
Hi Thomas! Can you share your FB note over here?
DeleteActually, the main reason why I didn't want to be involved in the whole issue of the RH Bill was because of the different stands of different people per side. The Pro-RH people believe that life begins as soon as the egg cell becomes fertilized whereas the Anti-RH people believe that life begins during the intercourse. I guess before they argue, they should've at least set the definition of where life begins and whatnot. I just found the arguments useless if both sides weren't even on the same page.
ReplyDeleteBut then I realized that instead of just sitting here and whining about how useless the arguments are, I should be reading the bill itself and making a stand myself. After all, this is an issue that definitely affects us Filipinos and our future.
Denise Arandia
PH 101A
THESIS. ANTITHESIS. SYNTHESIS.
ReplyDeleteIn light of the recent events, I have remained a silent observer. There is a thesis, and there is an antithesis. Both sides have believed themselves to be right, refused to meet eye to eye, and fought with determination to win. There is truth in the thesis, but there is also truth in the antithesis. Now if they were indeed true, then shouldn't they support each other? Why does it look like one truth negates the other? Shouldn't truth be united as one, and not be self-contradictory? Could not thesis and antithesis merge and form a synthesis?
Human definitions are limiting. We try to come up with definitions based on our understanding which we tend to forget is limited, as well. If only we could pause the fight, reevaluate our own beliefs, take the beliefs of others into consideration, and try to figure out where the midpoint is... where all is one.
Abi Go
Ph101 A
It is interesting that you brought up "compromise". I haven't thought of that up until now, probably because everything that I've read have been compartmentalized into just two; either Pro or Anti. Their arguments, which I think come from the "truths" they believe in, can be limiting; it's as if sometimes, their arguments are made just to negate the other. I believe that we all have our own "truths", truths that were influenced by factors such as religion, socio-economic class, educational background, or even personal experiences. And that these truths led us to choose a stand regarding the RH Bill. I just hope that whatever the decision maybe; passed, or not, we could all learn to respect it.
ReplyDeleteRussell Virata
Ph101 Sec C
Admittedly, I have not read the bill in its entirety. But the truth is, knowing the "truth" regarding this issue will not matter. It will not resolve the issue. Why? Well because like some people in class have already pointed out, the pros and the antis have been arguing on different grounds. Pros argue using the socio-economic perspectives while the antis argue using morality and religion. And arguments on both sides are indeed true, or at least have some truth to it. Will fighting to see which sides have more truths to it solve the issue? Although that MAY lead to some sort of decision, the issue would remain unsolved. The constant argument will remain no matter which side wins. The only way to at least come close to resolving this issue is for people to be mature enough to respect whatever the decision is.
ReplyDeleteLica Lee
PH101 C
What I'd like to share is a status my friend posted two years ago and i still can remember it clearly. She said, "there are three sides in a story: your side, our side and the truth." However, I think that the "truth" isn't merely a side different from yours and mine, neither is it entirely just your side or my side, but the totality of perspectives. We are presented with one situation, one idea and each of us see various truths in it. Like how the pro-RH believe that it's pro-qualitiy life and the anti-RH believe that it's anti-life. They are talking about the same thing yet see different truths in them because as said in class, truth is not a fact, it is a value. And these opposing groups value different perspectives of the same thing. Now, what i can say is that we should look at each other's perspective - see where the person is coming from and look at the view. Let's not close ourselves to one viewpoint but instead, take in the light of the variety of perspectives and be open to it (even if these variety of truths are opposing). Then when you have accepted everything, that's when you decide.
ReplyDeleteCara Garcia, Ph101 - A